LECTIONARY READINGS
First reading: Exodus 24:3-8
Responsorial psalm: Ps 115(116):12-13, 15-18
Second reading: Hebrews 9:11-15
Gospel: Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
Link to readings
The feast of Corpus Christi is a celebration of the new covenant of Christ with his people: the covenant of his blood, where he offered himself as a perfect sign of his love for us. The First Reading is a description of the ritual that sealed God’s covenant with his people. In ancient times, blood was a symbol of life, and its sprinkling signifies the Israelites’ desire to participate in a relationship with God, to share his life and to become his people. Centuries later, the symbolism of this act was brought to an entirely different level by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
This relationship is taken up in the Psalm, where the covenanted people express their thanksgiving for all that God has done for them, and their readiness to fulfil their responsibilities to him. The Gospel narrative of the Last Supper tells of the new covenant, so much more wonderful and powerful than the old. Jesus’s action at the Passover table is a ritual that anticipates his brutal, yet life-giving, death. Christ’s deep compassion for humankind inaugurates this new covenant, a new relationship of love between God and his people.
The Second Reading reminds us that the blood of the new covenant is from God’s own Son, so we can literally share in Christ’s life, becoming the ‘blood sisters and brothers’ of Jesus, and children of the one Father. This week, we might pray with the author of this letter for help to purify our inner selves from dead actions, so that we do our service to the living God.
PSALM 115 (116)
R./ The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name
How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise:
I will call on the Lord’s name.
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.
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.
REFLECTION
I take a few moments to slow down as I prepare for prayer. I consciously breathe in the blessings of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, creating an internal holy space and temple in readiness to meet God. Like the psalmist before me, I call on the Lord’s name.
I slowly read the psalm, perhaps aloud, as Jesus and his disciples would have done. I listen to the thanksgiving expressed by the psalmist. Noticing where my attention is drawn, I meditate on that word or phrase.
My reflections may come in the form of a plea for God to open my eyes, so that I can recognise his gifts in my life. With the psalmist, I ponder: ‘How can I repay this goodness’? I express my gratitude in my own words. I may ask for insights into the ‘bonds’ that prevent me from living with authenticity and fruitfulness. What parts of me are enslaved, imprisoned, fearful? I beg for discernment, healing and freedom.
Towards the end of my prayer, I may find myself drawn to a deeper place of contemplation. I savour my remaining time in silence with my Saviour and Lord. When I am ready, I conclude my prayer by asking for God’s blessing on the whole of life.
GOSPEL
MARK 14: 12–16; 22–26
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples said to Jesus, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and say to the owner of the house which he enters, “The Master says: ‘Where is my dining room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room furnished with couches, all prepared. Make the preparations for us there.” The disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover. As they were eating he took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. “Take it,” he said, “this is my body”. Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, “This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many. I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.” After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives.
REFLECTION
In this time of preparing and stilling, I ask for the grace to become more deeply attentive and receptive to the Holy One … to hunger for God’s nourishment and celebration in all its forms.
When ready, I read the Gospel slowly and gently. There is no need to rush. When a phrase has a particular savour for me, I linger on it. Jesus speaks to me today about the great life-giving mystery of the Eucharist, that offers me his nourishment. Here is the hospitality of a shared meal; the revelation of God’s love. I ponder on its meaning for me.
Perhaps the Eucharist is a vital part of my own identity as a child of God, and a source of inspiration? Or has this deep spiritual gift become an ‘issue’ that signifies separation and pain because of church regulations? I ponder ... and share my deepest heart-felt thoughts and dreams with the Lord.
Towards the end of my prayer time, I ask to receive from Christ and draw life from him. After a few moments of silent contemplation, I express my openness and love for the Lord, saying Glory be …
Courtesy of St Beuno’s Outreach in the Diocese of Wrexham, UK