Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
                                                                               Corpus Christi
                                                                               Fr. Richard A. Miserendino
                                                                                                                                               Reprinted by permission of "The Arlington Catholic Herald"

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Mark wrote to explain Christ
to the new Gentile converts.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"  He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a jar of water.  Follow him.  wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'"  Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.  Make the preparations for us there."  The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body."  Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  He said to them, "This is my blood of the  the covenant, which will be shed for many.  Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."  Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Oriveto, Italy is one of the most spectacular places in the world to celebrate our feast this Sunday, her Feast of the Most Holy body and Blood of the Lord, or Corpus Christi for short.

Some decades might remember Orvieto as the site of one of the Eucharistic miracles presented as part of a series throughout the diocese two years ago.  As the story goes, a priest celebrating Mass hundreds of years ago had doubts about the real presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist.  As he prayed the Mass, however, he was surprised to find the host bleeding in his hands after the consecration.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Each year on the feast of Corpus Christi, all the citizens of Orvieto harken back to that miraculous moment where God did something spectacular in their midst, putting an exclamation point on the already fantastic gift of the Blessed Sacrament.  The whole town reverts to costumes and banners from the Middle Ages, each family and house colorfully represented.  Knights in literal antique shining armor, heraldic banners, and marching bands, swordsmen and churchmen all attend Mass, and then embark on a great Eucharistic procession through all the main roads of the city.  It's gorgeous, Catholic, and would make any renaissance fair green with envy.  Standing firmly in the present, the city remembers and lives its past, and communicates its identity to the future.

All this pairs well with our Gospel for today's feast.  In it, we hear both the setup and the events of the Last Supper.  In the context of the Passover, Jesus institutes the Eucharist, using the same words spoken at each Mass unto today.  It's striking how much providence guides the affairs: Two disciples are told to follow a stranger carrying water.  Any skeptic could reasonably wonder: "What if there is no one carrying water, or they miss each other in the crowd, or there are two water carriers?"  Yet, the Lord had a plan both naturally and supernaturally, and in following simple instructions, the Passover is prepared and celebrated.  Much of that mirrors the sacraments and the Eucharist.  We follow instructions, and God shows up.  Enquiring skeptics can come up with innumerable what ifs, but for those who literally walk in the way of the Lord by faith, they encounter Christ.

It's also striking that the Eucharist is established within the context of Passover.  More connections flow from this than can be contained in this article.  Recommended reading: Brant Pitre's "Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist" is well worth the investment for those interested.  For the Jewish people today as much as in Jesus' time, Passover is a moment of remembrance and deep spiritual participation.  When celebrating it, the faithful not only remember the events, but truly spiritually take their place with Moses and participate in God's salvation of his chosen people. Passover is a matter of identity, remembrance and communion.

The same is true for us each time we celebrate the Mass instituted in a Passover context. We not only remember the wonders God does for us, but in the Eucharist we truly touch Christ, and in doing so, touch a bit of eternity.  We're present with Christ at the Last Supper and live that mystery, We welcome Christ into our present lives, and we not only pass on our faith to generations to come, but look forward to true communion in heaven at the lamb's supper.

In a word, each time we celebrate the Mass, we too are a bit like the people of Orvieto.  In the Eucharist, we remember who we are in Christ, we live  that participation through him, with him and in him in communion with those who have come before us and will come after us.  Then we process forward, carrying Christ in our bodies, minds, and hearts, clothed in his grace and making him present in the streets to those we meet and serve.  We do this until we meet him on that last day when we enter into the true wedding feast of the Lamb.  Of that great feast all we know and love here and now is only a sacrament, a real but small sign of better things to come.