Happy Corpus Christi Sunday! And Blessed Cluster Picnic!
Happy Corpus Christi Sunday! And Blessed Cluster Picnic!
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ! The Eucharist is a great gift. The Bishops of the United States reminded us of this truth by calling for Eucharistic Revival, which is launching on June 19, 2022, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Bishop James Powers invites us to hold a Eucharistic Procession on the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Because we are having a cluster picnic this weekend, we will have the Eucharistic procession next Sunday, June 29, at 2 pm at Immaculate Conception in Butternut.
In the first reading from the book of Genesis (14:18-20), Melchizedek, king of Salem, appears to recognize Abraham’s great victory, which the five local kings were unable to achieve. He brought bread and wine and blessed Abraham and declared him blessed or made powerful by God Most High, evidently the highest God in the Canaanite pantheon. Abraham acknowledges the blessing by giving a tenth of everything as a tithe to Melchizedek. We read this passage in Hebrews chapter 7, and it interprets Melchizedek as a prefiguration of Christ. The sacrifice offered by Abel, Abram, and Melchizedek are invoked in the Eucharistic prayer I (the Roman Canon): “Be pleased to look upon these offerings…and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept the gift of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek.”
The second reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (11:23-26) is the account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. Paul quotes Jesus' words and says after the Body of Christ has been given, Jesus’ command is to “do this in memory of me,” and after the cup, “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Today, the Gospel reading (Luke 9:11-17), which recounts the multiplication of loaves and fishes, a miracle, foreshadows the institution of the Eucharist. In this scripture, the twelve asked Jesus to send these people away, and he asked them to give some food themselves. Their reply was, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have.” In a way, they said, we don’t have much, but in Jesus' hands, it was plenty. When they gave what they had, a miracle took place. Jesus took the bread, looked up to heaven, said the blessing, and gave it to the disciples to give to the crowd. All were eaten and satisfied.
I'd like to share a story from my time in hospital ministry. One Corpus Christi Sunday, I was celebrating Mass in the Hospital, and a lady was sitting in a wheelchair in the center of the chapel. During the consecration, she started to cry. I assumed that she might be in pain. After the Mass, I asked her how she was doing. She told me that it was not tears of pain, but tears of joy. She was suffering for a long time; she had thoughts of committing suicide from time to time, but every time something intercepted her. She continued that she was thinking about the reading and the homily, and at the consecration, she visualized Jesus’s sacrifice. She said her faith gave her the strength to live. She realizes that there is a purpose for her life. She said she may not have much to share, but in Jesus’ hands, it is more than enough. She realized that God needs her for her husband and children. She said that day, she felt her life was so meaningful. At the end of every Mass, we are sent out to break and share our lives with others.
The Mass: On Corpus Christi Sunday, it is beautiful to reflect on the Fraction Rite and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). This is the moment when the priest breaks the consecrated host (Corpus Christi) over the paten. A small piece is placed into the chalice—a gesture called the commingling, which symbolizes the unity of Christ’s Body and Blood, and hence the unity of His sacrifice and Resurrection. The phrase "breaking of the bread" became an early name for the entire Eucharistic celebration. It demonstrates that the fraction is not merely symbolic but essential to Eucharistic identity from the outset. During the fraction, priests say a quiet prayer while placing a particle of the host into the chalice: “May the mingling and consecration of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.” On the road to Emmaus, "He took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him" (Luke 24:30-31). The breaking of the bread leads to recognition of the Risen Lord, paralleling what happens in the liturgy.
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God): This is a chant that occurs during the Fraction Rite. The people and the choir sing: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us (x2), followed by grant us peace. "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). This is the direct source of the Lamb of God (Agnus Deii). John identifies Jesus not just as the Messiah but also as a sacrificial lamb—echoing the Passover lamb and temple sin offerings in Jewish tradition. Pope St. Sergius I (r. 687–701) formally introduced the Agnus Dei chant during the Fraction. The “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” is not just symbolic — it is sacramentally effective. Catechism of the Catholic Church §1394 says,“This living charity [of the Eucharist] wipes away venial sins.”