Commentary on the Gospel of
Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. The real presence.
*Manna from Heaven
*This is my Body; this is the cup of my Blood
*Jesus is present - Come let us adore Him!
Today we celebrate our Lord’s continuing physical ‘real’ presence among us. A presence prototyped in the Manna the fell from heaven, fed and sustained God’s children through the forty years journey across the desert. Life from heaven preserved their lives from perishing in the wilderness.
As our Lord clearly stated in the Gospel, that manna sustained them for a while, they later died! On the other hand, the present Bread which that Manna foreshadowed lives forever, because:
It is God giving Himself;
It is the flesh, not of an animal, but of the Son of Man;
It is the flesh, not of any man, but of the Son of God;
It is the Body and Blood of Jesus the Christ.
Our Lord explained this to his contemporary fellow Jews, in their local language, not in foreign language so that no one dares argue that they did not understand him. They clearly understood him as speaking of his real Body and Blood, hence they retorted, ‘how can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ What a privilege we have to participate in the life of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ by communing with Him at the deepest intimacy.
To show how important this singular and exceptional gift is to our Lord, he ceremoniously instituted its commemoration at the Last super. First and foremost, He repeated with emphasis: ‘this is my Body’ and ‘this is the cup of my Blood.’ Then, He added, ‘do this in memory of me.’ Post resurrection, our Lord repeated the same ‘self-giving’ in bread: at Emmaus ‘they recognized Him at the breaking of the bread.’ The apostles clearly understood Him and kept the records, as their Gospel accounts testify. They maintained the same tradition of breaking the bread using the exact words as pronounced by our Lord: ‘take, eat, this is my body; take, drink, this is the cup of my blood,’ as St. Paul bore witness to in his first letter to the Corinthians.
They question is what attitude do we have towards the Body and Blood of Christ? Whatever attitude one has, let us copy from the angels. How? Let us adore as the adore Him! Wherever God is the angels surround Him in adoration. The nativity event is a clearly manifested example. They were singing in adoration! When our Lord takes flesh in the bread and wine, therein the angels appear in adoration, just for one reason: God is present! This calls for a more consciously realization of the privilege given to us of being present where Jesus physically comes down, at Mass. Adoration is the only language proper to the attitude we ought to put up in His presence. Oh, come let us adore Him!
