Introduction: May you remember all that GOD has done for you, especially in the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus, and may you lift up your thanks to GOD.
Remembering key events and celebrating them is much more than responding to similar stimuli from an earlier experience. As humans, we have the ability to recall past happenings and make them present again, and even add more meaning to what had happened in early times. We celebrate our Birthdays, thanksgiving as we gather with loved ones; we remember the events of our history and may add even more meaning to our gathering by using special food and performing acts that remind us what we are celebrating. We may celebrate anniversaries as we recall the specialness of life giving and commitments made years before.
It is thus that Jesus gave us a way to relive and celebrate what He did once for us. We are able to come together and re-enact the saving choice He made to lay down His life, so that we could be re-linked to the intimate bond with Himself and His Abba-Father, in unity with the Holy Spirit. This is what we celebrate when we gather for Eucharist. We give thanks to GOD for all Jesus did through His life, ministry, death, and resurrection. We feast on the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation – the Body and Blood of Jesus Himself. We make ourselves present with Jesus as He celebrates the Last Supper and He comes to us as our Food and Drink.
First Reading: Exodus 24: 3-8; This is a pivotal passage in the Old Testament, marking the solemn ratification of the Sinai Covenant.
The text describes Moses' interaction with the Israelites after receiving God's commandments. The people respond with a unified commitment, saying, "All the words which the Lord has said, we will do." This signifies their acceptance of the covenant and their willingness to obey God's law.
Moses then writes down all the Lord's instructions and builds an altar at the foot of the mountain, along with twelve pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. He sends young men to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices of oxen to the Lord.
The most significant act comes when Moses takes the blood of the sacrifices and sprinkles half on the altar and half on the people. This blood symbolizes the life-giving force that now binds the people to God in a sacred agreement. The sprinkling of blood is a ritual enactment of the covenant, signifying that the Israelites are now God's chosen people, dedicated to following His commandments.
In a Catholic context, this Old Testament event prefigures the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ, who is often referred to as the "Lamb of God." The blood of Christ, shed on the cross, is seen as fulfilling and surpassing the old sacrifices, establishing a new and eternal covenant between God and humanity. The Eucharist, celebrated in the Mass, is viewed as a representation of this New Covenant, where the wine becomes the blood of Christ, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins¹.
This passage reminds us of the seriousness of our commitment to God and the grace that comes from being part of His covenant. It also highlights the importance of sacrifice in our relationship with God—a theme that is central to both the Jewish and Christian faiths².
Psalm 116: 12-13, 15-16, 17-18; Psalm 116 expresses deep gratitude to God for deliverance from peril. This psalm is often associated with the themes of redemption and salvation, reflecting the Catholic understanding of God's merciful acts as a cause for continual praise and commitment to service.
Second Reading, Hebrews 9: 11-15; This is a profound passage that aligns beautifully with the Feast of Corpus Christi, which celebrates the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
V11-12, Christ is presented as the high priest of the new covenant, entering the Most Holy Place not with the blood of animals, but with His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption¹. This signifies the transition from the Old Covenant's sacrifices to the New Covenant's perfect sacrifice.
V13, The old sacrifices could cleanse the flesh, but they were merely symbolic and temporary.
V14: By contrast, Christ's sacrifice cleanses our consciences from acts that lead to death, enabling us to serve the living God¹. This verse emphasizes the transformative power of Christ's sacrifice, which is made present in the Eucharist.
V15: Christ's death is a ransom that sets us free from the sins committed under the first covenant, allowing those who are called to receive the promised eternal inheritance¹. This highlights the mediating role of Christ and the new life offered through the Eucharist.
The Feast of Corpus Christi celebrates these truths, focusing on the Eucharist as the sign of the new covenant and the Real Presence of Jesus, who offers Himself for the salvation of humanity. It's a day of gratitude for the gift of the Eucharist, where the faithful are reminded of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ and its ongoing spiritual nourishment in their lives.
Gospel, Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26, On this day we celebrate the Lord Jesus’ giving His Body and Blood to us, in reality, by His freely chosen death and resurrection, and sacramentally in the Eucharist. Years ago, this solemnity was called by its Latin name “Corpus Christi” – “Body of Christ.” Our readings remind us today that newer name for this celebration is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, since the readings focus more on the Blood of Sacrifice.
We reflect on the importance and significance of blood as a sign of covenant (testament – covenant relationship agreement). In the passage from Exodus, we hear how the blood of bulls was splattered on altar and on the people as a sign of the relationship that bound the people with the LORD their GOD. The psalm speaks about taking the cup of salvation and calling on the name of the LORD. The letter to the Hebrews proclaims the superiority of the New Covenant made not repeatedly with the blood of animals, but established, once and for all, with the Blood of Christ. In the Gospel we are once again reminded of, and are taken back to be present at, the Last Supper when Jesus took bread and wine, blessed them, distributed them to His disciples proclaim them as His Body and Blood – the elements of the New Covenant relationship between the “multitude” and GOD.
In Hebrew scripture, blood sacrifices had profound meaning for the Israelites. Through the killing of an animal, bisecting of the carcass, and the draining and sprinkling of the blood, a holy bond was created between the parties involved in the covenant sacrifice. Part of the meaning of the sacrifice was that just as the animal was killed and split in two, so the same sort of death would come upon those who broke the covenant bond. Also, the blood of an animal was considered the life force within the creature. When blood was splattered (not just “sprinkled”) upon the altar and on the people, it signified that GOD (symbolized by the altar) and the people (covered in blood) were joined by the life force (blood). They were blood partners in this relationship. The concept of blood relationship has existed in other cultures in such practices as being “blood brothers” with another person, by cutting and sharing of blood between two individuals. The covenant relationship that was brought about through the blood ritual was meant to be life-long and a matter of life and death.
