The Mass - The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. (Corpus Christi). Year B - Sunday, 2 June 2024 (episode 481)

The Mass -  The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. (Corpus Christi). Year B - Sunday, 2 June 2024 (episode 481)
 

Image Credit:Shutterstock licensed image 1041144766-Sanctuary of Caravaggio (BG), ITALY - 24-8-2016. Mosaic : The last supper- By Macthia
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily),
 for The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. (Corpus Christi). Year B. - by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-the-body-and-blood-of-christ-year-b-episode-481
(EPISODE: 481)
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Prologue (courtesy of Liturgy Brisbane)

This feast, originally Corpus Christi, arose in thirteenth century Belgium,  in response to debates about the real presence and as a result of an upsurge in Eucharistic piety. It's extension to the entire Western Church was first decreed by Urban IV in 1264. The feast celebrates  the mystery of the nourishing and enduring presence of the  body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.

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Homily: 

Our Lord wanted his life, death and resurrection to be a source of eternal life and salvation for all people, not just of his time 2,000 years ago, but every time and generation. So Christian faith believes in God who became flesh, the incarnation. So it's perfectly fitting that Jesus gives us a way that we can touch and taste the reality of his gift to us.

The reality too of his loving involvement in the many joys and sorrows, graces and challenges of daily life. The sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord was first instituted at the Lord's last supper, before he suffered his passion. He celebrated the annual tradition of the Passover meal, in which generations of God's people repeated the meal commemorating the freedom of the people of from slavery in Egypt, passing over from slavery to new life, from death to new life.

According to that God-given and ancient tradition, everyone who participated in that sacred meal was included and united in God's saving action, irrespective of the time or place that that person was joining in. Then we fast forward a thousand years or so later, and our Lord, who has come to perfect and fulfil the law of God, also celebrates this ancient Passover feast. But near the end of that very ancient meal, he does something new.

Something that makes this Passover meal his own, and which creates the means by which we can all be now included in his love and salvation. He took bread, blessed it and said, see this bread? This is truly my body, broken for you. Take and eat.

Do this in memory of me. Then he took a chalice of wine and blessed it, and gave it to his disciples and said, take this and drink of it. This is the chalice of my blood, poured out for you and for many, to forgive sins.

Do this as a memorial of me. This action means that we, some two thousand years after his supper, are all included in the benefits and the action that Christ won for us by his love. We live in a deeply sacramental world.

So many things in this world bring us the reality of what they signify. In general, a warm handshake conveys friendship.It doesn't just signify it. It's a sacrament of friendship in a broad sense, which actually gives us the expression and feelings of the friendship it represents. Jesus,, in his wonderful ministry, ate and drank with many, many people.

He shared meals with sinners. He included people of every different group. He healed, welcomed, taught, and cared for all.

It's fitting that Jesus left us the gift of this holy meal as more than a reminder of him and his ministry. But this meal is presented to us by his own promise and command, his very self, given for us. As we take the host, we receive Jesus into our hearts and lives.

As we drink his chalice, we are washed clean and joined to God and to one another. We can all be part of what our Lord offered first to his apostles. The gift of the Eucharist, which we celebrate on this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, is essential in the life of all Christians.

We receive Christ himself, first of all in his word, proclaimed in the weekly scripture readings, and we receive Christ truly in his body and blood in communion. We are opening up, weekly, the meaning and implication of the scriptures and ensuring that it's not just our convenience and comfy version of Jesus' word, but his full, challenging, life-giving message that spurs us on to action, week after week. And I always love to say to First Holy Communion people, that as they receive Jesus in communion for the first time, that there's only one thing better than one's First Holy Communion, and that is, your Second Holy Communion.

And there's only one thing better than Second Holy Communion, and that's your Third, and so on and so on. Weekly, it sets up a pattern of communion with Christ in our daily lives, always. Our communion in the Body and Blood of Christ connects us forever to God and to our loved ones.

Every time we celebrate Eucharist, every time we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we are united in communion, connected by an unbreakable bond to God, first and foremost, through Jesus. But also we're connected to our loved ones and friends, our fellow Christians, and we're even connected to our departed loved ones, who are all part of the communion of believers. We abide in God, God abides in us.

We are in communion, alive in Christ forever. So today in this feast, we celebrate Jesus who makes His home in us, through the sacrament of His Body and Blood. This is a gift that is truly priceless.

May we always give thanks for it and receive it with joy.
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References:

Prologue – From Liturgy Brisbane

 

Homily – Fr Paul W. Kelly

Barclay, W. (1975). The Gospel of Mark. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press,

and For a Background on Sacramental Theology context, please see Vorgrimler, H. (1992). Sacramental theology. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press}

Image Credit: Shutterstock licensed image. 1041144766— Sanctuary of Caravaggio (BG), ITALY— 24-8-2016. Mosaic: The Last Supper— By Macthia.

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. (Corpus Christi). Year B.  (EPISODE: 481 )
The Lord be with you.
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{{May Our Lord's courage, uphold you.}} welcome everyone, we gather -  Praise, Worship of God

My brothers and sisters, we have gathered to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, - so let us pause and reflect upon our sins, so as to rejoice in Gods loving mercy.
Lord Jesus, you came to reconcile us to the Father and to one another: Lord, have mercy//You heal the wounds of our sin and division: Christ, have mercy// You intercede for us with the Father: Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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Ps 116: 12-13, 15-16, 17-18. "I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord"

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 6: 51). Alleluia, alleluia! I am the living Bread from heaven, says the Lord. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
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PREFACE: Preface of Holy Eucharist I or II
EP II

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{I pray that you have a wonderful and grace-filled week. }

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to our weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of  William John Kelly -     Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

[ Production -  KER -  2024]

May God bless and keep you.
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