Why do we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi?

We acquire the Holy Spirit through participation in the Holy Mysteries of our Church and Holy Communion. The Savior Jesus Christ said: He who eats my Body and drinks my Blood remains in me, and I will raise him on the last day (John 6:54-56). In other words, he who partakes of the Sacraments worthily unites himself with the Lord.

The Feast of the Lord’s Body and Blood, also known as Green Thursday, has its roots in the Holy Scripture and the tradition of the Catholic Church. In liturgical year B, we meditate on a text from Mk 14:12-16, 22-26. Which recounts the place and manner in which Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist. As a fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant of Ex 24. And the prophecies of the Suffering Servant in Is 53.

This prepares him to receive Jesus Christ and God the Father. That is, to become the Church and the dwelling place of the true God in the Trinity. On the contrary, he who unworthy, with an impure soul. With a heart full of malice, revenge, and hatred, he receives the Holy Spirit. Not only does he not receive Him, but he also becomes a traitor like Judas. And once again, crucifies Christ.

Read also: Who were the two thieves crucified with Jesus?

Did Jesus and His Disciples eat the sacrificial lamb at the Last Supper?

It is up to the freedom of each one to accept the new covenant of the Holy Eucharist. As we read in Heb 8:6-13: “But now he has received a ministry which is all the more special because the covenant of which he is the mediator is higher because it is based on better promises. So if the first had been without blemish, there would have been no room for the second. Since it says “a new” covenant, the first has become obsolete. And that which is outdated and aged is ready to disappear.

At the Last Supper, Jesus and the disciples did not eat the sacrificial lamb, for it was to be sacrificed when Jesus died on the cross, a symbol of the fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant. In this way, he lays the foundations for celebrating the Eucharist without bloodshed.

Jesus replaces the sacrifice of animals with the gift of himself. His blood fulfills the covenant begun in the Old Testament when Moses sprinkled the people with the blood of the sacrificed animal (Ex 24:8). Jesus’ blood is shed for many (Mk 14:24). Fulfilling the prophecy of the Suffering Servant who took upon himself the sins of many (Is 53:12). Many does not mean all, though no one is excluded. 

Read also: Miriam, sister of Moses. How old was Miriam when Moses was born?

What is the Eucharist?

Union with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist continually fulfills and grows relationships within the Church as the body of Christ. Thus fulfilling the work begun in Baptism and Confirmation. That is why the Holy Eucharist is, by excellence, the Mystery of the unity of the Church, “one bread, one body, we are many, we all partake of one bread” (I Corinthians 10; 17).

According to the Scriptures, the Eucharist is the official communion with the Lord’s body and blood, actually present in the form of bread and wine. 

The New Testament law also fulfills the Old Testament law. Regarding the role of the priest as the minister of the Eucharist. 

Read also: Is The Abrahamic Covenant a Central Theme For The Old Testament? 🤞

Corpus Christi Prayer

“Most Holy Trinity, Master of one being, Giver of all good, what shall we repay Thee? For all that Thou hast given to us sinners and unworthy. Which Thou hast delivered before we were born into the world. And for all that Thou hast given to each one of us all our days. And for all that Thou hast prepared for us all in the coming age?

So it fits for so many benefits and hardenings. Thank You not only with words but especially with deeds, keeping and fulfilling Your commandments. And we with our passions. And bad habits in countless sins and misdeeds we have thrown ourselves.”

Amen.