Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine,

all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine.

Dear friends,

On this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ this wonderful hymn sums up a great truth that is central to our faith. Without Jesus we are nothing. Our lives are bound to His and He is the source of all life. He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” Jn 15:5 He also said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Jn 6:51

The source of life is Christ. As we heard last week in the Gospel as we celebrated Trinity Sunday, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life.” Jn 3:16 He sent His Son to share His divine life with us. This is realized in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, the Holy Eucharist. At the Second Vatican Council, the council fathers stated that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. This flows from the rich teaching of the Fathers of the Church that handed down to us the teachings of the Apostles.

When Jesus said these things to his disciples, they did not know completely what He meant. In fact, many left after the Bread of Life Discourse responding, “‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’... As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” Jn 6:60,66 After they left Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, “Do you also want to leave?” Peter responds boldly, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” Jn 6:67-69

Sometimes we need to make a profession of faith like St. Peter, especially in times of trial or doubt. We nourish this faith by going to the Fount of Life and staying with Him. He is in the tabernacle all the time waiting for you to visit. This Friday as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart we will have Adoration through the night at St. Andrew. Come spend some time with Jesus and get to know this wonderful Mystery of our Faith. Jesus is truly present, body and blood, soul and divinity in the Most Holy Eucharist, and He wants to share His divine life with you. To Him be glory and honor forever and ever.

Fr. Jack D. Shrum