Word of the Week

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Thanksgiving: Eukharistia (GK.): “thanksgiving or grateful”, its root kharis means “favor, grace”, behind it stands a Hebrew term that conveys a “thank-offering; sacrifice.”

The Eucharist is the “ritual, sacramental action of thanksgiving to God which constitutes the principal Christian liturgical celebration of the paschal mystery of Christ” (CCC glossary, 877). Traditionally, what is called the Eucharistic celebration has also been called the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Holy Communion, and the Lord’s Supper, among others (CCC 1328-1332).  The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of the Christian life and is the wellspring for all apostolic ministry and works of the Church (CCC 1324).

Thanksgiving or giving thanksis found 131 times in Sacred Scriptures: 82 times in the Old Testament and 49 times in the New Testament. In both testaments, God’s covenant (defined as a family bond) with man is made via thanksgiving or a thank-offering sacrifice (Lev.7:22; 2 Chr.7:3; Mt.15:26; Mk.8:14; Lk.2:17, 22; Jn.6; Acts 27; 1 Cor.1:10, 11:14; 2 Cor.1; Rev.11). Sacrifice to God was the hallmark and centerpiece of all “covenant making” ceremonies and festivals. Furthermore, Paul reminds us in his letter to Rome that if we fail in our posture to give thanks we will become “futile in our thinking…and our senseless minds will be darkened” (Rom.1.21).

Thanksgiving ought to be a way of life. Each Catholic, when moving to and from the altar of sacrifice, has their spiritual compass in order and sense of direction in place when they are in accord with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and firmly rooted in the identity of the Eucharist. We are called to carry out the mission and life of the Eucharist to the world as we offer up our lives as a sacrificial offering making present Jesus in a culture that is in dire need of him. It is on this Solemnity of Corpus Christi Sunday that we are reminded to be in communion with the Church so as fulfill this task of being a Eucharistic people. Let us reawaken our souls to the great Truth that we are called to live in God’s Presence—God’s own thank-offering on the altar of sacrifice.

"I urge you Christians to assemble in common and obey the bishop breaking one bread that is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against dying that offers life for all in Jesus Christ."

--St. Ignatius of Antioch

Primary Texts Consulted

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