Catechism Links
CCC 790, 1003, 1322-1419: the Holy Eucharist
CCC 805, 950, 2181-2182, 2637, 2845: the Eucharist and the communion of believers
CCC 1212, 1275, 1436, 2837: the Eucharist as spiritual food
CCC Cross Reference:
Gn 14:18 58, 1333, 1544
Ps 110 447; Ps 110:1 659; Ps 110:4 1537
1 Cor 11:23-26 1339; 1 Cor 11:23 610, 1366; 1 Cor 11:24-25 1356; 1 Cor 11:24 1328, 1329; 1 Cor 11:25 611, 613; 1 Cor 11:26 671, 1076, 1130, 1344, 1393, 2772, 2776
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Reading 1
Gn 14:18-20
In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,
and being a priest of God Most High,
he blessed Abram with these words:
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
the creator of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your foes into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
"Rule in the midst of your enemies."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
"Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Reading II
1 Cor 11:23-26
Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Gospel
Lk 9:11b-17
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God,
and he healed those who needed to be cured.
As the day was drawing to a close,
the Twelve approached him and said,
"Dismiss the crowd
so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms
and find lodging and provisions;
for we are in a deserted place here."
He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves."
They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have,
unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people."
Now the men there numbered about five thousand.
Then he said to his disciples,
"Have them sit down in groups of about fifty."
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,
and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up,
they filled twelve wicker baskets.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Genesis 14:18 – 20
Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing:
‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth,
and blessed be God Most High for handing over your enemies to you’.
And Abram gave him a tithe of everything.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 109(110):1-4
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
‘Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord will wield from Zion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
‘You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
Second reading 1 Corinthians 11:23 – 26
This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me’. In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
Gospel Luke 9:11 – 17
The crowds got to know and they went after him. He made them welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing.
It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food; for we are in a lonely place here’. He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves’. But they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we are to go ourselves and buy food for all these people’ For there were about five thousand men. But he said to his disciples, ‘Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty’. They did so and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected they filled twelve baskets.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Solemnity: The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
From: Genesis 14:18-20
Melchizedek, King and Priest
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[18] And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. [19] And he blessed him and said,
""Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
maker of heaven and earth;
[20] and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
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Commentary:
14:18-20. After the account of Abraham's victory over the kings of the North, there is this little insertion, apparently, that records a piece of tradition which shows Abraham's connexion with Jerusalem and its king. In the context of the story of the patriarchs, this episode implies recognition by the local nations (Salem, Sodom) of the blessing they receive through Abraham (cf. 12:3). In the specific case of Salem, we get a glimpse of the fact that the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, was worshipped there, under the name of El-Elyon, or God Most High, and also that he is acknowledged by Abraham as the Lord himself, "maker of heaven and earth" (cf. 14:22). The bread and wine are first-fruits of the land, offered in sacrifice as a sign of recognition of the Creator. In the name of El-Elyon Abraham receives Melchizedek's blessing, thereby making Jerusalem the place from where the Lord imparts his blessing (cf. Ps 134:3). It is also significant that Abraham gives the king of Jerusalem a tenth of everything, implying that he had a right to receive it.
In Jewish tradition the city of Salem and the figure of Melchizedek acquired a special meaning. It identifies Salem with Jerusalem or Zion, where the Lord dwells: "His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion," Psalm 76:3 acclaims. Melchizedek is regarded as having a priesthood earlier and greater than that of Aaron; cf. when the King Messiah is praised: "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 110:4). In the New Testament, the mysterious priestly figure of Melchizedek is portrayed as a type of the priesthood of Christ, for Christ is truly the eternal priest even though he (like Melchizedek) does not belong to the priesthood of Aaron. "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him; and to him apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever" (Heb 7:1-3).
In the light of all this, Christian liturgy has seen a prefiguring of the Eucharist in the bread and wine offered by Melchizedek (cf. Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer I); tradition sees him as a figure of priests of the New Law.
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From: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
The Institution of the Eucharist
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[23] For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, [24] and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." [25] In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
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Commentary:
23-26. These verses clearly bear witness to the early Christians' faith in the eucharistic mystery. St. Paul is writing around the year 57 -- only twenty-seven years since the institution of the Eucharist -- reminding the Corinthians of what they had been taught some years earlier (c. the year 51). The words "received" and "delivered" are technical terms used to indicate that a teaching is part of apostolic Tradition; cf. also 1 Corinthians 15:3. These two passages highlight the importance of that apostolic Tradition. The words "I received from the Lord" are a technical expression which means "I received through that Tradition which goes back to the Lord Himself."
There are three other New Testament accounts of the institution of the Eucharist (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:16-20). This account, which is most like St. Luke's, is the earliest of the four.
