June 19, We Are Family: a Sunday Scriptures blog

Recently someone told me about their family reunions. Because the grandparents were a farm couple with large numbers of siblings and children, the reunions are very large. So in addition to nametags, the different descendant branches of the family wear shirts of different colors! And there is some food provided, but each family also brought a “dish” for the long tables at the reserved pavilion. Today is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (formerly Corpus Christi), and the Gospel is about a meal Jesus provided for a crowd. It’s a big crowd: 100 groups of 50 each, Luke says. The folks would not have known one another, but they were united by the action they took part in — eating the loaves and fish Jesus provided. This Gospel is reminding us of the foundational meaning of the word “Church.” Receiving Eucharist together is the binding action of the Catholic community. We might not know most of the names of those who are at Eucharist with us, but we know they are family. We join ourselves with them as we all eat the same food provided by the Risen Lord, generation after generation. When we process forward in the communion line, we experience the communal dimension of faith, a stream of people past and present accompanying us, sharing with us belief in Christ and commitment to try to love as he did. That’s why the original meaning of “Body of Christ” referred to the believing community and only later came to indicate the consecrated bread. We don’t have the same color of shirts, but it is this action of Eucharist that more than anything identifies us and as His family, the “People of God.”

— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia; photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.