CUERPO Y SANGRE DE CRISTO 2025

Hoy celebramos la fiesta del Cuerpo y la Sangre de Cristo, es decir, que hoy nos regocijamos por el regalo que Jesús nos hizo al instituir el sacramento de la Eucaristía en la Última Cena con sus discípulos. Sería bueno que hoy te preguntaras qué significa la eucaristía para ti y si es importante en tu vida.

La fiesta que hoy celebramos es el reconocimiento de que Cristo está realmente presente en el pan y el vino, que se transforman en su Cuerpo y Sangre. Esta fiesta nos recuerda que nuestro verdadero alimento se llama Jesucristo, el Señor, y que este alimento nos nutre para la vida eterna. Por eso, alimentarnos del Cuerpo y la Sangre de Cristo va más allá del simple acto de recibir la comunión. Significa aceptar a Jesús en nuestra vida, hacer comunión con él y permitir que el Padre, el Espíritu y él vengan a nosotros y nos conviertan en su morada. Aceptar a Jesús significa aceptar sus enseñanzas y comprometerse a vivir como él vivió cuando estaba en el mundo. Es abrir espacios para que él llene nuestras vidas.

No se trata, por lo tanto, de un simple acto piadoso de recibir la comunión, sino de rendirse ante Dios y reconocerle como el absoluto en nuestras vidas. Podríamos decir que esta fiesta es la fiesta de la eucaristía, y como bien recuerda el apóstol san Pablo, la eucaristía no es una tradición inventada por los hombres, sino que procede de Jesucristo, quien, en la Última Cena, transformó el pan y el vino en su Cuerpo y su Sangre, e invitó a los discípulos a continuar dicha tradición.

Por lo tanto, cada vez que nos reunimos para celebrar la eucaristía recordamos que es el mismo Cristo quien se hace presente en su comunidad a través del sacerdote para celebrar con nosotros y repartirnos el pan y el vino. La eucaristía es, por tanto, acción de gracias a Dios por su presencia constante, conmemoración del sacrificio salvador de Jesús y alimento que nos sustenta para la vida eterna. Dios se hace comida porque quiere saciar y alimentar la vida de todos los que lo acepten. Dios se hace comida porque quiere que a nadie le falte el pan material ni el pan espiritual. ¿Eres consciente de que, cuando comulgas, te unes a Cristo para que no falte el pan en la mesa de ningún ser humano? ¿Te hace falta comulgar con Cristo o simplemente recibir la hostia?

Finalmente, la Eucaristía es el banquete del Señor, al que todos estamos invitados y en el que todos somos bienvenidos. En este banquete, el mismo Jesús nos alimenta con su Palabra, su Cuerpo y su Sangre. Ojalá nunca cambies por nada esta oportunidad de dejarte amar y alimentar por Jesús en la Eucaristía.

P. Luis Segura

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BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST 2025

Today we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, that is, today we rejoice in the gift Jesus gave us by instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper with his disciples. It would be good for you to ask yourself today what the Eucharist means to you and if it is important in your life.

The feast we celebrate today is the recognition that Christ is truly present in the bread and wine, which are transformed into his Body and Blood. This feast reminds us that our true food is called Jesus Christ, the Lord, and that this food nourishes us for eternal life. Therefore, nourishing ourselves with the Body and Blood of Christ goes beyond the simple act of receiving Communion. It means accepting Jesus into our lives, communing with him, and allowing the Father, the Spirit, and him to come to us and make us his dwelling place. Accepting Jesus means accepting his teachings and committing to live as he lived when he was in the world. It means opening spaces for him to fill our lives.

It is not, therefore, a simple pious act of receiving Communion, but rather a surrender to God and recognizing Him as the absolute in our lives. We could say that this feast is the feast of the Eucharist, and as the Apostle Saint Paul rightly reminds us, the Eucharist is not a tradition invented by men, but rather comes from Jesus Christ, who, at the Last Supper, transformed the bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and invited the disciples to continue this tradition.

Therefore, every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we remember that it is Christ himself who makes himself present in his community through the priest to celebrate with us and share the bread and wine. The Eucharist is, therefore, thanksgiving to God for his constant presence, a commemoration of Jesus' saving sacrifice, and food that sustains us for eternal life. God becomes food because he wants to satisfy and nourish the lives of all who accept him. God becomes food because he wants no one to lack material or spiritual bread. Are you aware that, when you receive Communion, you unite yourself with Christ so that bread may not be lacking on the table of any human being? Do you need to receive Communion with Christ or simply receive the Host?

Finally, the Eucharist is the Lord's banquet, to which we are all invited and in which we are all welcome. At this banquet, Jesus himself nourishes us with his Word, his Body, and his Blood. May you never trade this opportunity to allow yourself to be loved and nourished by Jesus in the Eucharist for anything.

Fr. Luis Segura

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The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus

Today, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is being celebrated. Instituted during the Last Supper, the Eucharist was like the destination of a journey in which Jesus had prefigured it through several signs, above all the multiplication of the loaves narrated in the Gospel of today’s Liturgy (cf. Lk 9:11b-17). Jesus takes care of the huge crowd that had followed him to listen to his word and to be freed from various evils. He blesses five loaves and two fish, breaks them, the disciples distribute them, and “they all ate and were satisfied” (Lk 9:17), the Gospel says. In the Eucharist, everyone can experience this loving and concrete attention of the Lord. Those who receive the Body and Blood of Christ with faith not only eat, but are satisfied. To eat and to be satisfied: these are two basic necessities that are fulfilled in the Eucharist.

