The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Homily on June 2, 2024.

Cycle B

Ex 24: 3-8; Ps 116; Heb 9: 11-15; Mk 14:12-16, 22-26.

Take it; this is my body

Eating is an essential human need; we at least eat three times per day, and sometimes eating is an excuse for meeting with someone or gathering with a group of people. During our eating, we usually share important conversations, deals, laughs, and even jokes. We can eat in an expensive restaurant or on the street at a food truck, but most people enjoy sharing the feed with their nuclear family at home. The warmth of our house is unique, as is the family, whose below always reminds us of the infinity of moments and memories. That’s why the confidence and comfort that we achieve in the house with our family are better than at any restaurant or place. Our family always testify to our journey, and we allow ourselves to express ourselves in liberty.

In fact, eating supports us by giving us the necessary vitamins for working and completing our journey. We can attest to how Jesus gives an important role to this act of eating. Overall, Jesus appears in the gospel, joining and organizing many banquets, especially for the excluded. The banquets of Jesus always represent a gathering at which Christ and his disciples celebrated, which means that they gave thanks to God, who supported them in finishing a journey. The feed is the reward from God, and it is the fruit of human work, but above all, it is a gift from God. Hence, our feed represents the sufferings and pains of the human during the work, but it also represents the happiness, gladness, and gratitude of the human toward God during the banquet.

Moisés y el pueblo de Israel celebraron una alianza con Dios a través de un banquete, que simbolizaba la experiencia de Dios entre su pueblo. Erigieron un altar al pie del monte, ofrecieron holocausto y rociaron sangre sobre el altar; en este contexto, la sangre significa vida (porque proviene de la vida de los animales), que es rociada sobre el pueblo, y Moisés les recuerda: El pueblo de Israel fue guiado por Dios, quien les dio la ley, y él los acompañará durante todo su camino.

Nevertheless, the most important banquet for the Israel people was the Passover; this liturgy was celebrated by them every year, meaning the covenant with God. Jesus appears in today’s gospel, asking his disciples to prepare this banquet; however, Jesus celebrates a new Passover, his own Passover. Jesus states to his disciples, “[…] Take it; this is my body.” And “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” Jesus is reminding them of the whole journey with them; it means that the entire life of Jesus was a special journey with his loved people. In other words, Jesus healed people, heard the needy hearts, loved everyone, shared the feed sitting at the table with the poorest individuals, and taught the new lay of God (the kingdom of God). Now that Jesus is going to give his life on the cross, he has already finished his mission, which concludes with his death and resurrection.

Brothers and sisters, it is precisely the meaning of the Eucharist: to give life for another one. Eucharist means to help others; it is to give life in my daily life, even though the life is very tiring and sometimes painful and disappointing. The communion is the hopelessness of the human being; it is union with others; we put our sufferings on the altar, knowing that God will take all those and transform them into gracefulness; it is also our sacrifice, because we know that there is more happiness in giving than receiving.

The message today is to encourage ourselves to continue to work for the Kingdom of God, knowing that God does not want external signs; He wants our lives to join with him in the Eucharist, which means that our journey is a whole oblation to the God that Jesus made with his whole life. Wine and bread are converted into body and blood; in other words, our work and effort are joined with Jesus on the cross, in body and blood. This is the logic of the Eucharist: we receive Jesus who loves us and heals our fragilities in order to love others and help them in their fragilities, and this lasts our entire life. Don’t be tired of working hard for your family, community, friends, or anyone else. The banquet is a reminder to go with the most needed and deserted; the eucharist asks us to go with those who lack life.

Each time that we celebrate the Eucharist, we celebrate the Kingdom of God. “I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Only through the bred of live we can accomplish a fullness live. The church, dear brothers and sisters, is our hearth; it is a warm house where we eat the richest bread. It is not the most expensive, is not the most wished-for in the world, but is the most prepared with love and sacrifice in order to satisfy our lives with fullness and happiness, sharing with the community. The eucharist is a heavenly bread, and every person is invited by God and the community.