The psalmist recalls the importance of sharing in one cup at a ritual meal. Of particular remembrance would be the cup of wine shared at the Seder meal. It was a remembering (zikaron), and therefore a re-enactment and a making real again, the salvation of Passover. It recalled the saving of GOD’s holy people through the blood of the lamb that marked the doors of the believers on the night that the angel of death passed over the homes of believers and killed the first born of the Egyptians. In sharing in the one cup at four key points of the Seder, they were drinking from the same cup of salvation as their ancestors on the original night of Passover. They were being bound again (re-ligio) by the relationship GOD established with Israelites of old. There were celebrating the blood bond with their GOD and making it present again. In taking up the cup of salvation and calling upon the name of the LORD, they were offering a prayer of berekah – blessing, thanksgiving, praise – to GOD for what GOD is continually doing for them – saving them and giving them life.
The author of the letter to the Hebrews is very much aware of the significance of blood sacrifices made through out Hebrew history. He recalls the fact that the blood sacrifices of animals had to be made repeatedly throughout that history of GOD’s people of old. Each time the animal blood sacrifice was repeated, the old covenant was renewed and made binding on the people. This passage from Hebrews reminds us that a new covenant is now in effect which surpasses the covenant of old. This covenant is also a blood covenant, but since it was made by a perfect priest and with a perfect sacrifice, it need be done but once. It is the sacrifice of the Son of GOD – both subjectively and objectively speaking. Jesus, the Son of GOD, the perfect priest, offers the perfect sacrifice of Himself. This once-made, perfect sacrifice on the cross cannot be done again. Yet it can be remembered (zikaron) and made present again in the sacramental celebration.
The Gospel presents Mark’s account of the Last Supper during which Jesus institutes a way for His disciples to remember (zikaron) and re-enact what He will do on the next day by His suffering and death on the cross. During the course of the Seder supper, He takes the unleavened bread (matzoh) and says the traditional blessing prayer (berekah), praising and thanking GOD. At the end of the prayer, as He distributes the matzoh, He adds, “Take and eat; this is My Body.” The Seder meal continues until near the end when the time of the final blessing prayer (berekah) over the fourth cup of wine. Jesus concludes the berekah prayer by saying, “Take and drink; this is My Blood – the Blood of the New Covenant.” In some of the other accounts of the Last Supper, the words of Jesus also include the words, “Do this in remembrance (zikaron) of Me.”
As we reflect on the gift that Jesus gives us – the gift of salvation through His giving of His Body and Blood both sacramentally in the Eucharist and in reality on the cross – we are once again in awe at the magnificence of the perfect plan of GOD. Jesus was very much aware of the Hebrew (and other nation’s) significance of a blood covenant. He also realized the power of zikaron – remembering and re-enacting and making present again. Jesus wanted His disciples to celebrate His saving death, and to remember how He had brought them salvation. Obviously, they could not offer another perfect sacrifice, since His perfect sacrifice was a once-and-for-all sacrifice. Yet, in zikaron – remembering, they were able to make present the Lord Jesus and His giving of Himself – His Body and Blood. They were able to once again take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord and He would be present with them again. They would be able to be one with (com- unio) Him at His table and receive Him once again.
How awesome is our GOD Who allows us to bind again (re-ligio) ourselves by remembering and re-enacting the saving moments of our salvation. We renew our blood covenant – the New Covenant in Jesus’ Blood – whenever we come together and give thanks (eucharistein). We zikaron (remember, re-enact) Jesus’ gift of Himself and take Him into our very being. The words of Jesus in John 6: 53-57 become so meaningful to me: “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood; you have no life in you. Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My Flesh is real food and My Blood is real drink. Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood remains in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Abba-Father sent Me and I live because of the Abba- Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.”
The question and response of psalmist today should reverberate within us: “How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the Good the LORD has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD.”
JUST DO IT: “This is My blood, the blood of the covenant, to be poured out on behalf of many.” —Mark 14:24
When Moses read to the chosen people the words of the covenant with the Lord, the people responded “with one voice, ‘We will do everything that the Lord has told us’ ” (Ex 24:3). The next day, they reiterated: “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do” (Ex 24:7). They understood that doing was an essential part of the covenant.
Jesus Himself at the Last Supper said, “Do this as a remembrance of Me” (Lk 22:19), when He said: “This cup is the new covenant in My blood” (Lk 22:20). Therefore, let us do the covenant by:
doing the Eucharist in memory of Him (1 Cor 11:24),
doing for the least of the brethren (Mt 25:40),
doing whatever He tells us (Jn 2:5), and
doing “everything that the Lord has told us” (Ex 24:3).
When we began the Easter season, the Lord through His Church called us to renew our baptismal covenant. The Church asked us: “Do you reject Satan, all his works, and all his empty promises?” and “Do you believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?” We repeatedly answer these questions: “I do.” Do the covenant. Do it in memory of Jesus.
Prayer: Father, make me a missionary of the Eucharist so as to lead as many as possible to Eucharistic love and worship. “...how much more will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself up unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God!” —Heb 9:14. “All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine.” Praise be Your precious Blood, Lord Jesus.
The personal question for today: What does it mean for me to be in communion with the Lord Jesus by receiving Eucharist? How do I remember, re-enact, and give thanks to the Abba-Father and the Lord Jesus for His breaking His Body and pouring out His Blood? What can I do to help others reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ Most Holy Body and Blood?