The Banquet of Corpus Christi - "Why did Jesus give us His Body and Blood?"

Catholic Exchange ^ | May 28, 2005

[NYer]

	Centuries ago, St. Thomas Aquinas asked the question, "Why did Jesus give us His Body and Blood?" If the Lord wanted to leave us a memorial of Himself, He could have given us some spectacular power — like the ability to cure the sick, multiply food, change water into wine or raise the dead.

Why did He not do this? The answer is because if He did, we would think about Jesus only as often as we think about our auto mechanic — that is, only when our car breaks down. And since Christ’s supernatural powers in us would never fail, we would soon not give a thought to the Source of those miraculous abilities.

Thus, we need Christ’s Body and Blood in order to be mindful of and intimately united to Him. Jesus does not want us to share simply His abilities; rather, He wants us to share in His very Self. That is why He gave us His Body and Blood. The human flesh of Jesus continues to link us and the people of every age with the timeless sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It fills us with a lasting sense of connectedness with Him and with one another. The gift of Corpus Christi makes Holy Communion with Jesus Christ possible in three ways.

First of all, Jesus promises that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood "remains in me and I in him." One of the worst punishments imaginable is solitary confinement. Being deprived of the physical presence of other persons can easily lead to the agony of loneliness and isolation. The void of physical absence quickly degenerates into the many forms of psychological absence that we suffer: fear, self-doubt, depression, resentment, antagonism and so on. The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, the sacrament of His Body and Blood, overcomes the "real absence" that often besets our life. In fact, we were created for communion — with others, and above all, with God. Our sharing in the Body and Blood of the Lord is the high point of our vocation to communion, to intimacy with Jesus Christ.

Second, everything that we know comes through our bodily senses. The body is the gateway to knowledge. This is also true of the Eucharist. Jesus saves us according to the distinctiveness of our human condition. Without the Body and Blood of Christ, we might be tempted to reduce Jesus to some abstract, impersonal, symbolic concept, notion or idea, as many people unfortunately do. The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist enables us to know His divine Person. When we eat the "true food" of the Holy Eucharist, the Lord changes the way we know: the Eucharistic Lord transforms our view of life, He helps us to grow in faith, He deepens our love, He comes to strengthen us and accompany us on our life’s pilgrimage.

Finally, the "bread that came down from heaven" imparts to us "eternal life"; right now, we begin to "live forever" through our participation in the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist anticipates and is a foretaste of the life we hope to share in heaven. As we receive the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus, we come to be more and more like Him and so partake, here on earth, of the eternal banquet of heaven. The Real Presence of Christ in the sacrament of His Body and Blood guarantees His promise: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day … . Whoever eats this bread will live forever."

[NYer]

Fr. De Ladurantaye is director of the Office of Sacred Liturgy, secretary for diocesan religious education, a professor of theology at Notre Dame Graduate School and in residence at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Virginia.

[GSlob]

"One of the worst punishments imaginable is solitary confinement."
"Hell is the others" (Sartre)
"I'm never less alone than when alone" (Scipio Africanus).
So, the solitary might be a bad punishment for those who are so empty themselves as to continually need the external props. For others it might be a blessing and a refreshment. And as for the title, the question "why?" is presumptuous and wholly inappropriate. ["BECAUSE"].

[NYer]

Feast of Corpus Christi

Dear friends,

Forgive me this personal request but I am exceptionally asking a small favor from you. In March, one of my cousins died. She was the last member of her immediate family and only 63. She died alone in her home.

Though raised in NY and baptized into the Catholic Church, she was living a more secular lifestyle in FL at the time of her death. Neighbors discovered her body and tracked us down through an address book.

Because of her untimely death with no immediate living relatives, her body was taken to the morgue where it remained for weeks until a Will could be found. She left instructions for old friends to arrange for her burial.

She had no funeral mass. This past Wednesday, her cremated remains were flown back for burial in the family plot. No graveside service was offered.

At the time of her death, I immediately made arrangements for a memorial service, including the 40 day Maronite liturgy for the dead. Tomorrow morning, at 10 am, my cousin will be remembered in the Divine Liturgy at my Maronite parish. I will be the only living relative present at this service and carrying up the offerings. At the conclusion of the liturgy, the pastor will chant a series of prayers in Syriac-Aramaic, for the repose of her soul.

This is the ONLY prayer service being offered up for my cousin, Germaine. If you can find it in your heart, I would very much appreciate it if you could remember her with a prayer tomorrow. Thank you.

[RnMomof7]

Just as the passover was a memorial meal to be kept for all generations , the meal that replaced the passover meal is also a memorial meal .

A trip through the OT finds that God leaves memorials. The Lords table is a NT memorial ...it is so proclaimed by Jesus "Do this in memory of me "

[livius]

Definitely my prayres for Germaine. One never knows what happens to people in their last moments - "between the saddle and the ground/ was mercy sought and mercy found."

[CouncilofTrent]

Ping Re: Post 4

[GrannyML]

I will definitely include Germaine in my prayers, and God bless you for doing this!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Oh yes...prayers for Germaine going up.

[Titanites]

And this food is called among us Eukaristia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone.

First Apology of St. Justin Martyr 148-155 AD

[NYer]

Thank you! Her sudden death, alone at home, has truly wrenched my heart. Realizing that a Funeral Mass was out of the question, I anticipated and planned to have a priest present for a graveside service at her burial. This was not to be either. Tomorrow's liturgy was the only 'gift' I could offer up for the repose of her soul. Your prayers for her mean so much to me. Thank you!

[ex-snook]

It's a hard saying and many have walked away.

[netmilsmom]

Will do dear FRiend!

[Ann Archy]

Sad story...very sad. Have Perpetual MASS Said for her!! That's what I do when someone dies that is Catholic. I even enrolled my Jewish husband and my father when he was still alive!

[Ravens70]

My intention tomorrow (my 29th wedding anniversary) will be for your cousin along with a special Rosary during the day.
God bless...

[k omalley]

I will remember Germaine in my prayers at Mass tomorrow.

[Carolina]

Prayers for your cousin, Germaine.

[Kolokotronis]

Prayers at the Divine Liturgy tomorrow. I'll light a candle too, my friend.

[Talking_Mouse]

Will remember her at the Mass tomorrow. Also offering prayers tonight.

[Salvation]

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