This Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is so rich that it is difficult to know where to start. Today I would like to follow the theme of consecration, which is at the heart of this feast. The Israelites were consecrated to become the holy people of God. Jesus consecrates the bread and wine to be his own body and blood. The act of consecration devotes something or someone to divine worship. It is the privilege of all Christians in whatever state of life, for we are all consecrated to offer divine worship to God. But it is especially true for monks, since our whole life is devoted to divine worship.
When God desired to make a covenant with his people, he consecrated them. They were set apart for a divine purpose. You just heard how Moses sent out young men to offer holocausts and sacrifices and bring the blood to him. The animals were totally given to God, and their blood was a sign of this. When Moses read out the words of God which indicated how the people were to live, they responded, “All that the Lord has said, we will hear and do.” Then Moses sprinkled the blood on the people. This united them with the total consecration of the animals. As the animals had been totally given to God, now the people would share in that consecration. If they did not do as they had said, the blood of the covenant would be a witness against them.
This scene was deeply imprinted on Jesus’ soul, and he incorporated elements into his consecration at the last supper. He used Moses’ words with a slight change: “This is the blood of my covenant which will be shed for many.” Jesus is concluding a new covenant with his disciples. The blood is no longer from bulls and goats, but Jesus is dedicating his own life’s blood on behalf of his disciples. As Moses sealed the covenant between God and his people by sprinkling them with the blood of the sacrifices, Jesus will seal his new covenant by allowing his disciples to partake of his blood under the appearance of wine. Jesus consecrated himself so that we could be totally consecrated to God as he was.
This image comes to my mind when I think about all these consecrations. It is the moment when each of us stands before the altar at our solemn profession. The Lord is inviting us to be united with his consecration to the Father with very clear directives of how we are to live this covenant out. We solemnly accept the invitation by reading out our profession, signing it with our own hand, and placing it on the altar. It seems to me is as if we were sprinkled with the consecratory blood of Jesus. We prostrate before God and ask to be received by all the brothers, and then partake of the body and blood of Christ as the seal of our consecration. It is the body and blood of Christ, offered for us, that makes our consecration possible. This is at the heart of the solemnity we celebrate today.
