Dear Friends:

Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. We praised God for the wisdom, the power and the love displayed in the creation of the world and still more in His work to save all men. We praise Him in particular for His wonderful ways in saving each one of us.

Among all the works of God to save man, there is one which we could call ‘the show piece’ of his wisdom, power in love: it is the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or the Corpus Christi: Christ willingly shed his blood for us. He thus manifested His love for us. It is the supreme gift of Himself to all of us. This feast of the most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ does not only recall to mind the past event but actually celebrate the present event. For God, past, present and future are the same. The sacrifice of the Calvary is re-enacted in an unbloody manner. But it is the same sacrifice, the Holy Eucharist.

Every time we come to mass, we partake of the self-giving love of Jesus in order to live this self-giving love in our daily life. Holy Eucharist must lead us to love God more and more and our brothers and sisters, If it does not lead us to love all our brothers and sisters, irrespective of race and color, language, nationality etc. then the Holy Eucharist loses all meaning. It becomes for us a mere ritual .

In today’s gospel. We have the miracle of multiplication of five loaves and two fish. St. Luke starts the gospel today thus: “Jesus spoke to the crowd about the kingdom of God and healed who needed to be cured.” (Lk.9.11). St. Luke conveys a very important message: Christ welcomes the Christian community to celebrate the Eucharist, as he welcomed the crowd. For what?

a) To instruct us further about the kingdom of God to which we already belong, what it should mean to us in our life. This he does through the word of God, preached to us.

b) To heal us from our sins, lest the life of the spirit in us dies away.

c) To Feed us with His Body and Blood, a bread that gives life.

Jesus is the bread of life who gives not only Spiritual but eternal life. He once said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats of this bread will live for ever.” (Jn.6.51). Let us therefore appreciate the gift of Jesus by taking part in the Eucharist devotedly.

May God bless you all,

Fr. Chris