Vol. 37 No. 35            JUNE  06,  2010        Cycle C THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST All ate and were satisfied   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------     ENTRANCE ANTIPHON The Lord fed his people with the finest wheat and honey; their hunger was satisfied.   PENITENTIAL RITE We are the People of God journeying in faith towards the Promised Land of eternal life. We need food for our journey. In the Eucharist we are fed with food far more precious and wonderful than the manna which sustained the Israelites in the desert. In the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, Christ nourishes us with the Word of God and the Bread of eternal life. How do we receive this great gift? Do we approach the Eucharist with due reverence, deep faith and worthiness? For our failures, let us be sorry and ask the Lord’s mercy and pardon. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the kingdom where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. FIRST READING (An incident in the life of Abraham is given in the passage: Melchizedek—a pagan priest-king of Salem—gives gifts of bread and wine to Abraham and pronounces a blessing over him. In Christian tradition that bread and wine are taken to prefigure the Eucharist.) A reading from the Book of Genesis       (14:18-20) Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM      (109) Response: You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old. The Lord’s revelation to my Master: “Sit on my right: I will put your foes beneath your feet.” R./ The Lord will send from Zion your sceptre of power: rule in the midst of all your foes. R./ A prince from the day of your birth on the holy mountains; from the womb before the daybreak I begot you. R./ The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. “You are a priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.” R./ SECOND READING (St Paul preaches the doctrine of the Blessed Eucharist to his Corinthian converts. The Eucharist is a solemn reminder to Christians of their liberation through the death of Christ.) A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians    (11:23-26) I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “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 Lord’s death until he comes. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION      (Jn 6:51) Alleluia! Alleluia! I am the living bread which came down from heaven, says the Lord; If any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever. Alleluia! GOSPEL (In the Gospel incident Jesus miraculously feeds over five thousand people out of love and compassion, to prevent them feeling any pangs of hunger on their return journey home.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke       (9:11-17) Jesus welcomed the crowds and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to wear away; and, the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish — unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.” And they did so, and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces. This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel:  Dear brothers and sisters, in the Eucharist, the Church continues the mission of Jesus—teaching, healing and nourishing God’s people. With faith in the infinite love of God revealed through the Eucharist, let us now place before Him all our needs: Response: Lord, have mercy and hear our prayer. 1. For the Church: that the Eucharist may form all believers into a community of love. May the Church leaders become models of self-sacrificing love. R./ 2. For the well-off countries: that they may willingly share their riches with the poor countries, so that none of God’s children may go hungry. R./ 3. For the leaders of all nations: that they may use wisely the earth’s resources and take good care of its fragile environment. R./ 4. For all those who suffer because of their belief in Christ: that they may keep their eyes fixed on Christ and follow him with unwavering commitment. R./ 5. For all gathered in this assembly: that our faith in the Eucharistic Lord may give us strength, courage and hope as we journey on through life. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel:  God of mercy and compassion, fill our hearts with your love. Give us the grace to rise above our human weakness and selfishness, and keep us faithful to you and to one another. We ask this through… PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, may the bread and cup we offer bring your Church the unity and peace they signify. We ask this... PREFACE       (47) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the true and eternal priest who established this unending sacrifice. He offered himself as a victim for our deliverance and taught us to make this offering in his memory. As we eat his body which he gave for us, we grow in strength. As we drink his blood which he poured out for us, we are washed clean. Now, with angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven, we sing the unending hymn of your praise: All: Holy, holy, holy…   COMMUNION ANTIPHON Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will live in me and I in him, says the Lord. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord Jesus Christ, you give us your body and blood in the Eucharist as a sign that even now we share your life. May we come to possess it completely in the kingdom where you live for ever and ever.     LITURGY  AND  LIFE     A young boy was attracted to the charismatic prayer meeting and so he made his way to the Church hall where such a meeting was held every Thursday. For the first half an hour he was simply enjoying the catchy tunes and melodious music. But soon he saw someone going up to the altar to read the Bible and he put his fingers into his ears and blocked them as he didn’t want to listen to the Word of God. And see how the Lord works. A fly came and sat on his nose. He was nodding his head, shaking it several times but in vain. Finally, he took out a finger from one of his ears and drove away the fly. In those four seconds something happened. The Bible reader read the last sentence of the reading, “He who has ears let him hear”. These words fell upon this young man’s ears like hot oil. There were two thousand people. But he felt these words were meant for him. He took out the finger from the other ear and heard the teaching on the Word of God. Today this same young man is the in-charge of music ministry in that prayer group leading people towards God. The message is clear: human body is the instrument of salvation. As the Church celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi, we are called to reflect on the role of the body and blood of Jesus in the lives of Christians who are part of the body of Christ called the Church. By his very incarnation Jesus showed that he was to bring about salvation to many through a human body. His mission further confirmed this truth. He touched people and they were healed. His spit could give sight to the blind. He stretched out his hand and the storm was calmed. He used his voice to command the evil spirits and they left the victims. Jesus took children in his arms and blessed them. Jesus crying in front of the tomb of Lazarus is one of the most touching moments in his life as a fully human person. In his passion and death Jesus allowed the very same body to be crushed like a grain of wheat to bring salvation to humankind. The feast of Corpus Christi invites us to realize that this saving mission of Jesus did not end with his earthly life. Jesus still continues this mission through the Eucharist as his body and through the Church as his mystical body. During the Holy Eucharist he is present in the form of the community, the celebrant, the word, and bread and wine. On Calvary Jesus’ body and blood were separated from each other. In the Eucharist the body of Jesus is united with his precious blood thus declaring his resurrection. Even after the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, Jesus continues to remain present in the Blessed Sacrament. ‘Just as the person who sits in the sun receives vitamin D without even realizing, so also the believer who spends time before the Blessed Sacrament receives life-giving vitamin irrespective of his/her knowledge.’ Jesus’ saving mission also continues in the Church. “At the time of Communion not only we receive Jesus but Jesus also receives us as the member of his body”, writes Pope John Paul II in Ecclesia de Eucharistia. We become the living and moving tabernacles. Our body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are invited to use all our gifts for the building up of the body of Christ. On this feast of Corpus Christi we ask three questions to ourselves: Am I convinced that Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament? Am I aware of the fact that I am the member of the body of Christ? How do I use my body as the channel of grace and instrument of salvation? —Fr Robert B. D’Souza   ============================================================= June 2010               READINGS OF THE WEEK                Psalter Week   2 07   Mon (G)    1 Kgs 17:1-6; Ps 120:1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8; Mt 5:1-12 08   Tue (G)      Bl Mariam Thresia  1 Kgs 17:7-16; Ps 4:2-3,4-5,7-8; Mt 5:13-16 09   Wed (G)    St Ephrem   1 Kgs 18:20-39; Ps 15:1-2a,4,5&8,11; Mt 5:17-19 10   Thu (G)      1 Kgs 18:41-46; Ps 64:10abcd,10e-11,12-13; Mt 5:20-26 11   Fri (W)       THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS – Sol                          Ezek 34:11-16; Ps 22:1-3a,3b-4,5,6; Rom 5:5b-11; Lk 15:3-7 12   Sat (W)     The Immaculate Heart of Mary (mem)                         Is 61:9-11; Ps 1 Sam 2:1,4-5,6-7,8abcd; Lk 2:41-51   =============================================================