The Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, reminds us that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. Through the mystery of transubstantiation at Mass, the bread and wine become His Body and Blood while retaining the appearance of bread and wine.
In John’s Bread of Life discourse, Jesus teaches us the following:
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” (Jn. 6:53-54)
The Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy reminds us of God’s providence and divine will. Through the manna that came down from heaven, God nourished His people in the wilderness and demonstrated that He would never abandon them in their time of need.
In today’s Gospel from John, Jesus reveals the fulfillment of a new covenant. His Body and Blood become the source of everlasting life, reflected in the breaking of the bread and the new manna come down from heaven. God’s people no longer need to offer animal sacrifices for the atonement of sins, for Jesus, the Lamb of God, became the perfect and ultimate sacrifice who takes away the sins of the world and restores what is broken within us.
Every Mass is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. It reminds us that Jesus has never left His people and remains with us always. At every Eucharistic celebration, heaven meets earth as ordinary bread and wine become life-giving spiritual nourishment, drawing us into deeper communion with God and strengthening us for the journey of faith.
Saint Carlo Acutis, a millennial Saint born in 1991 passed from this life due to leukemia and had a great devotion to the Eucharist. Carlo once said, “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.” If our hearts & souls are not ready to receive His body & blood in holy communion, Carlo reminds us of the following “Our soul is like a hot air balloon. If by chance there is a mortal sin, the soul falls to the ground. Confession is like the fire underneath the balloon enabling the soul to rise again. . . It is important to go to confession often.” His website documents the miracles of the Eucharist http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/list.html
As Saint Thomas Aquinas once remarked, “The Eucharist is the sacrament of love: It signifies love, it produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life.” (https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251543/corpus-christi-sunday-2022-inspiring-words-from-the-saints-on-the-eucharist). The Eucharistic hymns of Thomas Aquinas are also worth reflecting on https://www.dominicanajournal.org/wp-content/files/old-journal-archive/vol11/no1/dominicanav11n1theucharistichymnsstthomasaqui.pdf
Let us reflect more deeply today at the pinnacle of our faith where Jesus becomes truly present for us in the Holy Eucharist. Let our Amen be strong as we receive Jesus, the living bread come down from heaven.
One of the prayers I recite after receiving Holy Communion is the following:
Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within Thy wounds hide me. Separated from Thee let me never be. From the malignant enemy, defend me. At the hour of death, call me. And close to Thee bid me. That with Thy saints I may be Praising Thee, forever and ever. Amen.
Quotes from Blessed Carlo retrieved from https://www.ncregister.com/blog/17-inspiring-quotes-from-carlo-acutis
StreetEvangelist 
