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1 Corinthians 11: 17-26, 33
Brothers and sisters:
In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact
that your meetings are doing more harm than good.
First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Church
there are divisions among you,
and to a degree I believe it;
there have to be factions among you
in order that also those who are approved among you
may become known.
When you meet in one place, then,
it is not to eat the Lord’s supper,
for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper,
and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.
Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink?
Or do you show contempt for the Church of God
and make those who have nothing feel ashamed?
What can I say to you? Shall I praise you?
In this matter I do not praise you.
For 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.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
The Word of the Lord.
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Saint Paul admonishes the Corinthians more than any other Christian community that he formed.
In today’s first reading, for example, he criticizes them for being divided, drunk, and arrogant. “In this matter,” he says, “I do not praise you.”
What makes the Corinthians’ behavior so serious is the fact that they’re acting in this way, either instead of – or even while – celebrating Mass.
Paul warns them not to “eat the Body or drink the Blood of the Lord in vain,” lest they bring judgment upon themselves.
“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,” he says, “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.”
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There are times when we all make mistakes, as the Corinthians did, which is why we begin Mass by calling to mind our sins.
When Mass begins, how aware are we of our need for the Lord’s mercy? Do we ever receive communion out of routine, forgetting it’s the Body and Blood of the Lord?
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Prior to communion, the priest always prays silently at the altar, “May the receiving of your Body and Blood, Lord Jesus Christ, not bring me to judgment and condemnation, but through your loving mercy be for me protection in mind and body, and a healing remedy.”
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May we all echo those words today, thanking God for the Mass and praising Him for his mercy is without end.
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Image credits: (1) (2) The Last Supper, Juan de Juanes (3) To Jesus Sincerely