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Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Year B: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: The Eucharist: our new covenant

Readings: Ex 24:3-8; Heb 9:11-15; Mk 14:12-16,22-26

Dear friends in Christ, today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, popularly known by its Latin name ‘Corpus Christi’. This solemnity invites us to appreciate the love of God made concrete for us humans.

Historically, this Solemnity was introduced in the thirteenth century to promote a special form of adoration to Christ in the Holy Eucharist among the faithful. In 1264, Pope Urban IV extended the Solemnity to the entire Latin Church. Later, in 1312, it was declared an obligatory feast of the universal Church.

The three readings for today's Mass highlight some important aspects of the Holy Eucharist. They are referring to the Eucharist as a sacrifice and a covenant ratified with blood. The first reading described God's covenant with the people of Israel at the foot of the mountain, which was ratified with the blood of an ox sacrificed on the Lord's altar. The blood was sprinkled on the people and the altar. The priests of old repeated this sacrifice on the day of the renewal of the covenant.

Then, the second reading explains that the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross is the new covenant, which has replaced the old covenant we read about in the first reading. It tells us that this new covenant is superior to the old because it was ratified with the blood of the Son of God rather than the blood of an animal. This new covenant is also superior to the old because of its efficacy. While the old covenant provided temporal expiation of the sins of the people, necessitating the continuous offering of animals in subsequent gatherings, the new covenant, ratified with Christ's blood, secured an eternal redemption for humanity, eliminating the need for Christ to climb the Cross of Calvary again; He sacrificed Himself once and for all on the cross. Furthermore, in the Old Testament, the high priest sacrificed animals on an altar, whereas in the New Covenant, Christ, the new high priest, sacrificed Himself and is also the altar of the sacrifice. We are truly blessed to partake in Christ's new and everlasting sacrifice. What shall we do, then, to continue to partake of Christ's eternal sacrifice?

The gospel reading gave us an account of what Christ instructed us to do in memory of his eternal sacrifice for our redemption so that we could partake in it. On that night before he offered himself on the cross, He took bread, gave thanks to God and gave it to his disciples as his body. He also did the same with wine and gave it to his disciples as his blood, the blood of the new covenant. Then, He instructed them to do the same always in memory of Him.

So, the Eucharistic sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus, which we offer in every Mass with the elements of bread and wine, is that sacrifice of Christ which replaced the sacrifice and covenant of the people of old. We are, therefore, invited to honour Christ, who is present in the Eucharist, and to worthily and actively participate in its celebration. As partakers of this new covenant, we are reminded that every covenant has conditions which must be strictly followed. One of the conditions of this new covenant is that we should keep ourselves free from sin any time we want to partake of the meal of this new covenant. The Eucharist is a meal that challenges us to live holy lives every day in order to receive it in the state of grace.

Let us pray in this Mass for the grace to always participate worthily in this Eucharistic covenant and to worthily receive the body and blood of Christ.

Peace be with you

Fr. Isaac Chima