Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church is the celebration of the Eucharist which is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action (#1409). The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church (#1407).
Hence today, we celebrate the body of Christ broken for us and his blood shed for us through his suffering, death and resurrection to grant us salvation and redemption. So if we we are celebrating this new life given us by God through the life, death and resurrection of Christ, how have we reciprocated such gesture and acknowledged Him in our lives? Today’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ should be a celebration of love, gratitude and thanksgiving to God for our redemption and salvation. If that is the case then, do we actually and truly love God, if so, how have we acknowledged and shown that love in our lives? How loving are we to God for all his mercies, graces and blessings upon us? How grateful are we to God for all these wonderful gifts we have received from Him and continue to receive from Him daily? If we are grateful to God then how thankful are we for these gifts God has given and bestowed upon us and how have we thanked Him for them?
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in order for us to love God all the more; be grateful for His blessings, graces and mercies upon us; and be thankful to Him for all He does in our lives, we have to be hardworking in our spiritual lives so as to make changes that will help us grow in faith and come closer to Him. We also have to be very patient with ourselves as we strive daily to say ‘yes’ to God and live out the gospel. And lastly, we truly and sincerely have to sacrifice more here on earth in order to attain the kingdom of Heaven after our lives here.
