The church celebrates the Eucharist in a special way today. Second only to Holy Thursday, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ offers an opportunity to focus on the meaning of the eucharistic sacrament.

It's easy to be tempted, as the apostles were, to think that "we are in a deserted place." That is, to think we are in a situation where God's providence doesn't reach.

THE WONDERFUL SEASON of Easter surrenders each year to what might feel like a dull doctrinal thud: the triple threat of Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi.

When bread is blessed and broken in the name of Jesus, scripture says, things happen. Jesus is remembered. A new covenant is celebrated. All are satisfied. And there is much left over.

I was on a train in Italy with college friends, including the woman who would become my wife. It was a slow train that stopped at every town and village between Florence and Rome. People boarded the train loaded with bundles and baskets and children in hand.

Often, no matter how dire their circumstances, a beautifully peaceful look will wash over the face of a nursing mother. These women report an overwhelming sense of joy in nurturing and nourishing their young.

Invite people to think of some of the best times they've spent as a family (with family defined as those who matter most to you). Odds are that a meal is involved in some way in many of those memories.

My friends in Christ, God has given the great gift of God's Son in the Eucharist. For when we have turned away from the presence of God in the world and one another, we pray for forgiveness.

Melchizedek, king (of Salem, "peace") and priest of the Most High, initiates a set of actions seen in all of today's reading: take, bless, break, and give.

O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memorial of his passion is celebrated, our hearts are filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given us!