LIVE THE EUCHARIST
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We cannot gather as usual for the Eucharist. But we are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: The Body and Blood of Jesus is the greatest treasure we have. But it’s not a treasure that we only preserve in the Blessed Sacrament! It’s a treasure we ought to carry with us in our daily lives. On this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we thank God for giving us this greatest treasure, and pray that we may take it with us and live the Eucharist in our lives.
Penitential Rite
L: For the times the Eucharist has been only a ritual and not been the central part of lives, we ask the Lord to pardon us.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you multiplied bread to feed the hungry crowd:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you satiated the thirst of the Samaritan woman:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you feed us with your body and blood:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: God ever faithful,
you have made a covenant with your people
through your Son,
who offered his body for us
and poured out his blood for many.
Build your Church
by opening our hearts to those in need.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Exodus 24:3-8
Psalm Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18
Response I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Or: Alleluia.
Reading 2 Hebrews 9:11-15
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
Gospel Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Be with Jesus and the disciples during the Last Supper. What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear his words: “this is my body… this is my blood”?
Sunday Snippets
Some years ago, some students were standing at the entrance of their college of theology. A woman, dishevelled and distraught, came running and pleaded with them to save her. She had escaped from a nearby quarry where she was a bonded labourer; she had been beaten and branded. Incredibly, her “master” was a devout Catholic who came for the Eucharist every Sunday; he was esteemed in the church and a noted philanthropist.
During communion one Sunday, a lady was nudged by the lady behind her. She snarled at her, abused her, and then calmly said “Amen” and received communion!
Both incidents, of varying gravity, show a disconnect between our worship and our life. Yet scripture and tradition are clear that worship and life must be related, and the Gospel indicates likewise.
The Last Supper was part of the Passover meal, the most important Jewish celebration. Further, Mark tells us that Jesus took the bread “while they were eating”. In its original form, the Eucharist had a place in people’s celebrations and their ordinary lives.
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave his disciples his body and blood. He gave himself! This was a continuation of what he had done during his public ministry; and a prelude to what he would do at Calvary.
Soon after Jesus gave his disciples the bread and the cup, “they went out to the Mount of Olives” to resolutely complete his mission.
We need to link what happens at the Eucharist with our lives.
First, the Eucharist must be a part of our celebrations and of our ordinary lives (perhaps, deprivation of the Eucharist during the lockdown made us aware of its importance in our lives).
Second, we need to live the Eucharist. We need to share ourselves with others. Recall that in John’s Gospel, there is no institution narrative; he describes Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.
Third, we need derive strength for our life at the Eucharist. We need to bring our lives to the Eucharist, to offer ourselves and our lives, and to take the Eucharist with us into our lives.
How I make the Eucharist and what it signifies a part of my life? How will I give myself to my brothers and sisters? Will I draw strength from the Eucharist to carry out my life’s mission?
May we live what we celebrate!
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you.” Why was blood so significant in those ancient ceremonies? Is there a relationship between blood and life?
Reading 2: Jesus entered the sanctuary with his own blood so that we may receive the promised eternal inheritance. What is my response to Christ’s love for all of us?
Gospel: How can I rearrange my priorities to make more time for God? How can I rearrange my priorities to make more time to serve my sisters and brothers? How can I live the Eucharist?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: God fed his people with manna so that they might know one does not live by bread alone. To our God who feeds us with his Word, we bring our needs and pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church, many members yet one body: that we may grow in unity and love as we manifest Christ’s saving love, we pray…
R: For the world: that God may help those who have experienced injustice and violence, and turn the hearts of those prone to violence towards change, we pray…
R: For all who suffer from physical hunger: that God may sustain them on their journey and supply the assistance they need;
for all who hunger spiritually: that they nourish themselves with the manna of God’s Word, we pray…
R: For healing: that God may restore the sick to health, break the cycle of violence in our cities, and remove the divisions in the human family, we pray…
R: For stewardship of earth’s resources: that we may strive to keep the natural elements free from chemicals and other pollutants so that the human family and all God’s creatures may have a safe environment, we pray…
R: For all of us: that through our sharing, physically or spiritually, in the Eucharist, we may be strengthened to give ourselves in loving service, we pray…
L: God our Father, your Son did not leave us orphans, but remains in and with us in his body and blood as our strength and life. May his attitude become ours and may we too be the strength of those around us, especially to those who need us most. Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Suzanne Toolan wrote the hymn I Am the Bread of Life during a free class! She says: “Its popularity stems from its message of the resurrection, which is so strong in these words of Jesus. We so need that message of hope.” We do!
Watch I Am the Bread of Life
or pray
Lord Jesus,
you call us all:
priest and penitent,
the activists and the pacifists,
the homeless and those in high-rises,
immigrants and border officials,
Africans, Americans, Asians, Europeans.
None of us is worthy,
but you tell us:
“Your soul shall be healed.”
“Take it; this is my body.”
“This is my blood… which will be shed for many.”
Lord,
stay with us forever.
Make us one with you, one with each other.
Let your love course through our lives
and heal us.
Make us one in your one body.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Lord our God,
your beloved Son
gave his body and shed his blood out of love.
Fill us with his Spirit,
that we may live for you
and for one another
with a generous, self-forgetting love
that unites all, loves all, serves all.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
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