The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - Solemnity
Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II)
Readings at Mass
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First reading
Exodus 24:3-8
This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you
Moses went and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. In answer, all the people said with one voice, ‘We will observe all the commands that the Lord has decreed.’ Moses put all the commands of the Lord into writing, and early next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve standing-stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he directed certain young Israelites to offer holocausts and to immolate bullocks to the Lord as communion sacrifices. Half of the blood Moses took up and put into basins, the other half he cast on the altar. And taking the Book of the Covenant he read it to the listening people, and they said, ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey.’ Then Moses took the blood and cast it towards the people. This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules.’
Commentary
Exodus 24:3-8 captures the formal establishment of the Mosaic Covenant between God and the Israelites, emphasizing themes of obedience, sacrifice, and commitment.
1. Moses as Mediator
Moses communicates God's laws, acting as the essential link between God and the people, ensuring accurate transmission and understanding of divine commandments.
2. The People’s Affirmation
The Israelites' unanimous agreement to follow God's commands highlights their collective commitment and the communal aspect of their faith.
3. The Written Record
Moses documents God's words, emphasizing the covenant's permanence and providing a lasting reminder of the people's obligations.
4. The Sacrificial Ritual
Sacrifices and the use of blood in rituals symbolize purification and the binding nature of the covenant, underscoring the importance of sacrifice.
5. The Blood of the Covenant
Sprinkling blood on the people seals the covenant, representing life and the irrevocable bond between God and Israel.
Exodus 24:3-8 emphasizes the solemn and binding nature of the Mosaic Covenant, shaping Israel's religious identity and commitment to God.
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Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 115(116):12-13,15-18
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
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Second reading
Hebrews 9:11-15
The blood of Christ can purify our inner self
Now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.
He brings a new covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant.
Commentary
Hebrews 9:11-15 highlights Christ's role as the ultimate high priest and the mediator of a new covenant, surpassing the old covenant's rituals and sacrifices.
1. Christ as High Priest
Christ enters a greater, heavenly sanctuary, signifying His superior and eternal priesthood.
2. The Perfect Sacrifice
Unlike animal sacrifices, Christ offers His own blood, securing eternal redemption for believers.
3. Purification of Conscience
Christ's sacrifice purifies our conscience from dead works, enabling true worship and service to God.
4. Mediator of the New Covenant
Christ mediates a new covenant, ensuring believers receive the promised eternal inheritance.
5. Eternal Inheritance
Through His death, Christ redeems sins under the first covenant, granting believers eternal inheritance.
Hebrews 9:11-15 underscores Christ's superior priesthood and sacrifice, offering believers purification, redemption, and eternal inheritance through His new covenant.
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Sequence
Lauda, Sion
The Sequence may be said or sung in full, or using the shorter form indicated by the asterisked verses.
Sing forth, O Zion, sweetly sing
The praises of thy Shepherd-King,
In hymns and canticles divine;
Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song
Worthy his praises to prolong,
So far surpassing powers like thine.
Today no theme of common praise
Forms the sweet burden of thy lays –
The living, life-dispensing food –
That food which at the sacred board
Unto the brethren twelve our Lord
His parting legacy bestowed.
Then be the anthem clear and strong,
Thy fullest note, thy sweetest song,
The very music of the breast:
For now shines forth the day sublime
That brings remembrance of the time
When Jesus first his table blessed.
Within our new King’s banquet-hall
They meet to keep the festival
That closed the ancient paschal rite:
The old is by the new replaced;
The substance hath the shadow chased;
And rising day dispels the night.
Christ willed what he himself had done
Should be renewed while time should run,
In memory of his parting hour:
Thus, tutored in his school divine,
We consecrate the bread and wine;
And lo – a Host of saving power.
This faith to Christian men is given –
Bread is made flesh by words from heaven:
Into his blood the wine is turned:
What though it baffles nature’s powers
Of sense and sight? This faith of ours
Proves more than nature e’er discerned.
Concealed beneath the two-fold sign,
Meet symbols of the gifts divine,
There lie the mysteries adored:
The living body is our food;
Our drink the ever-precious blood;
In each, one undivided Lord.
Not he that eateth it divides
The sacred food, which whole abides
Unbroken still, nor knows decay;
Be one, or be a thousand fed,
They eat alike that living bread
Which, still received, ne’er wastes away.
The good, the guilty share therein,
With sure increase of grace or sin,
The ghostly life, or ghostly death:
Death to the guilty; to the good
Immortal life. See how one food
Man’s joy or woe accomplished.
We break the Sacrament, but bold
And firm thy faith shall keep its hold,
Deem not the whole doth more enfold
Than in the fractured part resides
Deem not that Christ doth broken lie,
’Tis but the sign that meets the eye,
The hidden deep reality
In all its fullness still abides.
– – – – – –
*Behold the bread of angels, sent
For pilgrims in their banishment,
The bread for God’s true children meant,
That may not unto dogs be given:
Oft in the olden types foreshowed;
In Isaac on the altar bowed,
And in the ancient paschal food,
And in the manna sent from heaven.
*Come then, good shepherd, bread divine,
Still show to us thy mercy sign;
Oh, feed us still, still keep us thine;
So may we see thy glories shine
In fields of immortality;
*O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,
Our present food, our future rest,
Come, make us each thy chosen guest,
Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest
With saints whose dwelling is with thee.
Amen. Alleluia.
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Gospel Acclamation
Jn6:51
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven,
says the Lord.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Mark 14:12-16,22-26
This is my body; this is my blood
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples said to Jesus, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and say to the owner of the house which he enters, “The Master says: Where is my dining room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large upper room furnished with couches, all prepared. Make the preparations for us there.’ The disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover.
And as they were eating he took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. ‘Take it,’ he said ‘this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it, and he said to them, ‘This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many. I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.’
After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives.
Commentary
Mark 14:12-16 and 22-26 detail the preparation and institution of the Last Supper, highlighting Jesus' foreknowledge, the disciples' obedience, and the establishment of the Eucharist.
1. Preparation for the Passover
Jesus instructs His disciples to prepare the Passover meal, demonstrating His foreknowledge and control over events.
Jesus instructs His disciples to prepare the Passover meal, demonstrating His foreknowledge and control over events.
2. Disciples' Obedience
The disciples promptly follow Jesus' instructions, showcasing their trust and readiness to obey His commands.
The disciples promptly follow Jesus' instructions, showcasing their trust and readiness to obey His commands.
3. The Bread as Christ's Body
Jesus blesses and breaks bread, declaring it as His body, symbolizing His sacrifice and the new covenant with His followers.
Jesus blesses and breaks bread, declaring it as His body, symbolizing His sacrifice and the new covenant with His followers.
4. The Cup as the New Covenant
Jesus shares a cup of wine, identifying it as His blood of the covenant, signifying His sacrificial death and the establishment of the new covenant.
Jesus shares a cup of wine, identifying it as His blood of the covenant, signifying His sacrificial death and the establishment of the new covenant.
5. The Promise of the Kingdom
Jesus promises not to drink wine again until He drinks it anew in God's kingdom, offering hope for the future fulfillment of God's kingdom.
Jesus promises not to drink wine again until He drinks it anew in God's kingdom, offering hope for the future fulfillment of God's kingdom.
Mark 14:12-16 and 22-26 emphasize the preparation and significance of the Last Supper, establishing the new covenant through Jesus' body and blood and pointing to the future hope of God's kingdom.
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