The text contains the fundamental elements of Christian faith in the mystery of the Eucharist: 1) the institution of this Sacrament by Jesus Christ and His real presence in it; 2) the institution of the Christian priesthood; 3) the Eucharist is the sacrifice of the New Testament (cf. notes on Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:16-20; 1 Corinthians 10:14-22).
"Do this in remembrance of Me": in instituting the Eucharist, our Lord charged that it be re-enacted until the end of time (cf. Luke 22:19), thereby instituting the priesthood. The Council of Trent teaches that Jesus Christ our Lord, at the Last Supper, "offered His body and blood under the species of bread and wine to God the Father and He gave His body and blood under the same species to the Apostles to receive, making them priests of the New Testament at that time. [...] He ordered the Apostles and their successors in the priesthood to offer this Sacrament when He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me", as the Catholic Church has always understood and taught" ("De SS. Missae Sacrificio", Chapter 1; cf. Canon 2). And so, Pope John Paul II teaches, the Eucharist is "the principal and central reason-of-being of the Sacrament of the priesthood, which effectively came into being at the moment of the institution of the Eucharist, and together with it" ("Letter To All Bishops", 24 February 1980).
The word "remembrance" is charged with the meaning of a Hebrew word which was used to convey the essence of the feast of the Passover -- commemoration of the exodus from Egypt. For the Israelites the Passover rite not only reminded them of a bygone event: they were conscious of making that event present, re- viving it, in order to participate in it, in some way, generation after generation (cf. Exodus 12:26-27; Deuteronomy 6:20-25). So, when our Lord commands His Apostles to "do this in remembrance of Me", it is not a matter of merely recalling His supper but of renewing His own Passover sacrifice of Calvary, which already, at the Last Supper, was present in an anticipated way.
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From: Luke 9:11b-17
First Miracle of the Loaves and Fish
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[11b] And He (Jesus) welcomed them and spoke to them of the Kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing. [12] Now the day began to wear away; and the Twelve came and said to Him, "Send the crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place." [13] But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish -- unless we are to go and buy food for all these people." [14] For there were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each." [15] And they did so, and made them all sit down. [16] And taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to Heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. [17] And all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
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Commentary:
11-17. Jesus replies to His disciples knowing very well what He is going to do (cf. John 6:5-6)--thereby teaching them little by little to trust in God's omnipotence. On this miracle see the notes on Matthew 14:14-21; 15:32; 15:33-38; Mark 6:34; 6:41; 6:42; 8:1-9; and John 6:5-9; 6:10; 6:11; 6:12-13.
[Matthew 14:14-21 states:
14-21. This episode must have occurred in the middle of springtime, because the grass was green (Mark 6:40; John 6:10). In the Near East loaves were usually made very thin, which meant it was easy to break them by hand and distribute them to those at table; this was usually done by the head of the household or the senior person at the meal. Our Lord follows this custom, and the miracle occurs when Jesus breaks the bread. The disciples then distribute it among the crowd. Here again we can see Jesus' desire to have people cooperate with Him.]
[Matthew 15:32 states:
32. The Gospels speak of our Lord's mercy and compassion towards people's needs: here He is concerned about the crowds who are following Him and who have no food. He always has a word of consolation, encouragement and forgiveness: He is never indifferent. However, what hurts Him most are sinners who go through life without experiencing light and truth: He waits for them in the sacraments of Baptism and Penance.]
[Matthew 15:33-38 states:
33-38. As in the case of the first multiplication (14:13-20), the Apostles provide our Lord with the loaves and the fish. It was all they had. He also avails of the Apostles to distribute the food -- the result of the miracle -- to the people. In distributing the graces of salvation God chooses to rely on the faithfulness and generosity of men. "Many great things depend--don't forget it--on whether you and I live our lives as God wants" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 755).
It is interesting to note that in both miracles of multiplication of loaves and fish Jesus's provides food in abundance but does not allow anything to go to waste. All Jesus' miracles, in addition to being concrete historical events, are also symbols of supernatural realities. Here abundance of material food also signifies abundance of divine gifts on the level of grace and glory: it refers spiritual resources and eternal rewards; God gives people more graces than are strictly necessary. This is borne out by Christian experience throughout history. St. Paul tells us that "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Rom 5:20); he speaks of "the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us" (Eph 1:8) and tells his disciple Timothy that "the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 1:14).]
[Mark 6:34 states:
34. Our Lord had planned a period of rest, for Himself and His disciples, from the pressures of the apostolate (Mark 6:31-32). And He has to change His plans because so many people come, eager to hear Him speak. Not only is He not annoyed with them: He feels compassion on seeing their spiritual need. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). They need instruction and our Lord wants to meet this need by preaching to them. "Jesus is moved by hunger and sorrow, but what moves Him most is ignorance" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 109).]
