“Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” (Mark 14:12)

 

The solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is also known as the feast of Corpus Christi or Corpus Domini celebrates the tradition and belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist instituted on Holy Thursday.

 

This feast reminds us of Christ’s loving and abiding presence that He embodies starting from His incarnation as Emmanuel = God with us until the end of time. Therefore, this feast helps us to give thanks to God (Eucharist) and to Christ who loves us and dies for us (Sacrifice), and to proclaim and acknowledge His divine and “Real Presence” in our midst (Sacrament) by the doctrine of Transubstantiation.

 

This feast highlights the importance of the Eucharist as our physical and spiritual food and drink, focusing on its sacramental and sacrificial meanings in our faith that involves our covenantal relationship with God and the eternal and superior priesthood of Jesus. It is a sacrament because the Eucharist is a visible outward sign that gives us God’s grace and life. It is also a meal that nourishes our souls and spirits through which we come to meet Jesus and be united with Him. It is a sacrifice because it is an un-bloody re-presentation, or re-living, re-enactment of Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary, completed in His Resurrection. We in term offer Jesus’ sacrifice to the Father on the altar during the Eucharistic celebration for the remission of our sins, using signs and symbols.

 

How can we prepare and appreciate the “real presence” of Christ in the Eucharist, receiving Him with due preparation, reverence, and true repentance for our sins, bringing Christ to others through love and mercy?

 

Wishing everyone a blessed week in the Lord.