St. Norbert's Church - Sunday Reflections

Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, is about Jesus giving Himself to us to eat and to be transformed. Lots of the early disciples of Jesus left Him because of this teaching. This is not an easy teaching to accept.

Today we are given a section of the Gospel of Saint Luke to read. This small section reflects one of the aspects of the life of Jesus that everyone recognized: He always shared a meal, he often gave food to others and that He enjoyed eating with others. Thus breaking bread with Jesus became a sign of His first followers.

Often in the Gospels and in the New Testament we hear that His followers recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

This solemnity emphasizes that Jesus gives Himself to us, not just in a symbolic way but as real flesh and blood. This reality was fought over and even today many find it difficult to believe that it is really the flesh of Jesus and His blood that we eat and drink. This belief comes from Jesus Himself and from His early disciples. We should never be surprised that others find it difficult to believe.

We are invited to believe, however, and to walk with the Lord Jesus. It is He who invites us into His inner chamber and tells us clearly: I give myself to you, body and blood, soul and divinity.

The first reading, from the Book of Genesis, reflects this mystery by giving us another mystery. Melchizedek comes from nowhere and disappears again to nowhere, a priest and a king who simply appears on the scene. This is not so unusual in the early parts of Scripture. Yet our Jewish ancestors in the faith were able to see the special role of Melchizedek as part of the mystery of God�s plans for His people.

The second reading is from the First Letter to the Corinthians and is the earliest account that we have of the Last Supper and of what Jesus did and said in that Last Supper. The testimony of the early followers of Jesus is found in the letters of the New Testament and we find this strong belief in the presence of the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread: not just a symbolic presence but a real presence.

The Church, both East and West, has always accepted this true and real presence of the Lord Jesus in this sacrament that we now call Mass or Eucharist. May our faith be strengthened today. How we long to have this personal encounter with the Living God! May we rejoice in the Lord and give Him praise.