THE LORD'S BODY AND BLOOD

Liturgy Alive

The liturgical calendar of the year

Description

Sunday, June 2, 2024

THE LORD'S BODY AND BLOOD

One Bread, One Body

This Is I For You

Greeting (see the gospel)

Jesus tells us here:
“I am the living bread from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”
May the Lord Jesus give us this bread always
and always stay with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction

1. One Bread, One Body

Where in our Christian living, besides in prayer, do we encounter the Lord Jesus more often and on the deepest level? Is it not in the Sunday Eucharist, where he makes himself our food and drink? Is this not the center of our whole Christian life? Our faith tells us: here is the Lord; here he gives himself to us. Here he teaches us to give ourselves to one another. Let us thank Jesus who is always with us here.

2. This Is I For You

When a person is about to die and gives a farewell message to one’s relatives and friends, we know these words come from the heart and we will never forget them. On the eve of his death, at the Last Supper, Jesus said: “This is my body for you; this is my blood shed for you. Do this in memory of me.” There, as on the cross, he gave his whole self, that we might live, and he asked us to do the same, that others might live. Let us celebrate this in the Eucharist now.

Penitential Act

In the Eucharist Jesus makes us share in his life,
but our sins make us less like Jesus.
We now ask the Lord to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you multiplied bread
to give the hungry crowd to eat:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you gave yourself totally
at the Last Supper and on the cross:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you were thirsty
and asked the woman by the well for a drink
yet you give yourself as our drink of life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord,
give us the bread of your forgiveness
and the drink of joy of your merciful kindness.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to the Lord Jesus
to be our food of life always
(pause)
Lord Jesus Christ,
you ask of us to be your body
for the life of the world.
Nourish us here with your word of life,
give us your body to eat
and your wine of joy to drink,
that we may become more like you
and learn from you to live
no longer for ourselves only
but for God and for the people around us.
Make us of one mind and heart,
that the world may recognize
that you are alive in us.
Be our Lord, now and for ever. R/ Amen.

First Reading: Exodus 24:3-8

When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
"We will do everything that the LORD has told us."
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites
to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do."
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
"This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his."

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18

R. (13) I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Second Reading: Hebrews 9:11-15

Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came as high priest
of the good things that have come to be,
passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle
not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,
he entered once for all into the sanctuary,
not with the blood of goats and calves
but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls
and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes
can sanctify those who are defiled
so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from dead works
to worship the living God.

For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place for deliverance
from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

Sequence

Lauda Sion

Laud, O Zion, your salvation,
Laud with hymns of exultation,
Christ, your king and shepherd true:

Bring him all the praise you know,
He is more than you bestow.
Never can you reach his due.

Special theme for glad thanksgiving
Is the quick’ning and the living
Bread today before you set:

From his hands of old partaken,
As we know, by faith unshaken,
Where the Twelve at supper met.

Full and clear ring out your chanting,
Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting,
From your heart let praises burst:

For today the feast is holden,
When the institution olden
Of that supper was rehearsed.

Here the new law’s new oblation,
By the new king’s revelation,
Ends the form of ancient rite:

Now the new the old effaces,
Truth away the shadow chases,
Light dispels the gloom of night.

What he did at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
His memorial ne’er to cease:

And his rule for guidance taking,
Bread and wine we hallow, making
Thus our sacrifice of peace.

This the truth each Christian learns,
Bread into his flesh he turns,
To his precious blood the wine:

Sight has fail’d, nor thought conceives,
But a dauntless faith believes,
Resting on a pow’r divine.

Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things are all we see:

Blood is poured and flesh is broken,
Yet in either wondrous token
Christ entire we know to be.

Whoso of this food partakes,
Does not rend the Lord nor breaks;
Christ is whole to all that taste:

Thousands are, as one, receivers,
One, as thousands of believers,
Eats of him who cannot waste.

Bad and good the feast are sharing,
Of what divers dooms preparing,
Endless death, or endless life.

Life to these, to those damnation,
See how like participation
Is with unlike issues rife.

When the sacrament is broken,
Doubt not, but believe ‘tis spoken,
That each sever’d outward token
doth the very whole contain.

Nought the precious gift divides,
Breaking but the sign betides
Jesus still the same abides,
still unbroken does remain.

The shorter form of the sequence begins here.

Lo! the angel’s food is given
To the pilgrim who has striven;
see the children’s bread from heaven,
which on dogs may not be spent.

Truth the ancient types fulfilling,
Isaac bound, a victim willing,
Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling,
manna to the fathers sent.

Very bread, good shepherd, tend us,
Jesu, of your love befriend us,
You refresh us, you defend us,
Your eternal goodness send us
In the land of life to see.

You who all things can and know,
Who on earth such food bestow,
Grant us with your saints, though lowest,
Where the heav’nly feast you show,
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

Alleluia

Jn 6:51

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven,
says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
Jesus’ disciples said to him,
"Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
"Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there."
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.

