If this solemnity was celebrated on Thursday: Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Catechism Links[2]
CCC 790, 1003, 1322-1419: the Holy Eucharist
CCC 805, 950, 2181-2182, 2637, 2845: the Eucharist and the communion of believers
CCC 1212, 1275, 1436, 2837: the Eucharist as spiritual food
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| “Communion” by Giuseppe Maria Crespi, 1712 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Genesis 14:18-20
Commentary on Gn 14:18-20
The Melchizedek story in this chapter of Genesis drives the interpretation of the entire chapter. Using the lens of this passage, the chapter becomes a testament to the power of God and the irresistible nature of his plan.
Placed against the tapestry of God’s involvement with mankind, Melchizedek, Priest-King of Jerusalem (Salem is likely a reference to the same geographical place) is probably celebrating a covenant meal with Abram following their great victory.
CCC: Gn 14:18 58, 1333, 1544
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Commentary on Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4
We are given the reference point used in Hebrews 5:1-10. The psalmist, David, reflects upon the call to service of the people. The final verse specifically mentions the High Priest Melchizedek. Melchizedek was the ancient king of Salem (Jerusalem) who blessed Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20). Like other kings of the time, he also performed priestly functions.
Psalm 110 thanks God for earthly authority, recognizing that it is only through the Lord's strength that authority is exercised. The psalmist uses Melchizedek as an arch-example. He was a secular king in the time of Abraham who ruled on the spiritual side as well. Though he was not of the Hebrew race, he was nonetheless chosen by God to be priest, not of the line of Aaron. Since the ancient text refers neither to his lineage nor his death, his office is seen as eternal, “You are a priest forever.”
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Commentary on 1 Cor 11:23-26
St. Paul gives us the earliest written account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. This account is used by many protestant denominations to define their understanding of this event as symbolic rather than efficacious, that is, they believe the Lord’s actions did not transubstantiate the bread and wine, but that the action was simply a “remembrance.” The Church looks at the whole body of scripture, especially St. John’s Gospel, and understands the Sacrament as the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood.
CCC: 1 Cor 11:23-26 1339; 1 Cor 11:23 610, 1366; 1 Cor 11:24-25 1356; 1 Cor 11:24 1328, 1329; 1 Cor 11:25 611, 613; 1 Cor 11:26 671, 1076, 1130, 1344, 1393, 2772, 2776
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Gospel: Luke 9:11b-17
Commentary on Lk 9:11b-17
The story of “Feeding the Multitude” from St. Luke’s Gospel serves as the image for the Eucharist. The statement: “Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them,” is a clear reference to the institution of the Eucharistic (see Luke 22:19, cf Mark 14:22).
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Homily:
Today we celebrate Sollemnitas Sanctissimi Corporis et Sanguinis Christi, or the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The older traditional name shortened this formal title to simply the Feast of Corpus Christi. For those of us who are liturgy junkies, it feels like déjà vu since it closely parallels the first celebration within the Triduum that takes place on Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. In both cases these celebrations recall the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist but there the similarity ends. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper sets the stage for what must follow: the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, and his joyous resurrection on Easter. Our celebration today focuses us on the great gift given by Christ in His Body and Blood.
St. Thomas Aquinas expressed the purpose of this solemnity as he rejoices in the great gift of our Lord:
It was to impress the vastness of this love more firmly
upon the hearts of the faithful that our Lord instituted
this sacrament at the Last Supper. As he was on the point
of leaving the world to go to the Father, after celebrating
the Passover with his disciples, he left it as a perpetual
memorial of his passion. It was the fulfillment of ancient
figures and the greatest of all his miracles, while for those
who were to experience the sorrow of his departure, it
was destined to be a unique and abiding consolation.
St. Thomas Aquinas
-Opusculum 57,in festo Corporus Christi, Lect. 4
The scripture readings proclaimed give us yet another sense of what is taking place in the institution of the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. In the first reading from Genesis and in the Responsorial Psalm, we hear the story of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is a unique figure in Hebrew Scriptures, for he was both King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God. Mosaic Law called for priests to come from the tribe of Levi and Kings from the tribe of David – Aaron. Melchizedek was both King and Priest. In very important ways, he prefigured another who was to be both King and Eternal High Priest, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We note also that Melchizedek’s signature offering was, like our Lord’s, bread and wine. His blessing was from God, as Jesus was a blessing from God, who sent his Only Begotten Son to become the perfect sacrifice of atonement that takes away the sins of the world.
St. Paul reminds us of that fact in the second reading from 1 Corinthians as he recalls the Last Supper, and how the Lord blessed and broke the bread, and how he took the cup and likewise blessed it. It is one of faith’s great foundations that we gather to recreate that supper each time Holy Mass is celebrated. As St. Paul concluded in the second reading: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”
Finally our Gospel reminds us of another Eucharistic meal as Jesus feeds the multitudes. They were fed first by his words, and then with real food. In the same way we are fed first with the Word of God, and then with real food which strengthens us.
There is another important aspect of the miracle story in the Gospel that we must also take to heart. Notice that when the disciples come to Jesus initially they tell him:
"Dismiss the crowd
so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms
and find lodging and provisions;
for we are in a deserted place here."
And what was Jesus’ response?
"Give them some food yourselves."
What we receive in the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is not just physical food, but rather spiritual food. It is a gift we are called to share with others. When the Eucharist is received in faith and piety, the grace of God infuses us with great strength. When we accept the gift passed down from the Last Supper and recreated by all the faithful and presided over by our Priest who stands in persona Christi (in the person of Christ), we once more recall that this gift was given not just for the few but for all, who are children of God.
Today we celebrate once more the Holiest Gift left to us by Jesus. We see in the Word of God how our Eternal High Priest and King, Jesus, was prefigured in Melchizedek, once more reminding us of what St. Augustine said over a thousand years ago: “The New Testament is concealed in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in the new.”
In this year of Faith and Year of Prayer, let us renew our faith in the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and pray that through the grace we receive from it, we may be what the Lord intended us to be, a Eucharistic people, leaven for the world.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Communion” by Giuseppe Maria Crespi, 1712
[2] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014
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