Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. At one time, this day was called Corpus Christi, Latin for “the Body of Christ.” In the most recent revision of the liturgy, the name for this day is expanded to be a more complete reflection of our Eucharistic theology. The readings today show different insights on the celebration of the most holy Body and Blood of Christ. The first reading describes the gifts of Melchizedek, the priest and king of Salem (Shalom – peace). The gifts were bread and wine. The responsorial psalm describes David’s descendant who will be more important than David himself and who will be both king and priest. The passage from 1 Corinthians is the first written account of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at the last supper and its application to regular worship service of the early Christians, and the Gospel is the passage of one of Jesus’ multiplications of loaves in order to feed the people. Jesus is the priest, king and prophet par excellence. Jesus takes the gifts of bread and wine, transforms them into his Body and Blood and gives them to us as our food.

For us in the Palautian family, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist is very important. Fr. Palau taught us in his writings that the Eucharist is a mystery of communion; some texts mention the struggle of a soul with God, and many pages of his writings are dedicated to the theme of the Eucharist. One text mentions the Eucharist as a saving sacrifice wherein Jesus Christ is immolated and mystically suffers passion and death every time the sacrifice of the cross is renewed in the Mass (struggle, letter of a Director n. 61). Fr. Palau wrote in my relationships: “When Christ my head is sacramentally present on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine, there is my body, morally united by love” (MR 4, 28) These thoughts about the Eucharist makes me feel so conscious to be totally present in the Eucharistic celebration. He also imparted to us that “one receives communion, a thousand received”. For Fr. Palau the concept of receiving Holy Communion unites the individual with the entire Church, for in Holy Communion, we don’t just receive Christ but also the rest of themembers of the mystical body of Christ both the living and the deceased.

In this solemn feast of Corpus Christi, let us together ask the intercession of Bl. Francisco Palau, OCD to help us understand the mysteries of the Church and to help us grow in our love for God and for our neighbors. For our personal reflection, we can ask ourselves: How is my disposition every time I come to receive the Lord in Holy Communion? Does my daily or weekly participation in the holy banquet lead me closer to God and to my neighbors, especially those who are in great need of God’s love, mercy and compassion? After my participation in the Eucharist, do I proclaim our faith by the way I relate with others? These are some reflection questions that we can ponder on during this celebration of the solemnity of Christ’s holy body and blood.

To end this reflection, I wish to renew my faith in the Holy Eucharist. Lord Jesus, “your Flesh is real food and Your Blood is real drink and whoever eats Your Flesh and drinks Your Blood remains in you, and you in him. Just as the living Abba sent You and You live because of the Abba, so the one who feeds on You will live because of You.” I do believe Jesus that my daily participation in Holy Communion will lead me to love and to serve you in my neighbors who are near at my side and my neighbors who are in pain and are facing all kinds of adversities in life. Amen.

Claire Marie R. Sy, CMT