SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (2024)

SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (2024)

Readings:

Exodus  24:3-8

Psalms 116:12-13,15-18

Hebrews 9:11-15

Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

The reflection from This Day, the daily commentary put out by Liturgical Press, has this to say in its marvelous commentary on today’s Solemnity: “In his book With Open Hands, Henri Nouwen speaks of the Eucharist and of our need to be open to the grace of God.  In his experience, most Catholics come to the Eucharist with clenched fists – a very powerful and startling accusation.”  Those fists, the great spiritual writer Nouwen says, are “holding on to our busyness, anger, unforgiveness, or self-pity.”  Too often people come to church with little or no spiritual preparation, there are legitimate life concerns that we just cannot get out of our head, but we make little or no effort to listen to the readings, which should draw us more deeply into the mystery that is Christ.  Sadly, some Churches have poor readers and a poor sound system, presenting issues to a pastor which are both delicate and potentially expensive.  Pastors need to be bold in making sure that his people with the “clenched fists” have the best opportunity that is possible to be drawn into the mystery that is Christ.  If our hearts and our hands are not free and open to accept the precious gift that Jesus gives us in the Eucharist we will be missing out on accepting the possibility of drawing as close to God as is humanly possible in this world.

Our readings juxtapose the old covenant of Israel with the new covenant of Jesus.  Moses has received the tablets with the Ten Commandments (after laying down a series of lesser laws) and the people receive Moses with great exuberance: “We will do everything that the Lord has told us.”  It was a needy moment when the challenges that lie ahead were the farthest thing from the people’s mind, and the Old Testament clearly shows that the people’s response to what was being asked of them was not always up to par.

The manner in which the Old Covenant is executed may seem a bit barbaric to us, but the important dimension is the blood garnered from slain bulls sacrificed as peace offerings.  That blood is partially poured on the altar, and the rest is sprinkled on the people, making them virtual blood brothers with the God of Moses.  Our second reading, the letter to the Hebrews, connects the lengthy historical dots between the old covenant and the new covenant, and more important than the old covenant’s blood of bulls, is the shedding of Jesus’ own blood: “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.”

Today’s gospel echos what we celebrate on Holy Thursday, and highlights the connection of Jesus’ own blood with the body and blood spoken of in the Eucharist: “This is the blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”  In a day Jesus’ life will be taken on a barren hill outside of Jerusalem, and what His Father was asking Him to obediently accept was brought to completion.  The blood of Jesus would win salvation for all people.

What a precious gift we have in the Eucharist.  In His physical absence Jesus is made present on altars all over the world, and people are allowed to draw as close to Him as possible in this earthly life.  The Church is about to embark on a time of Eucharistic Revival and there will be processions, talks, and lots of adoration.  Keep in mind that, while we can find solace and comfort in the presence of the real presence, the intention of the Eucharist is one of mission.  Because of what happens in the Eucharist we are drawn to the center of where we are meant to be as Christians, and when the “Mass is ended,” we are to “go forth in peace and glorify the Lord with our lives.”  Ultimately, Jesus is not meant to be stared at; the celebration of the Eucharist is meant to root us more deeply in discipleship, a discipleship which causes us to go forth and make disciples of everyone we meet, if not with our lips, then with our lives.

Let us never approach the Eucharist with “clenched fists,” but let us open our hands and our hearts in extreme gratitude for what God has shared with us.  Mass should never be considered an ‘obligation.’  Rather, Mass is an ‘opportunity’ to draw as close to our Redeemer as is humanly possible in this world.