"Even if man by his nature is created for immortality, it is only now that the place exists in which his immortal soul can find its "space", its "bodiliness", in which immortality takes on its meaning as communion with God and with the whole of reconciled mankind...Christ's transformed body is also the place where men enter into communion with God and with one another and are thus able to live definitively in the fullness of indestructible life."
(Jesus of Nazareth Vol. 2 Pope Benedict XVI)
We are now in the midst of the great Easter Triduum, which consists of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. Each of these days seems to have its own particular theme, and each offers rich and unlimited possibilities for reflection. We chiefly remember Holy Thursday as the day of the Last Supper, the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Good Friday is the great memorial of our Lord's Passion, and Easter is the glorious feast of His victorious Resurrection. Yet at this time one particular theme stands out, a theme that runs through all three of these days and unites them like a golden thread. That theme is our Lord's Sacred Body. We find it first offered to the disciples at the Paschal banquet of Holy Thursday. It is then offered on the Cross in the bloody sacrifice of Good Friday. Finally, it is resurrected early Easter morning, becoming Church, Temple, and our Dwelling Place. With this theme in mind, I would like to offer the following series of Scriptures, drawn from both Old and New Testament writings, for your Easter reflection.
"Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'" (Gen. 2:23)
"And King David sent this message...'Say to the elders of Judah...You are my kinsmen, you are my bone and my flesh; why then should you be the last to bring back the king?'...And he swayed the heart of all Judah as one man...." (II Sam. 19:23)
"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him..." (Gen. 14:18-19)
"The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.'" (Ps. 110:4)
"Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Matt. 26:26-28)
"Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' The Jews then said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?' But he spoke of the temple of his body." ( Jn. 2:19-21)
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve." (I Cor. 15:3-5)
"Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men, but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (I Pet. 2:4-5)
"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are." (I Cor. 3:16-17)
"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb." (Rev. 21:22)
"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." (Lk. 24:39)
"For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his body. 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church...." (Eph. 5:29-32)
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the wold is my flesh." (Jn. 6:51)
"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.'" (Rev. 22:17)
