Do This in Memory of Me ~ by Ronnie Archer

All three readings for this Holy Feast Day are reminding us of God's covenant with his people and of the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us by the shedding of His own precious blood.

First, we hear how Moses related all the words and ordinances of our Lord to the people, and how they answered in unison... "we will do everything that the Lord has said." Afterwards, Moses took the blood of the sacrificial bulls as a peace offering to the Lord; half of it, he put on the altar that was erected to the Lord, and the other half, sprinkled it on the people, saying, "this is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you, in accordance with all the words of His."

In reading two, we hear that the crucified and risen Christ passed through the perfect tabernacle, not made by man's hands. He entered once and for all, into the sanctuary, not with the blood of any sacrificial animal, but with His own precious blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption for us.

Today's Gospel tells us about Jesus' instructions that were given to the disciples as to where to go; and what they would find, to prepare the Passover meal. In following and obeying Jesus, they found things exactly as He had told them. During the meal, He took the bread, broke and blessed it, gave it to them, saying, "take and eat, this is my body." And with the cup, He gave thanks, shared with them saying, "this is my blood of the covenant which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

Today, we are reminded and invited to meditate again on the gift of life, body, and blood of Jesus Christ. Blood is so important to us; it is our lifeline. We cannot separate body and blood and still have life. Jesus gave His life so that we may have life. If we believe and accept this great sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God, then we can understand how much love God the Father has for us. His Son died, so we could live.

Our purpose for living is to love and serve God, by loving and serving others; and if necessary, giving our lives for another.

The disciples followed Jesus' instruction precisely for the Passover and everything turned out just as He had told them. If we follow Jesus, obey His instruction, we know that everything will turn out alright also.

We also need to remind ourselves of things that we should already know about the Eucharist. We all know that it is the Body and Blood of Christ, when we receive Holy Communion. Be aware that we still are required to fast at least one hour before receiving Holy Communion. We should maintain the proper respect and reverence for the Body and Blood of Christ by not receiving if we are not in a state of grace; if we are aware of a mortal sin that we have committed. We should also not be chewing gum while we are at Mass.

Jesus is the Holiest of Holies, uniting Himself with us and we, uniting ourselves with Him, we become one. Many people are searching for truth and when we show love, we receive spirit, and the Spirit of Christ helps us grow spiritually.

We should pray that the Spirit of Christ remains with us, so that others will see Christ reflected in us all to do good works in His name.

Today, we give thanks for the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ - in His life, death and resurrection, we also can have life.


~ Corpus Christi Sunday - The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ ~

~ Image found at Time and Date ~