The Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Year B

"During the meal he took bread, blessed and broke it,
and gave it to them."

The universal calendar of the Catholic Church assigns
this day as the 11th Sunday of the Year, Year B. In
the Philippines, for pastoral reasons, the Bishops
assign this Sunday as the Feast of Corpus Christi.
The universal Church on the other hand has already
celebrated Corpus Christi last Thursday, the Thursday
after Trinity Sunday. For the purposes of this blog,
some reflection will be made on both: the feast of
Corpus Christi and the 11th Sunday of the Year.

The synoptic gospels, Mark, Matthew and Luke, plus
a passage in the letter of Paul to the Corinthians,
speak about Jesus saying to His apostles at the
Last Supper the "Eucharistic blessing" that was to
become, through centuries, the words of the consecration
in the Eucharistic liturgy. The words "take", "bless",
"break", and "give", in the scriptures have become
the words of the consecration in the Mass. In
the solemnity of Corpus Christi, we
celebrate this self-donation of Christ portrayed
in the Last Supper, as the Bread and Blood of Life
for us all. We also thank the Father for the
gift of His Son for us to follow and imitate. If
not for Christ giving us His Body and Blood on that
cross at Calvary, we would not have known the love
of God for us and how He wishes to save us from
our sins.

If we ask for the gift of faith to seek Christ in
all that we do in life, we would be like the mustard
seed in the gospel as it is proclaimed for
the 11th Sunday of the Year.
This gospel speaks of the mustard seed, the smallest
of all seeds. It says that even with such a small
seed, it grows into one of the biggest of trees.
Our faith in Christ can be likened to that mustard
seed. If we only have in our minds and in our
hearts, the size of faith as small as that mustard
seed, then, as we pray, discern what is God's
will, and act according to it, our faith will grow
and strengthen, and we will be able to help others
too with their mustard seed of faith.

Our task then is to believe in Christ as the Bread
of Life whom we receive every time we celebrate
the Eucharist with others. By nurturing our souls
through the sacraments of faith, we grow, and are
able to share also our faith with others. In time,
we will attain what the Father wills for us to be:
to be more and more formed and made in the image
of His Son - and doing His work and ministry
of proclaiming the Gospel through the ordinary
and everyday circumstances of our state of life.