Last Updated on October 18, 2022 by GMC
Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Hebrews 10:19-25
Therefore, brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
Hebrews 10:19-22
In Jesus Christ, “flesh” and “blood” have triumphed over sin, death, and the devil, and live and reign forever and ever.
Flesh (sarx) encompasses all of humanity and the cosmos, from the smallest atom to the farthest star and every living being.
And the Word became flesh (sarx) and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
Unlike the sacrificial blood of animals which did not regenerate spirits dead in sin, the blood of Jesus opened a “new and living way” through the sanctuary veil to the presence of God.
In Christ, the blood of the slain Abel that cried out to God from the ground (Genesis 4:10) was assumed by the Son of God together with the earth and deified.
Every drop of blood of the risen Christ contains the whole Christ. Every particle of his body contains the whole Christ—divinity and humanity, heaven and earth, and communion with the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, angels and saints.
Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:23-25
Eucharist means “thanksgiving.”
Thank you, Father, for your Son.
Thank you, Jesus, for your Body and Blood.
Thank you, Spirit, for making us one.
Dear GMC, thank you for your reflection. I’m still wrapping my head around (heart to follow) that Christ is whole, humanity and divinity, in all his parts, the Eucharist and all. And it wouldn’t be the feast day of st. Thomas Aquinas if I didn’t say to you and to Father Victor the following: “Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.” May God continue to bless you and inspire you.