While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,
"Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
"This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Intercessions

Let us pray that the Lord Jesus may sustain all who hunger for him on the road of life. Let us say: R/ Stay with us, Lord.

– That all over the world our Lord may be the strength of those who receive his body and blood and be their companion in life, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.

– That Jesus our Lord may be the strength of those who share their bread with their brothers and sisters, and that they may inspire those who do not yet know how to share, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.

– That Jesus our Lord may be the strength of those who earn their bread with difficulty and of those who have lost their jobs, let us pray: R/Stay with us, Lord.

– That Jesus our Lord may be the strength of the sick who receive him and of those who can’t, that somehow he may also be close to those who cannot go to communion, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.

– That our Lord Jesus may be the strength of us gathered here for the Eucharist; that he may be our joy and the source of our unity and our commitment to one another, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.

Stay with us, Lord, be our life and happiness, now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord Jesus Christ,
as a meal brings a family together
and expresses the unity of its members,
we are gathered here around your table.
Bind us together
as the people of your covenant,
in unity, peace and friendship,
in a common love and concern for each other.
Let your self-giving become flesh and blood in us,
that you may be our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

With all our hearts we give thanks and praise to the Father for letting Jesus stay with us in the Eucharist as the bread that nourishes us on the way to God and one another.

Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer

God is our Father
who gives food to his people.
Let us ask him in the words of Jesus
for the true bread
that gives life to the world. R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us Lord, from every evil
and grant peace and unity to your Church.
Keep us free from sin
through the food of the Eucharist
and let it be our strength
to overcome our anxieties and fears.
Let it prepare us for the final coming
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

At the Breaking of Bread

On the cross Jesus was broken and crushed because of our sins. In the night of the Last Supper Jesus broke the bread of himself to give it to his disciples. He breaks the bread of himself for us here, that we too may learn to share ourselves with one another.

Invitation to Communion

This is Jesus our Lord,
the bread from heaven
that makes us live for ever.
Happy are we to be invited
to eat this bread
and to live in union with the Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Note: This “Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ” is a most fitting day for giving communion under both kinds, on condition it is pastorally feasible.

Prayer after Communion

Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank you for having given us
your body and blood, your whole self,
and for unifying us as your community.
Stay with us, we pray you,
to strengthen us to do your work
of love, integrity and peace
and to set the table of ourselves for others.
And may the holy meal
which we celebrate in your memory
be to us the sign and foretaste
of the everlasting feast-meal
which we hope to enjoy with you
for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

Blessing

In this Eucharistic celebration
Jesus Christ has given us himself
to unite us with himself and with each other.
He has shared himself with us,
people on the way,
as our bread of strength and life.
May his attitude become ours
and may we too be the strength
of those around us,
especially to those who need us most.
And may almighty God bless you for this task:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Let us go and take our Lord
to the people around us. R/ Thanks be to God.

Reflection:

2 June 2024 Corpus Christi

Mark 14:12-16,22-26

O Sacrament we thee adore…

The Church celebrates the Solemnity of Corpus Domini, the Mystery that constitutes the heart of the Church, a renewal of the event of the Holy Thursday. The Church does it in obedience to Jesus' invitation to proclaim from “the housetops” what he told us in secret (cf. Matthew 10:27). The solemnity is rooted in the Last Supper.

The words of Jesus - “This is my body” and “This is my blood” symbolise the unity and love that the Eucharist fosters among believers. Today, the concept of the Body of Christ is understood as both the Eucharist and the fellowship of believers - the Church itself.

As a community of believers, the Church is the mystical body of Christ. By partaking in the chalice of his blood, the Church forms a new family of Christ, where every member is related to each other through the Blood of Christ. This new family of Christ is bound by a single law, which is to love God and serve one another, fostering a sense of belonging and community.

The tradition of observing the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ dates back to the 13th century, when a Belgian nun, St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon, received a divine vision advocating for a feast dedicated to the Holy Eucharist. The purpose of the feast was to help the faithful increase in faith, advance in the practice of virtues, and make reparation for offences against the Most Holy Sacrament.

The Bishop of Liège accepted the proposal of Juliana and her companions and introduced the Solemnity of Corpus Christi in his diocese. Sister Juliana passed away in 1258. Six years later, Pope Urban IV established the Solemnity of Corpus Christi as a feast for the universal Church on the Thursday after Pentecost in 1264.

St. John Paul II, in his Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, tells us that adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is an inexhaustible source of holiness. The faithful's devout participation in the Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is a grace from the Lord that brings joy to those who take part in it every year.

As we adore the Eucharistic Lord, let us desire to grow in deeper love of Him: “Sweet Sacrament, we thee adore; Oh, make us love thee more and more.”

O Sacrament we thee adore… - Youtube

Back to calendar