Solemnity of CORPUS CHRISTI, Cycle C

First: Gn 14:18-20; Second: 1 Cor 11:23-26; Gospel: Lk 9:11-17

THEME of the READINGS

"Bread" is the term which all of the liturgical texts have in common. In the passage of the Gospel, Jesus "took the five loaves... raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them". This gesture of Jesus, seen in retrospect, is prefigured in that of Melchizedek, the king-priest of Salem, who offers Abram "bread and wine" (first reading) as a sign of hospitality, generosity and friendship. This gesture anticipates the Last Supper with his disciples and the Eucharist celebrated by Christians in memory of Jesus: "The Lord Jesus took some bread, and after he had given thanks, he broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you’" (second reading).

DOCTrinal MESSAGE

Today’s liturgy makes us realize something important: Human beings, all human beings, need a well-balanced diet. The fact that we are human places us in a multi-dimensional situation, different from that of other creatures. For this reason, our diet cannot be one-dimensional; rather, it must be wholesome and complete.

The bread of the Word. Before multiplying the loaves to feed the crowd, Jesus, "talked to them about the Kingdom of God". In other words, he gave them the bread of his Word, for, "blessed are those who are hungry for the Word, for they will be satisfied". In the breaking of the bread of the early Christians, the liturgy began with a reading and explanation of the Scripture, which followed Jewish tradition. Therefore, the early Christians began by nourishing their souls with the bread of the Word of God, explained in the light of the mystery of Christ and adapted by some of the Apostles to the specific circumstances of daily life. In the first reading, the offering of bread and wine made by Melchizedek to Abram is followed by a blessing, which is like the spiritual bread that God grants Abram through the king-priest of Salem. Man is spirit, and the spirit needs a food other than the bread made of flour: he needs the Word of the living God.

The bread of the signs. In addition to being extraordinary events beyond natural laws, Jesus’ miracles are signs of the Kingdom of Heaven, because they refer us to that new world governed and guided by the power of God, to the exclusion of any other human or diabolical power. This is why after having distributed the bread of the Word to the crowds, Jesus gives them the bread of signs. Saint Luke tells us, first of all, that, "he cured those who were in need of healing", and then he tells us about the wonderful sign of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. As the friend and brother of human beings, as the Lord of life and nature, Jesus Christ is concerned with curing illnesses, in satisfying the natural hunger of human beings. Could it be any different? Nevertheless, his greatest concern is that men and women, by means of other signs, become capable of elevating themselves to God the Father, who lovingly takes care of his children, and to the Kingdom of God, where there will be bread for all, one single bread for all.

The bread of the Eucharist. The Christian diet would be incomplete if it lacked the bread of the Eucharist, the bread that is the Body of Christ. In no. 1374, the Catechism teaches us that, "In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist, the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the whole Christ, is truly, really and substantially contained." When Saint Luke wrote his Gospel, Christians had been meditating on the deeds and words of Jesus for several decades, preaching them and celebrating the Eucharist. This explains the fact that the evangelist narrated the episode of the multiplication of loaves as an anticipation and prefiguration of the Last Supper: "He took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd". Ever since that Last Supper, foretold by the miracle of the loaves and celebrated by the early Christian communities, Christ has never ceased throughout the centuries to give people, without any distinction of any sort, the bread of his Body, the food of eternal lif

PASTORal SUGGESTIONS

Hunger for bread, hunger for God. The fact that after 2000 years of Christianity there are still millions of brothers and sisters who are hungry for bread (and they are not thousands of miles away from our homes, but in our very neighborhoods and cities), is painful, and it should make us think. What’s more, over the past decades international institutions and the mass media have made us more aware of this sad and inhuman phenomenon the world over. Didn’t Jesus multiply the loaves to satisfy hunger? Didn’t he say to his disciples, "Give them something to eat yourselves"? Have we not excessively spiritualized our faith? Have we not reduced our faith to the strictly private sphere? Surely, Christianity cannot be merely reduced to the UN style of charity and solidarity; however, in the very essence of Christianity there is love for one’s neighbor, especially the most needy. And today, in this century of globalization, sporadic and temporary help is not enough. As Christians, we must organize ourselves at the parochial, diocesan, national and international levels to eradicate hunger from the earth. Wherever helpful, we must work together with the institutions of other religions to put an end to this scourge affecting humankind. Our Christian conscience cannot be at ease as long as there is a child dying of starvation. Hunger for bread is terrible, but what about the hunger for God? It does not move us so much, because the hunger for God is not visible. However, it is real, it is universally present, and often is more distressing than hunger for bread. The worst thing about it is that few people are concerned with this form of hunger, few people try to satisfy it. Shouldn’t we open our eyes, the eyes of faith and love, to see all the people who are hungry for God whom we pass by in the street, with whom we work, with whom we have fun at a the sports club or out at night?

Bread that is free for all. This is precisely what the Eucharist is. God our Father gives us the food of the Body of Christ for free, provided we wish to receive it with the right attitude. If this food costs nothing, if it is "the bread of the strong", then how come such few people receive it? Could it be that they do not appreciate it? It is also one single bread for all: the Eucharist is the sacrament of absolute Christian equality. There is no Eucharist for the rich and another different Eucharist for the poor. We are all equal before Christ, the Bread of our soul. Before the Eucharistic Christ, all social or economic barriers disappear.

Source: http://www.clerus.org/clerus/dati/2004-05/21-13/CICLOC.html by P. ANTONIO IZQUIERDO L.C. (1948-2013)

[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].