ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

The Lord fed his people with the finest wheat and honey; their hunger was satisfied.

PENITENTIAL RITE

The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is the commemoration of the self-giving of Jesus to his people in order to remain with them till the end of the times. He is really and truly present in the most Blessed Sacrament and shares himself with us in the Holy Communion. Let us ask the Lord for pardon and mercy for our sinfulness so that we may worthily receive him.

I confess...

Glory to God...

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray. 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

(Moses seals the covenant with the blood of the animal. This is the sign and anticipation of the new covenant which Jesus would seal with his own blood.)

A reading from the Book of Exodus (24:3-8)

Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

                                                                                  This is the Word of the Lord

PSALM (115)

Response: The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

How can I repay the Lord for his good-ness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name. R./

O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds. R./

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make: I will call on the Lord’s name. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people. R./

SECOND READING

(Unlike the priests of the old covenant, Jesus enters the sanctuary with his own blood for our eternal redemption. He, thus, is the mediator of a new covenant.)

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (9:11-15)

When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.

                                                                                      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

(Mark presents the institution narrative of the Eucharist in the context of the Feast of the Passover, thus implying that Jesus is the Lamb of God, slaughtered for our salvation.)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (14:12-16, 22-26)

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, the disciples said to Jesus, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?” And he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the householder, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I am to eat the passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.”
And the disciples set out and went to the city, and found it as he had told them; and they prepared the passover.

And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

                                                                                  This is the Gospel of the Lord

I believe in God...

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Cel: On this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ let us ask the Father to bless us and the whole world with a firm faith and enduring hope in the Eucharistic presence of Jesus His Son.

Response: Lord, hear us we pray; Lord, grant us your love.

1. That the Church may become a sign of God’s loving and abiding presence for the oppressed, marginalized and persecuted people of this world, we pray to the Lord. R./

2. That many young men may heed the call to priesthood after the example of Jesus the High Priest, so that the Eucharistic Lord may become ever more accessible to the faithful everywhere, we pray to the Lord. R./

3. That those consecrated to the service of God in religious life may find in the Eucharist the source and summit of their lives, and be transformed into truly Eucharistic persons, we pray to the Lord. R./

4. That the sick, the homebound, the aged and the prisoners everywhere may be given the opportunity to share in and adore the Eucharistic Lord, and be strengthened by him, we pray to the Lord. R./

5. That those ministering to the Body and Blood of Christ as priests, deacons, Eucharistic ministers and chaplains may be blessed abundantly and that they may realize the greatness of their ministry of bringing the Eucharistic Lord to the faithful, we pray to the Lord. R./

                              (pray for local and personal needs)

Cel: Father, we thank you for the true and real presence of your Son in the Holy Eucharist. Grant us the grace to give ourselves as living sacrifice like Jesus. We make this prayer ...

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 (P 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.

The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ gives us an opportunity to be thankful – thankful to God for the most precious gift of the Eucharist, the abiding and real presence of His Son Jesus in our midst. This Feast also calls us to a better understanding of this great Sacrament. Apart from what the catechism and the Church fathers teach us about the Eucharist, what does it mean in our personal lives? How can I make the Eucharist meaningful in my life situations? If Eucharist is sharing in the very life of Christ in his totality, then why do I not change and become better, if not like Christ? Participation in the Eucharist, thus, challenges us to be Eucharistic people.

To be Eucharistic means to be self-giving. The Sacrament of the Eucharist shows how Jesus gives himself, in total love, to be eaten by us. “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day” (John 6:53-54). Today’s gospel shows how he concretely gave himself as our food and drink: “While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it and 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’.”(Mk 14:22-24). His self-giving was perfected and completed on the cross the following day when he died, shedding the last drop of his blood for our salvation. Jesus, thus, gives himself totally for us. He gives until nothing is left to give. He loves his own as much as to sacrifice everything for his loved ones. Our participation in the Eucharist should make us less selfish and more self-giving, loving, caring, forgiving and compassionate.
To be Eucharistic means to be life-giving. Jesus’ self-giving was life-giving. Eucharist is true food and drink which nourishes us and helps us share in the life of Jesus. “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you” (Jn 6:53). He communicates his life to his dear ones by sharing his own flesh and blood with them. He becomes one with us so that we may be transformed into his body. St Augustine heard the words of the Lord in his prayer thus: “You will not change me into yourself as you would food of your flesh; but you will be changed into me.” We become what we eat! The life that the Eucharist gives is, of course, eternal life as Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Our participation of the Eucharist, challenges us to love, to promote, to uphold and to defend life in all its forms, from the moment of conception to natural death. Just as the Lord shares himself in the life-giving sacrament, we need to share our own lives, our talents, time and resources with the needy. This makes our Eucharist more meaningful and transforming.

To be Eucharistic means to be unifying. Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. Jesus gave himself up for us to unify and reconcile humanity with God. St Paul, writing to the Corinthian community, warns them of their division and disharmony, especially when they gather for the Eucharistic celebration: “First of all, I hear that when you meet as a church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it; there are factions among you in order that those who are approved among you may become known” (1 Cor 11:18). The very Sacrament of the death and resurrection of the Lord becomes cause for division in many parts of the world today. The division of Christ’s body into fractions and denominations is a sad reality from the early Church. Hatred for one another and consequent fighting and killing are daily occurrence in many places. Our participation in the Eucharist, which is a sacrament of forgiving love, unity and reconciliation, should make us long for and work for reconciliation peace and harmony in our own families, communities and the world at large.

                                                                                     – Fr Joe Eruppakkatt, SSP

June 2009

 READINGS OF THE WEEK

 Psalter Week 3

15 Mon (G) 2 Cor 6:1-10/ Ps 97:1,2-3ab,3cd-4/ Mt 5:38-42
16 Tue (G) 2 Cor 8:1-9/ Ps 145:2,5-6ab,6c-7,8-9/ Mt 5:43-48
17 Wed (G) 2 Cor 9:6-11/ Ps 111:1-2,3-4,9/ Mt 6:1-6,16-18
18 Thu (G) 2 Cor 11:1-11/ Ps 110:1-2,3-4,7-8/ Mt 6:7-15
19 Fri (W) THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS ( Sol) Hos 11:1,3- 4,8c-9/ Ps Is 12:2-3,4bcd,5-6/ Eph 3:8-12,14-19/ Jn 19:31-37
20 Sat (W) The Immaculate Heart of Mary (mem)
Is 61:9-11/ Ps 1 Sam 1,4-5,6-7,8abcd/ Lk 2:41-51