CORPUS CHRISTI (C)

Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

Lk 9:11b-17

LITURGY

Today’s feast is called “Corpus Christi” in Latin. In English it is “The Body of Christ.” However, the complete name of the feast is the Body and Blood of Christ. In other words, it is the feast of the Eucharist.

Yet we have already celebrated this feast on Maundy Thursday. At the Last Supper, Christ gave the gift of his Body and Blood to his Church. That he did this before he died means that the gift of the Eucharist is an important gift. And if we remember that words of Jesus “Do this in memory of me”, we will understand why the Eucharist is an important gift of Jesus to his Church.

Traditionally a procession of the Sacred Host on a monstrance is held on this feast. It is intended to be a public declaration of our faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus is really present in the Eucharist.

GOSPEL EXPLANATION

1. The feeding of the 5 thousand is the only miracle reported by all the four gospels. Therefore, it must be important. Why is it important?

2. There is a connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is like a symbol. The New Testament is the fulfillment of the symbol. We see this kind of connection in this miracle.

• The feeding of the 5 thousand in a deserted place recalls the feeding of the people of Israel with manna in the desert.
• Moses provided manna for the Israelites. Jesus provided food for the 5 thousand. For this reason, Jesus is called the new Moses.
• Both the manna in the desert and the bread Jesus provided for the 5 thousand both symbolize the Eucharist. This is why the miracle is important.
How do we know that the miracle symbolizes the Eucharist?
• The words used in the miracle are similar to the words used for the Eucharist. Take the five loaves and two fish, look up to heaven, said the blessing, broke them and gave them.

3. Fragments. This word was used in the early Church for the broken pieces of Eucharistic bread.

PARTICIPATION IN THE EUCHARIST

Vatican II laid this guideline for the celebration of the Liturgy: There must be an active and intelligent participation by the whole community. The Liturgy includes the Mass.


Today there is a trend among some Catholics for the celebration of the Tridentine Mass.The language used is Latin. The priest has his back to the people. The ceremonies are different. The people usually prayed the Rosary while mass was going on. This was because people didn’t understand the language and they didn’t see what the priest was doing. It is as if the Mass was the business of the priest and the people were the audience watching the priest as he did his thing.

Although the Pope has allowed the celebration of the Tridentine Mass, it is clear that in this Mass there can be no active or intelligent participation by the whole community.

Today the Liturgy is celebrated in the language the people can understand. The priest faces the people. For this reason it is easier to foster an active and intelligent participation by the whole community. There are areas that we can pay attention to in order to promote an active and intelligent participation.

1. The Liturgy of the Word. Unless the community hear and understand what is being proclaimed, how can they intelligently participate? Hence, the sound system must be good. The readers must practice reading from the microphone.

2. The singing. The choir must teach the community to sing. It is not the job of the choir to sing and the community to listen. The Mass is not a concert of the choir. The community is not active if all they do is to listen.

3. Responses. The community must respond to the priest. If the priest says, “The Lord be with you” and the community keeps its mouth shut, there is no active participation. If the priest says, “The Body of Christ” and the communicant does not respond with “Amen”, then there is no active participation.

4. When people come late for the Mass and leave early, there is poor participation. The ideal is for the people to come before the Mass begins and leave after the singing is over.

The Mass is not a show where the community simply watches what is going on in the sanctuary. It is a celebration where the community actively and intelligently participates.