Reflections
“The
Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right
hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.'”
Our
psalmist David speaks of the Messiah
who is to come. For us, the psalm is about
the
anointing of Jesus as our Savior, Jesus
as the everlasting
King and Priest. Christ
will take his
throne at the right hand of
God,
as our psalmist predicts. Christ will make
his
enemies his footstool. He is able to
do
this because the Father has empowered
Him
to rule over his
enemies.
And
how does Christ's victory affect us
earthly humans?
The truth is that we too are
in the midst of
the same spiritual battle that
Christ has already fought.
And his
victory
means for us that we can be
victors as well
– victors,
not victims.
And for
that, we
praise
God and give thanks to our King.
This
Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of
the Most
Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus
Christi). How
is it that Jesus, anointed as the
everlasting King and
Priest, humbled himself to
pour out his blood on
the cross for us common
sinners? How is it that such
a mighty King is
willing to co-mingle his very flesh
and blood with
our own fallen flesh and blood? All
we can know
is that God's plan intends that his perfect
divine
presence enters into our fallen, human presence
and offers healing, wisdom, salvation,and
hope.
(Word
Among Us)
How
blessed we are that although we are not worthy
to
receive Him, He gives us angels' food, bread from
heaven
– “He fed them with the finest wheat and
satisfied them
with honey from the rock.” (Ps
81:17)
Our
Lord is both shepherd and lamb to us, his
well
tended flock. As the Paschal lamb, He spilled his
lifeblood for us, feeding us as God sent manna to
our
spiritual fathers. “Very
bread, good shepherd,
tend us, Jesus,
You who all things can and know,
Who
on earth such food bestow.”
(Sequence,
Laud, O Zion)
How
remarkable that our Lord, though seated
at
the right hand of the Father, comes down from
heaven
so that we sinners might have a share in
his divinity. “I am the living bread that came down
from
heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread
will
live forever.” (Jn
6:51)
We
are inspired to offer our prayers of thanksgiving
to
our Lord --
“Grant
O Lord, we pray,
that
we may delight for all eternity
in
that share in your divine life,
which
is foreshadowed in the present age
by
our reception of your precious Body and Blood.”
(Order
of Mass,
Prayer after Communion)
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm speaks of the anointing of Jesus as our Savior, who will rule
1. The Psalm speaks of the anointing of Jesus as our Savior, who will rule
in the midst of His enemies. Tell of
how you have relied on our Savior to fight
your
spiritual enemies on your behalf.
2. With our Lord so powerful and seated at the right hand of the Father, does it
2. With our Lord so powerful and seated at the right hand of the Father, does it
surprise you that He would come down from heaven to mingle His precious body
and blood with our human flesh and blood?
Explain
On this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, our psalmist speaks of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and also tells of Christ's priestly work for his people as the King who rules over the earth. He sits at the right hand of God until He makes his enemies his footstool, because the heavenly Father has empowered Jesus to rule over his enemy - satan.
ReplyDeleteOur Savior has overcome the forces of evil out of his love for us.
Jesus died for us. He asked us to celebrate his death by eating his Body and taking his Blood. I know it is spiritual food which nourishes our souls. Whenever I take his Body and Blood, He is abiding in me. I abide in Him. I feel his presence whenever I take the Eucharist. He will satisfy my spiritual hunger for Him. What a blessing it is that I am able to taste his goodness through the Eucharist. So I can have a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus.
Even though I am not practicing my faith diligently, I know the importance of taking the Body and Blood of Christ daily. Otherwise I could fall because of my weakness. I feel the overwhelming abundance of love that our Lord is offering through the Body and Blood of Christ. He continues to offer me the strength and power to overcome evil forces in the midst of battle. It is truly a blessing that I can taste and see the goodness of the Lord through his Body and Blood!