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."

[Salvation]

May the Lord keep Germaine and bless NYer during this Mass with consolation and compassion. In His name we pray. Amen.

[Salvation]

# 3

Prayer Ping!

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Please post your prayers to

[kstewskis]

Absolutely. Will remember and pray for Germaine tomorrow at 7am AZ time (10am NY time).

God keep her soul and comfort her.

[trussell]

Prayer ping. See post 3

Please post your replies to NYer

Rest in Peace Germaine

Blessings,
trussell

If you want on/off my prayer ping list, please let me know. All requests happily honored.

[padfoot_lover]

I will pray for your cousin Germaine especially during the Consecration of the Eucharist tomorrow at Mass.

[Alamo-Girl]

I certainly join in prayer for her and for you and all her loved ones!

[Aggie Mama]

You bet. How wonderful for you to do this for her.

[Aggie Mama]

How do you go about doing that? I know my Grammy did that for me and all of her grandkids, but I can't find the little booklet that came to let us know of our enrollment. She did this when I was about 8 and I'm now 34, so I have a feeling the booklet was misplaced.

[Pegita]

Joining with your Freeper family in prayer for the loss of your cousin, Germaine. May you know the comfort of His Presence and the assurance that others join you before the Throne of Grace on her behalf ...

Pegita

[murphE]

"Recognize in this bread what hung on the cross, and in this chalice what flowed from His side... whatever was in many and varied ways announced beforehand in the sacrifices of the Old Testament pertains to this one sacrifice which is revealed in the New Testament."

- from the writings of St. Augustine, Sermon 3, 2; circa A.D. 410 {original translation}

Lots more where that came from

[visualops]

Yes I certainly will, and put a note in my purse so I wouldn't forget.

[tuliptree76]

I'm sorry for your loss. Prayers sent for Germaine, her family, and friends.

[Ann Archy]

If you want to enroll someoe, let me know, but say a prayer to St. Anthoy and ask him to help you find your Enrollment Booklet.

[Straight Vermonter]

Bump

[CDHart]

May God comfort you and welcome Germaine with open arms, in Jesus' name.

Carolyn

[RKBA Democrat]

Dear NYer;

Divine liturgy for me was last night, but I will be honored to remember your cousin in my prayers both today and at the next divine liturgy.

God Bless.

[NewCenturions]

Adding my prayers for Germaine

[Frank Sheed]

I will remember her each evening in my prayers for the dead. This is a special charism I have and I will continue this special practice until I die (Lord willing!).

Might I also suggest looking into Gregorian Masses? If you Google "Gregorian Masses", you'll find many mission societies which have these including the Capuchins and the Franciscans. These are Masses said for 30 days in succession for ONE soul. If for any reason the Masses are interrupted, the entire Novena of Masses must begin again. I have a request for these specifically stated in my own Will.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and may the Perpetual Light shine upon her! May she rest in peace! And, may her soul, and the souls of all the faithfully departed through the Mercy of God rest in eternal peace!
Amen.

Frank

[NYer]

A very special and personal note of gratitude for all the prayers you offered up today for my cousin, Germaine. It has been months since she died. During this time, I have offered many prayers, but her death lacked closure.

This week, her cremated remains were finally put to rest and today, the congregation joined their prayers together with our Abouna, for the repose of her soul. Knowing that you, dear friends, were offering up your prayers as well, brought such great comfort.

Please accept this note of deepest appreciation.

May they rest in the dwelling places
prepared for them in the heavenly Jerusalem,
the city of the Saints.
In your mercy, accept what your Church offers to you
on their behalf - alms, prayers and offerings.
Through the intercession of your Mother
and your Saints,
deliver them from their suffering ....