This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. It is a celebration perhaps better known by the Latin Corpus Christi. At its core, the solemnity is a celebration of the Tradition and belief in the Eucharist as the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Many folks wonder why this celebration is not part of Holy Thursday.  In the past it was and was mixed in with other themes, e.g., institution of the priesthood. And, all this occurs in the shadow of Good Friday. The placement of the celebration was not one that necessarily lends itself to a joyful celebration. While there is a history (see the detailed commentary below), by 1264 the Pope Urban IV instituted the Solemnity of Corpus Christi as a feast for the entire Latin Rite, by the papal edict Transiturus de hoc mundo. It was the first papally-mandated feast for the world-wide church.

The Sunday gospel is taken from John 6, The Bread of Life Discourse. John, writing well after the other gospel writers, seeing that they had described the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, wrote far more about the meaning and theology of the Eucharist in his gospel (according to Polycarp, a disciple of John). While part of a much larger section, our gospel begins: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

And that is just the beginning of a very rich and compelling gospel. There is a lot more to glean from this Sunday’s Gospel.

Full Text of the Sunday Readings

Detailed Commentary on the Gospel

This coming Sunday the Church returns to ordinary time, although there is nothing ordinary about the gospel. It is taken from the great “Missionary Discourse” from Matthew 10, but comes immediately after several chapters of Jesus’ mission in Galilee. Now the Twelve are ready to do what the Teacher has done and so Jesus commissions them:

“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons

They are to proclaim the very same message as John the Baptist (Mt 3) and Jesus himself (Mt 4) – but they are to limit their activities to Galilee? What does this say about the universal mission of the Church? Are the Twelve really supposed to “raise the dead”? Are the Twelve ready? And that is just the beginning of a very rich and compelling gospel. There is a lot more to glean from this Sunday’s Gospel

Full Text of the Sunday Readings

Detailed Commentary on the Gospel

Our gospel reading opens with the ominous, “Therefore do not be afraid of them.” Of course that just raises the question about the identity of “them.” There are verses that are not included in the Sunday gospels, notably Matthew 10:9-25, contain the actions of “them.” A summary might include:

• those who do not receive the Twelve and their message of redemption (v.14)
• the ones who “hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues” (v.17)
• governors and kinds (v.18)
• family members who turn against you (v.21)

“Don’t be afraid” prepares for the sayings about whom the disciples should fear in vv. 28 and 31, a part of our Sunday gospel in which the admonition to not be afraid is repeated. Yet the Twelve are being sent into mission for which Jesus has already outlined what awaits them? Why should they not be afraid? There is a lot more to glean from this Sunday’s Gospel.

There is a lot more to glean from this Sunday’s Gospel

Full Text of the Sunday Readings

Detailed Commentary on the Gospel

In the gospel for this coming Sunday we again encounter Jesus preparing his disciples for their mission. Previously he had warned them about the hostilities and divisions they would face from family, friends, and religious authorities. Nonetheless he admonishes the disciples, “do not be afraid of them.” 

In this week’s gospel he makes clear where the loyalties and commitments needs to be placed: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;” And the same time, he holds out for them the rewards that awaits them if they will deny themselves, identify with Christ, count the costs, and radically align their lives with his mission.

There is a lot more to glean from this Sunday’s Gospel

Full Text of the Sunday Readings

Detailed Commentary on the Gospel