Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

I love when Bible passages are so obviously intertwined that it’s easy to see God’s promises made in the Old Testament fulfilled in the New. Testament. One of my favorites is the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and being stopped at the last moment – something God and His son, Jesus Christ, saw through to the end, conquering death and bringing about our salvation.

This week’s readings provide another wonderful example. Moses reminds the people of Israel of the manna God sent from Heaven to feed them as they wandered through the desert for 40 years. Though God had punished His people for not obeying Him and for their lack of faith in Him when He ordered them to enter the promised land, He did not leave them without all they needed to survive in the wilderness. Fast forward a few thousand years and Jesus tells the descendants of that same people that God is providing them with bread for the journey once again. Only this time, HE is the bread, and the journey is this life in this world. 

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The best part about the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ? It’s for ALL of us – not just a chosen few. We all receive the offer to partake in this spiritual feast that can nourish us on our own journey. If you are reading this, then you were born THOUSANDS of years after Christ and yet, when He broke that bread at the last supper and said, “Take this, all of you, and eat it…” He was talking to you! How amazing is that? God knew you and He knows you – and loves you – so well that He offered His son for you before your great grandparents were born!

I’m still pretty new to this – I only really started seeking to live by my faith a few years ago. But I can attest to what the Body of Christ can do to and for the life of a sinner. Looking back, I know that I made things more difficult by denying myself the Lord’s bread. There are still difficult times, but I know that Jesus will sustain me as I continue to navigate through this life on my way home to Him and the Father. Corpus Christi is a great reminder for us to look at how far we’ve come and to remember what has, what does, and what will sustain us. We don’t have to do this alone because Christ is in us, and we are in Him – we just have to take the bread He offers us. It is truly the bread of life. Before I said yes to the Lord and recommitted myself to the Church in a real way, I was on a path to death. Now, through the grace of God, I can hope for life eternal. That hope is reestablished every week (and sometimes throughout the week) when I receive bread for the journey. 

As we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, I invite you to come to Mass on Sundays. Start today. See if it does not make the road seem a little easier to walk, if it does not make the obstacles a little less daunting, if it does not give you strength and good courage to take another step each day. He has given us all we need to find our way home.