2025/06/22 SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
- Zach Melton, Mgr of Media & Ministry Engagement
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
There’s a moment during every Mass that still catches me off guard. It’s that strange and overwhelming awareness: This is Him. The bread isn’t just bread. The wine isn’t just wine. Jesus gives us His Body and Blood, not symbolically, not metaphorically, but truly, fully, and completely.
At times in my life this has not been easy for me. Not because I don’t believe it. But because it’s too much to take in sometimes. Too intimate. Too personal.
In John 6, when Jesus tells the crowd they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, a lot of people walk away. But Jesus doesn’t soften His message. He doesn’t explain it away. He doubles down: “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”
The Church celebrates this mystery each year with the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi. It’s a moment in the liturgical year that invites us to slow down and look again at what we’re doing every time we come to the altar. It’s not just a ritual. It’s not just remembrance. It’s a real encounter with the living God.
There have been seasons in my life where I’ve sat in the pew with a hollow feeling, knowing I was receiving the Eucharist but not really knowing what to feel. Other times, I’ve been overcome with emotion or felt deep peace. Sometimes, nothing at all. But I’ve learned that the gift of the Eucharist isn’t dependent on how I feel about it. It’s just true.
“This is my Body.”
“This is my Blood.”
Jesus gives Himself entirely to us, not just to be with us, but to remain in us. He wants to dwell in the deepest places of our being: in joy, in brokenness, in confusion, in celebration. And the more we return to that table, the more He teaches us what it means to be His Body. Broken, given, and poured out in love for others.
Historically, this feast reminds us that our faith has always centered around this table. Many parishes mark this Sunday with Eucharistic processions, bringing Jesus out into the streets literally letting the world see the heart of who we are. At Saint Clement, we will hold a Eucharistic procession following the 11:15 a.m. Mass, leading into a Holy Hour of Adoration in the chapel that concludes with Benediction at 2:00 p.m. Come walk with Christ and be renewed in His presence.
The readings for this feast remind us of a God who enters covenants not from a distance but through communion. A God who feeds His people. A God who became food.
I Pray:
Jesus, I don’t always understand the mystery of this gift. But I believe You are here. And I receive You. Amen.