6th REL – Feast of Corpus Christi (May 25)

BONUS QUESTION: The first 6th grader to answer on the tagboard will get 2 bonus points added to his/her next quiz (you have to spell it correctly!)…

• What is the term for “the bread and wine becoming (being changed into) the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ”?

Here are some great sites for more information on the Eucharist that relate to points from our discussion today:

• Frequently Asked Questions about the Eucharist
• Eucharistic Miracles
• Satanism & the Eucharist (this will also help you understand how worshiping the devil is a horrible act against God)

Gospel for this Sunday’s Feast of Corpus Christi
Jn 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.”

Our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist means that we understand the bread and the wine to no longer be bread and wine after the consecration. Once the priest raises up the host and the chalice and repeats the words of Jesus: “This is my body…this is my blood”, the bread and wine BECOME the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ available for all of us to eat and drink as nourishment for our souls.

If Jesus said Himself that the bread and wine are His Body and his Blood…if the saints have worshiped the Eucharist and celebrated Mass to carry on the Sacrament throughout the centuries…if God Himself has worked Eucharistic miracles all over the world…and if the enemies of Christ even believe that this is no ordinary piece of bread and cup of wine, then this gift Jesus has given to His Church must be something extremely special!

And THIS is why we go to Mass…