Readings for June 21-22, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
By Lyn Zahorik | For On Mission
Today’s Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ follows upon the Feasts of the Most Holy Trinity and Pentecost. The core of our Catholic belief is summed up in these three concurrent feasts: Pentecost is the spirit of our faith, the Trinity is the heart of our faith, and the Body and Blood of Christ is the sustenance of our faith.
The awesome message of today’s feast is that, for Catholics, the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. The Eucharist sustains us, offering grace that, by receiving the Body of Christ, we become the body of Christ.
Christ is our head and, as we depend on him for direction and spiritual nourishment, we carry out the mission of being his disciples, the very hands and feet of Christ moving within our world.
At a recent Mass, I had the privilege of being an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. I feel the giving and receiving of Eucharist is a very intimate action.
I am intentional when distributing Eucharist: I smile and look people in the eyes as I say, “The Body of Christ.” When a recipient makes eye contact and responds with a resounding “Amen!,” my heart just melts. Yes, my Communion line moves a little slower than others, but, hopefully, time stands still for a few seconds as we the giver and we the receiver recognize what is transpiring.
Driving home from Mass, I reflected on the Communion experience. Our “amen” to receiving Jesus in the Eucharist first affirms our belief that what we are receiving is his true presence. Then we are also saying, “Amen, Lord, I recognize these people around me as members of your body, whom I am called to love, support, encourage and serve one in your name.”
As I continued to drive, I thought about the variety of hands that reached up to receive the Eucharist.
Those hands ran the gamut from a first communicant who shyly reached forth still learning the ritual of receiving Communion to the wrinkled and worn hands of an elder, leaving me to wonder how many times that pair of hands had been engraved with the “nail prints” of pain and sorrow.
On this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, I encourage you to spiritually “engrave” on your own hands two quotes.
The first, is St. Augustine’s statement, “If we receive the Eucharist worthily, we become what we receive.”
The second is expressed beautifully in a legend from World War II. During the war, a large statue of Jesus Christ was severely damaged in a city in France. The townspeople were able to repair most of the statue, but its hands could not be restored. Finally the people placed a sign at the base of the statue with this inscription: “You are my hands.”
Receive and become his living presence in the world. “AMEN!”
Lyn Zahorik is director for spiritual engagement at St. Mary Parish, Omro, and St. Mary Parish, Winneconne.
The readings for Sunday, June 22, can be found at The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ | USCCB.