"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 bring 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 the dead, so that what was instituted for the
salvation for 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 he 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."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, priest)
Here is the
question. Do we regard the Mass as a "precious
and wonderful banquet?" Do we see
each part of the Mass as a step preparing us for the Climax, the moment when
bread and wine become the body and blood of our Lord? Do we see the Eucharist as a "spiritual
delight," one from whom our "virtues are increased" and our soul
is "enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift?" As we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi,
let us renew our joy and wonder in this memorial of our salvation! kvs
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