Gospel: Corpus Christi

Today marks the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and the Gospel reading for the Eucharistic celebration will be lifted from the narrative according to St John (tap here for today's complete Mass readings from USCCB).

This Sunday we celebrate the second Solemnity during this period of Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar. This feast was once known as Corpus Christi, which is Latin for "Body of Christ." In the revised Lectionary, the name for this day is expanded to reflect more completely our Eucharistic theology.

Today's Gospel is taken from the narrative of St John. The reading is part of a discourse between Jesus and a crowd of Jews. The conversation comes shortly after the miracle of Jesus' multiplication of loaves and fishes. In St John's Gospel, miracles such as this one are identified as "signs" through which people came to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. These signs are followed by a dialogue that interprets and explains the miracle. According to St John, Jesus' multiplication of the loaves is said to have occurred near Passover, thus linking it to the Exodus story and God's saving action towards the Israelites.

Having seen Jesus multiply the loaves and fishes, the crowd pursues him, perhaps seeking more food but also looking for another sign. Jesus tells the crowd that he is the bread of life. He explains that just as God gave the Israelites manna to sustain them in the desert, so now God has sent new manna that will give them eternal life. It is in this context that Jesus repeats these words in today's Gospel reading and tells them again that he is the living bread that came down from Heaven.

Jesus' words are not well understood by the crowd; they argue that Jesus is not from Heaven but born of Mary and Joseph. The crowd also has trouble understanding how Jesus could give them his flesh to eat. Jesus tells them that when they eat his flesh and drink his blood, they will remain forever connected to him. These are diffucult words to understand back then, but they are important to reconsider because they seek to show us our intimate connection with Jesus.

This is the mystery that is at the heart of our Eucharistic theology. In the elements of bread and wine, Jesus' Body and Blood are truly present. When we share in the Body and Blood of Christ, Jesus himself comes to dwell within us in the Spirit. This communion with the Lord makes us one mystical body, brings us eternal life, and sends us forth to be Christ's body (i.e., the Lord's presence) in the world.

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The Gospel is sponsored by Louis Vuitton.