The Body and Blood of the Lord (June 10^th 2012)       

Gospel: Mark 14:12-16; 22-26

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

On this feast of Corpus Christi, Don Fabio tells us that our preparation for the Eucharist should mirror the disciples' preparation for the Passover as described in the Gospel of Mark. The Sabbath should not simply be a day when activity ceases: it is a day of blessing that should be prepared for all week long. Don Fabio asks three principal questions of us: When do we encounter the body and blood of the Lord? In what state should we be before embarking on that encounter? In what kind of place does this encounter occur?

The Sabbath is not just a day of inactivity. It must become the fulcrum of the week.

This Sunday we hear the account of the institution of the Eucharist as it is presented by St Mark in the oldest of the Gospels. First of all we have a description of the preparations that preceded the celebration. In the Old Testament Law, the Jews were asked to "remember" the Sabbath day. This "remembering" involved not just the observance of the Sabbath, but required preparation for it all the week long. After all, if one is to rest completely on the Sabbath, then one needs to get the food and other supplies necessary for that day ready in advance. The Sabbath, then, is not just a day where activity ceases. The Sabbath is a day of blessing, and the activities of the rest of the week should revolve around it. In the same way, the Passover that Jesus celebrated was something that was prepared for in advance. In fact, the text from the Gospel of Mark can be used as a model upon which to base our preparations for the Eucharist.

When do we encounter the body and blood of Jesus? At our weekly parish Eucharist

At the beginning of the passage, the disciples ask Jesus where he would like to eat the Passover. This is an important question. When? Can the Lord's body be encountered in this special way anytime and anywhere? No. Jesus gives us precise instructions on when to meet him. Our parish celebration of the Eucharist is the principal occasion when the Lord wishes to meet us. Recall the story of Thomas. He was not present the first time that Jesus appeared to the other apostles. Exactly one week later, he made sure he was present at the gathering when Jesus appeared again. In other words, we all have a weekly appointment where we can meet the Lord. It is important that, like Thomas, we make ourselves present at that gathering.

In what state should we be in order to encounter the body and blood of Jesus? In the state of actively following our baptismal commitment.

So Jesus gives us an appointment when we can meet him. The text from this week's Gospel gives us other indications too. In order to encounter the body and blood of Jesus we must follow him in obedience, laying to one side our own projects and interests, and seeking instead to do what the Lord wants. The text says, "You will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him". Who is this enigmatic figure? The Fathers of the Church have a common-sense interpretation of this text. We must pass through water before entering into the Eucharist. We must pass through baptism before entering into full communion with the Lord. In following John the Baptist we are led to water and to redemption. It is interesting to note that the penitential rite at the beginning of Mass can be replaced with the ritual of sprinkling holy water from the baptismal font on the congregation. This all makes perfect sense. In the first place, as a result of baptism, we are children of God, and we need regular nutrition in order to remain so. To follow the man carrying water signifies living a life in accordance with our baptismal promises before celebrating the Eucharist.

Where do we encounter the body and blood of the Lord? In shrines and holy places?

So we have an appointment with Jesus, and we must live our baptismal commitment before encountering him. But in what kind of place will we meet him? In the text, Jesus instructs the disciples to seek out the "room" where the Master can eat the Passover with them. In the Old Testament, the Temple is described as a place that had a secret room, the Holy of Holies in which God was present. During the crucifixion of Jesus, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, and that room was no longer a secret place. Jesus had already told the Samaritan woman that people would no longer seek to worship the Lord in Jerusalem or in any other place, but instead would worship him in spirit and in truth. The room in which we meet the Lord thus ceases to be a particular historical place. Jesus, in reality, wishes to enter into our spaces, our Eucharistic assemblies, and make them his room, the place where we encounter him.

           

How should we view the adornment of the places where we celebrate the Eucharist?

The room, we are told in the Gospel, is an upper room. This signifies the house of a wealthy family, since only the well-off had a two-storey house in those days. The upper room would be large, well-furnished, with everything ready for the celebration. This mirrors our experience on Sundays when we go to beautiful churches and find everything ready for the celebration. When we enter a church, we should not consider the human effort that has gone into the church or the preparations. We should instead consider the work that the Lord has inspired people to do in these places. Why are our churches beautiful? Why do we surround the celebration of the Eucharist with great beauty? Saint Francis had a vocation to live a life of poverty, but wished that the sacred vessels be of gold. In the Catholic tradition, we have a lot of art that is associated with the Eucharistic celebration. Why so? Because we are aware that no matter how much we adorn the celebration, it is only a shadow of the true beauty of the Eucharist. The beauty of the Eucharist derives from the love of the one who loved us so much that he gave us his body and shed his blood for us. Our images and music will always be a shadow of the beauty contained in the reality of the Eucharist itself.

On this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, we ponder on our need to prepare ourselves for the Eucharist, on our need to follow our baptismal calling in order to be ready for this encounter. We must also be obedient to the instructions and liturgical norms that the church, in her wisdom, has given us for the celebration of the Eucharist. All of these preparations and instructions have the function of making concrete the central treasure of the faith of the church: the weekly encounter with the true body and blood of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.