The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Year B – Homily

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Year B
Exodus 24:3-8
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18 (13)
Hebrews 9:11-15
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
June 2, 2024

When God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He did not simply pull them out of Egypt and then leave them on their own.  He formed a covenant with them.  This is the story found in our first reading today.

At this point in time, God had delivered the Ten Commandments through Moses.  Moses then “came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the Lord.”

How did the people respond?  Did they reject the Lord’s “words and ordinances”?  No!  They responded, “We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”

Moses then directed them “to offer holocausts and sacrifices.”  Then, God established a covenant with them marked by the blood of the animals offered in sacrifice. 

That covenant was made in blood, blood that was visible to them. 

God establishes a covenant with us when we make our baptismal promises (renewed each year at Easter).  In our baptismal promises we reject Satan and profess our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In doing so, we are saying, “We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”  How could we not if we believe they are God?

The Passover stood at the head of the Jewish calendar.  Jesus, on the night his Passion began, celebrated the Passover meal according to what God had prescribed.

Jesus took that Passover and made it something even greater.  “He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it, this is my body.  Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they drank from it.  He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”  (Most of this follows the Passover ritual.  What is in bold was added by Jesus).

At the Last Supper Jesus gave us the Eucharist, uniting it with his Crucifixion. His Crucifixion is the sacrifice of the new covenant.

Like the old covenant, the new covenant is established in blood.  However, this time it is not the blood of animals but the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

There is one challenge for us in the blood of the new covenant.  We don’t see “the blood,” at least not as blood.  This can lead us to forget the sacrifice Jesus offers for us in the Eucharist.

We are presently in a time of Eucharistic Revival in our nation.  Many people no longer believe in the Real Presence of Jesus.  Many don’t understand that is our covenant with God is based on the blood, not “the blood of goats and animals” but the very “blood of Christ” that cleanses us from our sins. 

Losing belief in the Real Presence diminishes people’s willingness to keep “all the words and ordinances of the LORD.”  Knowing the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist strengthens our resolve.  Remembering that Jesus has willingly sacrificed his life for us should motivate us to keep his commandments. 

In this time of Eucharistic Revival, I recently completed a series of bulletin articles on the Mass.  Before that I gave a series of presentations, The Greatest Gift:  The Eucharist.  I hope you have looked at these.

As we celebrate Mass, on the altar, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Jesus.  This is incredible!  As I preside at the Eucharist, I am convinced without a shadow of doubt that the bread and wine are changed.

The Mass is the pinnacle of our faith but our devotion to the Eucharist extends beyond Mass.  Consecrated hosts are reserved in the Tabernacle.  This practice began so that the Eucharist could be brought to the sick (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1379).  However, the early Christians came to realize that there was something special about praying in a Church where the Eucharist was reserved in the Tabernacle.  The Lord is present everywhere but He is present in a special way in the Eucharist.  From this came the practice of Eucharistic Adoration.  (As I said in the third part of my series, The Greatest Gift:  The Eucharist, adoration does have roots in the Old Testament (slide 29).) 

I believe Eucharistic Adoration is a vital part for our future.  As individuals it is valuable for us to spend the time sitting in the Lord’s Presence.  It may take time to see the fruit of Eucharistic Adoration.  I myself went to Eucharistic Adoration several times before I fully experienced its fruit.

As a church, it is important that we have people spending time in Eucharistic Adoration as a witness to our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  This shows others our faith.  It is also important that people spending time in Eucharistic Adoration are praying for our parishes.  We offer private Adoration on the First Friday of the month.  I encourage you to come.  Once a month we offer a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration with some blend of silence and time praying out loud together.

Today, we will do something else very special.  We will be having a Eucharistic Procession after our 10 am Mass.  We will go out into the streets with the Eucharist to witness to our belief that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.  This is a sign to others of our faith.  We pray it leads them to faith in the Real Presence.  It also renews us in our faith as we give this time to Jesus.  It reminds us of what we believe.  Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.