THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST, JUNE 7, 2026

MASS READINGS

Gospel John 6:51-58

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds:

"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."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 

Jesus said to them, "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. 

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 

Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. 

This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

REFLECTION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the Eucharist as: "the source and summit of the Christian life." (CCC 1324)

Jesus Himself tells us this in today's Gospel. He gives Himself to us. He Himself established the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

For a Sacrament to be valid we need a few things: Matter, Form, Minister, and Intention.

In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the Matter is the bread and wine. The Form are the words of the priest when he repeats the words of Our Lord: "This is My body ... this is My blood."

The Minister, the only Minister that can consecrate the bread and wine is an ordained priests. They have the power of changing bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. When they consecrate, they act in the person of Christ, through the power received in the sacrament of Holy Orders. (Baltimore Catechism Q353)

How important is a priest in our lives! They are the ones that have the capacity changing the fruits of the earth into God Himself!

What is more interesting, is that in a way, it doesn't matter if the priest is good or bad, they are acting in Persona Christi Capitis (In the Person of Christ the Head), they perform and confer the Sacraments as long as they use the Matter and Form observed in the Church according at how Jesus instituted the Sacrament (CCC Holy Orders)

The sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God." From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them. (CCC 1128)

All the Sacraments draw us towards God. How amazing that the Eucharist brings us even physically to Him. How through it we are transformed and united with God. And this happens because of the priesthood Jesus established for us.

Keep praying for our priests always, because without them we would not have the wonderful gift of the Eucharist, Reconciliation, etc. And it would be harder to grow closer to God without His divine nourishment.

God bless y'all!