If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.
Scripture for
reflection: Luke 22:19-
He broke the
bread, gave it to them, and said, "This
is my body, which is given up for you. "
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us: Since it was the will of God’s
only-begotten Son that men should share in his divinity, he assumed our nature
in order that by becoming man he might make men gods. Moreover, when he took
our flesh he dedicated the whole of its substance to our salvation. He offered
his body to God the Father on the altar of the cross as a sacrifice for our
reconciliation. He shed his blood for our ransom and purification, so that we
might be redeemed from our wretched state of bondage and cleansed from all sin.
But to ensure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us forever,
he left his body as food and his blood as drink for the faithful to consume in
the form of bread and wine. O precious and wonderful banquet, that brings us
salvation and contains all sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value?
Under the old law it was the flesh of calves and goats that was offered, but
here Christ himself, the true God, is set before us as our food. What could be
more wonderful than this? No other sacrament has greater healing power; through
it sins are purged away, virtues are increased, and the soul is enriched with
an abundance of every spiritual gift. It is offered in the Church for the
living and dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all may be for
the benefit of all. Yet, in the end, no one can fully express the sweetness of
this sacrament, in which spiritual delight is tasted at its very source, and in
which we renew the memory of that surpassing love for us which Christ revealed
in his passion. It was to impress the vastness of this love more firmly upon
the hearts of the faithful that our Lord instituted this sacrament at the Last
Supper. As he was on the point of leaving the world to go to the Father, after celebrating
the Passover with his disciples, he left it as a perpetual memorial of his
passion. It was the fulfillment of ancient figures and the greatest of all his
miracles, while for those who were to experience the sorrow of his departure,
it was destined to be a unique and abiding consolation. (Work on the Feast of Corpus Christi, found in Christian Prayer: the Liturgy of the Hours, Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1976)
Prayer: Pange Lingua (English Translation), written by St. Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZtnnHyOqSg&feature=related for the Latin chant)
Of the glorious Body telling,
O my tongue, its mysteries sing,
And the Blood, all price excelling,
Which the world's eternal King,
In a noble womb once dwelling
Shed for the world's ransoming.
Given for us, descending,
Of a Virgin to proceed,
Man with man in converse blending,
Scattered he the Gospel seed,
Till his sojourn drew to ending,
Which he closed in wondrous deed.
At the last great Supper lying
Circled by his brethren's band,
Meekly with the law complying,
First he finished its command
Then, immortal Food supplying,
Gave himself with his own hand.
Word made Flesh, by word he maketh
Very bread his Flesh to be;
Man in wine Christ's Blood partaketh:
And if senses fail to see,
Faith alone the true heart waketh
To behold the mystery.
Therefore we, before him bending,
This great Sacrament revere;
Types and shadows have their ending,
For the newer rite is here;
Faith, our outward sense befriending,
Makes the inward vision clear.
Glory let us give, and blessing
To the Father and the Son;
Honour, might, and praise addressing,
While eternal ages run;
Ever too his love confessing,
Who, from both, with both is one.
My thoughts: St.
Thomas Aquinas so beautifully reminds us of the sweetness of the Eucharist. How
many of us take the time to think of Jesus’ sweet love for us when we receive
Holy Communion? Do we think about the fact that our sins “are purged away, virtues are increased, and the soul
is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift”? The sweetness of the
sacrament is the taste of the love and compassion Christ has for us. He left us
himself, ours for the taking every single day, as a memorial to his passion, a
force against evil, and a strength against our inner sinful inclinations. All
we have to do is believe we are receiving Christ, foretold in the Old Testament
as the one who would justify many by bearing their guilt. As St. Thomas tells us in the beautiful hymn
above, “And if senses fail to see, Faith alone the true heart wakens, to behold the mystery.” Have a little faith,
and the Eucharist becomes the only food really necessary for “life”.
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