[Mark 6:41 states:
41. This miracle is a figure of the Holy Eucharist: Christ performed it shortly before promising that sacrament (cf. John 6:1ff), and the Fathers have always so interpreted it. In this miracle Jesus shows His supernatural power and His love for men -- the same power and love as make it possible for Christ's one and only body to be present in the Eucharistic species to nourish the faithful down the centuries. In the words of the sequence composed by St. Thomas Aquinas for the Mass of Corpus Christi: "Be one or be a thousand fed, they eat alike that living bread which, still received, ne'er wastes away."
This gesture of our Lord -- looking up to Heaven -- is recalled in the Roman canon of the Mass: "And looking up to Heaven, to You, His almighty Father." At this point in the Mass we are preparing to be present at a miracle greater than that of the multiplication of the loaves -- the changing of bread into His own body, offered as food for all men.]
[Mark 6:42 states:
42. Christ wanted the left-overs to be collected (cf. John 6:12) to teach us not to waste things God gives us, and also to have them as a tangible proof of the miracle.
The collecting of the left-overs is a way of showing us the value of little things done out of love for God--orderliness, cleanliness, finishing things completely. It also reminds the sensitive believer of the extreme care that must be taken of the Eucharistic species. Also, the generous scale of the miracle is an expression of the largesse of the Messianic times. The Fathers recall that Moses distributed the manna for each to eat as much as he needed but some left part of it for the next day and it bred worms (Exodus 16:16-20). Elijah gave the widow just enough to meet her needs (1 Kings 17:13-16). Jesus, on the other hand, gives generously and abundantly.]
[Mark 8:1-9 states:
1-9. Jesus repeats the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish: the first time (Mark 6:33-44) He acted because He saw a huge crowd like "sheep without a shepherd"; now He takes pity on them because they have been with Him for three days and have nothing to eat.
This miracle shows how Christ rewards people who persevere in following Him: the crowd had been hanging on His words, forgetful of everything else. We should be like them, attentive and ready to do what He commands, without any vain concern about the future, for that would amount to distrusting Divine Providence.]
[John 6:5-9 states:
5-9. Jesus is sensitive to people's material and spiritual needs. Here we see Him take the initiative to satisfy the hunger of the crowd of people who have been following Him.
Through these conversations and the miracle He is going to work, Jesus also teaches His disciples to trust in Him whenever they meet up with difficulties in their apostolic endeavors in the future: they should engage in them using whatever resources they have--even if they are plainly inadequate, as was the case with the five loaves and two fish. He will supply what is lacking. In the Christian life we must put what we have at the service of our Lord, even if we do not think it amounts to very much. He can make meager resources productive.
"We must, then, have faith and not be dispirited. We must not be stopped by any kind of human calculation. To overcome the obstacles we have to throw ourselves into the task so that the very effort we make will open up new paths" (St. J. Escri- va, "Christ is Passing By", 160).]
[John 6:10 states:
10. The evangelist gives us an apparently unimportant piece of information: "there was much grass in the place." This indicates that the miracle took place in the height of the Palestinian spring, very near the Passover, as mentioned in verse 4. There are very few big meadows in Palestine; even today there is one on the eastern bank of the Lake of Gennesaret, called El-Batihah, where five thousand people could fit seated: it may have been the site of this miracle.]
[John 6:11 states:
11. The account of the miracle begins with almost the very same words as those which the Synoptics and St. Paul use to describe the institution of the Eucharist (cf. Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:25). This indicates that the miracle, in addition to being an expression of Jesus' mercy towards the needy, is a symbol of the Blessed Eucharist, about which our Lord will speak a little later on (cf. John 6:26-59).]
[John 6:12-13 states:
12-13. The profusion of detail shows how accurate this narrative is -- the names of the Apostles who address our Lord (verses 5,8), the fact that they were barley loaves (verse 9), the boy who provided the wherewithal (verse 9) and, finally, Jesus telling them to gather up the leftovers.
This miracle shows Jesus' divine power over matter, and His largesse recalls the abundance of messianic benefits which the prophets had foretold (cf. Jeremiah 31:14).
Christ's instruction to pick up the leftovers teaches us that material resources are gifts of God and should not be wasted: they should be used in a spirit of poverty (cf. note on Mark 6:42). In this connection Paul VI pointed out that "after liberally feeding the crowds, the Lord told His disciples to gather up what was left over, lest anything should be lost (cf. John 6:12). What an excellent lesson in thrift -- in the finest and fullest meaning of the term -- for our age, given as it is to wastefulness! It carries with it the condemnation of a whole concept of society wherein consumption tends to become an end in itself, with contempt for the needy, and to the detriment, ultimately, of those very people who believed themselves to be its beneficiaries, having become incapable of perceiving that man is called to a higher destiny" (Pope Paul VI, "Address to Participants at the World Food Conference", 9 November 1974).]
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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