Gospel Reflection | Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

Gospel Reading

"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.

Jn 6:51-58

Gospel Reflection

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Feast of Corpus Christi celebrates the bedrock of Catholic Life: our Lord Jesus Christ present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the simple form of bread and wine, the Holy Eucharist. Throughout the centuries, the Church has striven to understand more fully this great mystery where "the angel's food is given to the pilgrim who has striven" (Sequence for Corpus Christi). The Scriptures chosen for us today give us an inspired insight into Jesus' presence in the Holy Eucharist.

As St. Thomas Aquinas exhorts in the Sequence before the Gospel, this food is not ordinary food. No, it is the true bread from heaven. This sacramental food, as well as the Sacred Scriptures, nourish us on our pilgrim journey to eternal life. The Holy Eucharist is truly "viaticum" -- food that "goes with you!"

The Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament of Charity and Unity. It is at the Holy Sacrifice where the whole community comes together, young and old; rich and poor; strong and weak; healthy and sick. We come and are made one by the miraculous action of Christ's presence in the Holy Eucharist.

Today, on this Corpus Christi Sunday, let us be grateful for the gift that the Holy Eucharist is to the Church and may we always praise, adore, and love our Eucharistic Lord truly present in this Great Sacrament.As always, know of my prayers for you before Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

+Bishop Schlert



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