Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, more commonly known as Corpus Christi Sunday. The Eucharist is the greatest mystery and the source and summit of our Christian faith. While the Eucharist has been with the Christian faithful since the Last Supper, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ was not established until the 13th century.

To combat an increasing lack of faith in and piety toward the Blessed Sacrament, Pope Urban IV following the suggestion from St. Thomas Aquinas, officially established the feast of Corpus Christ in 1264. The Solemnity finds its origin from a miracle occurring in 1263. Fr. Peter of Prague was a German priest who was personally doubting the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. There was great theological debate in the 13th century regarding the Eucharist, and this affected Fr. Peter’s belief. As has been seen throughout Church history and Holy Scripture, the Lord does not abandon His children in times of doubt or distress. Fr. Peter experienced this. While celebrating Holy Mass, Fr. Peter witnessed blood flow from the Sacred Host at the fraction of the Bread, and it is recorded that the blood which flowed from the Host covered the altar cloth, the corporal, and the floor around the altar. Following this miracle and great prayer, Pope Urban IV exhorted the Christian faithful in the document “Transiturus de hoc mundo”, translated roughly as “about to pass away from this world”, to bask in the love of Christ through the Holy Eucharist. To help foster greater Eucharistic belief and piety amongst the faithful, the yearly feast of Corpus Christi was established.

The first reading and Gospel for today reminds the reader of the Lord’s work of providing for those who trust in Him. In the first reading from Genesis, we hear of the mysterious figure Melchizedek. The author of Genesis tells us that Melchizedek was both a priest of God and the king of Salem. Throughout Jewish history the high priest and king of Israel were always separate. Therefore, the fact that Melchizedek was both priest and king adds to his mystery. Melchizedek is only mentioned once more in the Old Testament, and that is in Psalm 110 where the psalmist speaks of a priesthood in the order of Melchizedek. What the figure of Melchizedek shows us is that since the beginning of history, God has ordained representatives to stand before Him and to care for His flock. The attuned Christian ear will recognize the significance of the species Melchizedek uses to bless Abram. Without the hermeneutical key of Christ and the Eucharist, the blessing of Abram with bread and wine could appear as strange. Melchizedek is what is called a “type of Christ.” The theory of typology is a tool used in exegetical work that connects Old Testament figures, events, or themes which find their fulfillment in the revelation of Christ. Understanding Melchizedek
as a “type of Christ” helps in interpreting the blessing of Abram with bread and wine, but there is also a historical interpretation as well. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible accounts that bread and wine were “the elements of a celebratory meal. These may have been communion portions of a thanksgiving sacrifice offered to God after a successful campaign.” Long before the Passover miracle and time of Christ there was an ancient tradition of bread and wine being associated with offertory meals. As Christ offered himself as an expiation for sin on the altar of the Cross, we too bring our petitions and self-offerings to God at the altar of the Eucharist where bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of the Lord. The outpouring of love seen on the Cross is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. One of the mysteries of the Eucharist is that it is a selfless gift from God that is truly unmerited on our part. In this gift, Christ offers the Bread from Heaven so that we may rely fully on this Daily Bread.

The Gospel today helps us to remember the danger of our personal thoughts and motivations becoming too self-motivated and reliant, rather than being oriented toward God and others. The miracle of the five loaves and two fish is a miracle intended to feed the fire of faith within the apostles and in us. Christ’s offering of the gifts of bread and fish to the Father at the feeding of the five thousand is a lesson in ordering all that we do to God. This is also a part of the mystery of the Eucharist. Are our lives truly nourished by the Eucharist? Do we actively participate with the grace we receive from the altar of the Lord, orienting ourselves totally toward the same sacrificial altar? This is incredibly hard! I know that I certainly struggle with reminding myself to be fully oriented toward the altar. If we struggle with always keeping our eyes oriented toward the Lord, know that this is on par with our fallen human nature! Understanding this, the Father continues to offer us grace and great gifts so that we may never be separated from Him. The Eucharist is THE gift.