To eat. “They all ate”, writes Saint Luke. As evening falls, the disciples counsel Jesus to dismiss the crowd so they can go in search of food. But the Teacher wants to provide for that too — he also wants to feed those who had listened to him. The miracle of the loaves and fish does not happen in a spectacular way, but almost discreetly, like the wedding at Cana — the bread increases as it passes from hand to hand. And as the crowd eats, they realize that Jesus is taking care of everything. This is the Lord present in the Eucharist. He calls us to be citizens of Heaven, but at the same time, he takes into account the journey we have to face here on earth. If I have hardly any bread in my sack, he knows and takes care of it himself.

Sometimes, there is the risk of confining the Eucharist to a vague, distant dimension, perhaps bright and perfumed with incense, but distant from the straits of everyday life. In reality, the Lord takes all our needs to heart, beginning with the most basic. And he wants to set the example for his disciples, by saying, “You give them something to eat” (v. 13), to those people who had listened to him during the day. Our Eucharistic adoration comes alive when we take care of our neighbor like Jesus does. There is hunger for food around us, but also for companionship; there is hunger for consolation, friendship, good humor; there is hunger for attention, there is hunger to be evangelized. We find this in the Eucharistic Bread — Christ’s attention to our needs and the invitation to do the same toward those who are beside us. We need to eat and feed others.

In addition to eating, however, we cannot forget being satisfied. The crowd is satisfied because of the abundance of food and also because of the joy and amazement of having received it from Jesus! We certainly need to nourish ourselves, but we also need to be satisfied, to know that the nourishment is given to us out of love. In the Body and Blood of Christ, we find his presence, his life given for each of us. He not only gives us help to go forward, but he gives us himself — he makes himself our travelling companion, he enters into our affairs, he visits us when we are lonely, giving us back a sense of enthusiasm. This satisfies us, when the Lord gives meaning to our life, to our darkness, our doubts. But he sees the meaning, and this meaning that the Lord gives satisfies us. This gives us that “more” that we all seek — namely, the presence of the Lord! For in the warmth of his presence, our lives change. Without him, everything would truly be grey. Adoring the Body and Blood of Christ, let us ask him with our heart: “Lord, give me the daily bread to go forward, Lord, satisfy me with your presence!”.

May the Virgin Mary teach us how to adore Jesus, alive in the Eucharist, and to share him with our brothers and sisters. [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus, 19 VI 22]

Rev. Rajesh Peter M.S.C

Corpus Christi 2025

My friends, the story of the Multiplication of the Fishes and Loaves is the only miracle that appears in all four gospels.  It is that significant and the understandable choice for today’s gospel, the Feast of Corpus Christi or as it is now called:  The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

The Feast of Corpus Christi began in Belgium in the year 1247.  A few years later, in 1264, Pope Urban IV extended the Feast to the entire Church.  The focus was and is to recognize and give thanks for the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist…

So, today we celebrate the presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic bread and wine.  The Eucharist is foretold in today's gospel with the feeding of the multitude.  “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.”

It’s important to note that two verses prior to today’s gospel, Luke tells us that Jesus took the Apostles off by themselves for some much-needed quiet time and conversation.  Then the crowds came.  That's where today’s gospel begins with the crowds gathering.

So much for Jesus' quiet time….  Many would have been upset with the interruption of a well-deserved rest but not Jesus.  Jesus was always, always available to anyone and everyone.  What a wonderful example for us – to put the other person first.

My friends, when we put our private time on hold to be available to others to help them, listen to them and sometimes just be there, we are following the example of Jesus in today's gospel.  It’s difficult to do at times but we know it’s a good thing because our heart tells us so.

I know a priest who – many times was called and went to the hospital 3 or 4 times in one night.  I don’t know the details of his hospital visits but he would be exhausted in the morning.  When it comes to priests visiting those who are unable to attend Mass on Sunday, it is almost impossible because of their demanding Sunday Mass obligations.

Thankfully, our local parishes have approximately 15 Eucharistic Ministers who assist our priests by bringing the Body and Blood of Christ to the Catholic people who are unable to attend Sunday Mass because they are elderly, sick or disabled.  We are blessed to have these Eucharistic Ministers but the need is much greater than the number of Eucharistic Ministers the Church has to send.

In our gospel, Jesus teaches us that his ministry of service is the responsibility of everyone.  We just can't say,  “You’re in my thoughts and prayers.”  Or   "I’ll pray that Jesus will take care of it."  As we read today, the Apostles wanted Jesus to take care of the crowd:  "Dismiss the crowd so that they can find lodging and provisions.”

Jesus said, "Give them some food yourselves…" As Pope Francis beautifully said:

“You pray for the hungry.  Then you feed them.  This is how prayer works.”

Two weeks ago we celebrated Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, who enables us to continue the mission of the Apostles – caring for the people of God by bringing them Holy Communion – the presence of Jesus, our brother and our God. 

My friends, recognizing the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist takes faith and is a challenge sometimes.  St. Augustine wrote about this and gave this suggestion to help us.  He said:  “It will be easier to recognize Jesus in the Eucharist when we recognize Jesus in humanity.”