By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted June 20, 2025

(See the readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ)

The feast of Corpus Christi (the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ) has its origins in the Middle Ages. The devotion of Juliana of Liege (in present day Belgium) to the Blessed Sacrament moved her to seek a feast day dedicated to the Eucharist. She had had a vision of a full moon with a black line crossing it. She interpreted the image of the moon as that of the Church, the line representing a vacancy, something missing.

That missing piece was a feast day to celebrate Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist. Through her work and that of her friend Eve, a hermit, and Father John Lausanne, the local bishop inaugurated the feast in his diocese in 1146. By 1164, Pope Urban IV added it to the universal calendar. Thomas Aquinas wrote hymns for the feast day, several of which are still in use today: Pange Lingua, Tantum Egro, and O Salutaris Hostia.

The devotion flows in part from an emphasis of the Church at that particular time on the humanity of Christ. Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, took on flesh and became man. His embrace of humanity was complete. In offering his body and blood, he redeemed mankind giving us a share in divine life. This Sunday we celebrate the feast that marks his real presence in the Eucharist.

The Gospel for this liturgy recalls the multiplication of the loaves and fishes from the Gospel of Luke. Each of the four Gospels recalls this event. Although some of the particular details may differ the basic recollection is the same.

Jesus was preaching to a crowd who followed him and wanted to be with him. They had little food and there was nowhere to get food for so great a crowd. So Jesus provided the food himself. He took what little they had, blessed the bread, gave thanks, broke it and distributed it; likewise the fish. Everyone in the crowd ate until they were satisfied. And there was plenty left over.

Jesus was moved with compassion for the crowd and he provided for their needs. He continues to do this for us. His presence in the Eucharist provides us with his nourishing grace. As we consume the consecrated host we become one with Christ. He enters into us in a very real yet mysterious manner. He fills us with grace to continue on our journey of life, a pilgrimage of faith.

Although the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is not a eucharistic account per se, it symbolizes the abundant grace available to us through the Eucharist. In the Lukan account, 12 wicker baskets full of fragments were left over. “Twelve” is a symbolic number. We’ve encountered it before in the twelve tribes of Israel and now in the twelve apostles. As a group the twelve represent the Church.

The fragments may serve as a symbol that the work of Jesus in providing for those in need of his word and the food he provides is the work of the Church. In other words, he leaves his work in the hands of the Church. The Church then takes what has been given her by the Lord and she proclaims him and his word and she nourishes and cares for the faithful. This work goes on until the end when all is fulfilled.

The first reading recalls the blessing of Melchizedek in Genesis. He is a mysterious figure. This is the only passage in which he appears in the Scriptures (although he is referred to in Psalm 110, the responsorial psalm today, and in St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews). He is a king and a priest. He blesses Abram with the offering of bread and wine and the invocation of God Most High.

The incident is related to Corpus Christi as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ offering of bread and wine at the Last Supper, as well as foreshadowing Jesus’ kingship and priesthood. Jesus is the priest who offers the sacrifice as well as being the sacrifice itself as his body and blood are offered on the cross. It is into this offering that we are mysteriously united every time we celebrate the Eucharist.

The second reading recalls the institution narrative. The account comes from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, which most likely pre-dates the written Gospels, making this account probably the oldest written record of Jesus establishing the eucharistic celebration.

Notice how precise and clear Jesus is when he makes the offering: “This is my body that is for you.” “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” Jesus’ offering is himself, his body and his blood. He offers himself for us. As we celebrate the Eucharist we proclaim his life-saving death and are nourished by his body and blood.

The celebration of Corpus Christi focuses our attention on Jesus who is truly present in the consecrated bread and wine. He nourishes us and fills us with grace as we become one with him in this sacrament. His presence is real and it abides in the consecrated species after the conclusion of Mass. Every tabernacle in our churches contains the consecrated hosts, so that when we enter the Church Christ is present. The hosts are reserved for the sick and dying. They are also there so that when we enter the church we can pray with him who is uniquely present in these sacred spaces.

The same Christ Jesus who offered himself in love on the cross is present in the Eucharist. As we participate in this celebration, and every time kneel, sit or stand before the Blessed Sacrament, we are strengthened by his love and his presence.

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.