Sign of life and of sacrifice

Readings for Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Year B

Blood is such a visceral thing. Seeing it out in the open usually means something is wrong. Blood simply is not meant to be outside of one’s body, spilled, poured out, or shed. Yet in our Christian religious imagination, blood is the sign of making things right again. We are healed, washed, and sanctified by the blood of Lamb. We are given a lasting promise in the blood of the new covenant. By sharing in the cup of his Blood poured out for us, we are united to Christ’s mission of reconciliation. In Jesus’s death, blood is ultimately a sign of life.

In the Eucharist, the life of grace we receive is freely given yet never cheap, for blood is also the sign of our commitment to sacrifice. In the Blood of Christ, we are joined to the holiness of martyrs who gave their lives for others. In that same Blood, we must also accept our part in the sin of the world that justifies taking the life of another out of revenge, bigotry, or hatred.

As you eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ, take care what you say “Amen” to. For eating the Body of Christ shows us who we are to become, but drinking the Blood of Christ shows us how to do that—on Christ’s terms and not ours.

This post was first published on the planner page for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Year B, in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal,” Vol 29, No 2.

Image credit: Cassi Josh, unsplash, CC0.