Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi – the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and the summit of the Church’s life. The Gospel describes the scene of one of the most famous miracles worked by Jesus. The disciples only had five loaves and two fish, yet with this small amount of food Jesus feeds all five thousand people who were assembled to hear him proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish still has relevance for us today. Just like the early Christians who gathered with Jesus, we too come together to share a meal as people of God when we attend Mass each Sunday. At every Eucharistic celebration we celebrate the memorial of the death and resurrection of Jesus, following his command ‘Do this in memory of me’. We gather around the table of the Lord to receive the bread of life which nourishes us and draws us closer to Christ and one another.
Today’s feast is a rallying call for us to bring the Eucharist to life. Each time we receive the Eucharist we have the opportunity of making a renewed journey of faith, recognising Jesus at the breaking of bread. It is through the Eucharist that Christ connects with us. But does the love of Christ truly resonate in our hearts and cause us to respond generously in word and in action? The challenge in living out the Eucharist is to love others with the same unconditional love as Jesus loves us. If we allow the real presence of Jesus to dwell in us the power of his transforming love will take effect in our lives. When we say Amen we are pledging to love Jesus by the example of our lives – by the way we relate with each other in our families, workplaces and communities. Through our ‘yes’ to Jesus we become intentional disciples of his love by supporting each other on the walk of faith and thereby growing towards complete fulfilment with him.
“Jesus gives Himself to us in the Eucharist, shares our same journey – indeed, he becomes food, real food that sustains our life even at times when the going is rough, when obstacles slow down our steps. The Lord in the Eucharist makes us follow His path, that of service, of sharing, of giving – and what little we have, what little we are, if shared, becomes wealth, because the power of God, which is that of love, descends into our poverty to transform it”. (Pope Francis May 30 2013)
