June 4, 2026 Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mark 12:28–34
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In some dioceses, for pastoral benefit, this feast is transferred to the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. To accommodate those dioceses, this year we provide both the reflection for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and that for Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time.
The Gospel for Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time is taken from the Gospel of Mark and recounts a dialogue between Jesus and a scribe. I would like to offer some reflections.
Saint Mark tells us that a scribe came to Jesus and asked Him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” (cf. Mark 12:28). We can see ourselves in this scribe, for sometimes we too think that by keeping just one of God’s commandments we can attain eternal life. But in Jesus’ view, the Ten Commandments are closely linked and inseparable; not one of them can be set aside. He did not come to abolish the Old Law but to fulfill it. Therefore, He cites a passage from Deuteronomy: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (cf. Deut 6:4–5). Then He quotes Leviticus: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (cf. Lev 19:18). Finally, He summarizes: “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (cf. Mark 12:29–31).
Today, each of us is called to be a Christian. Christ, rich in mercy, has proclaimed the Ten Commandments to us through His Church, founded upon Saint Peter. If we are guided by the Holy Spirit, we will no longer view God’s commandments according to the logic of this world—a logic that says God’s law is too profound and burdensome to bear. Rather, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God’s commandments are not a weight, but a duty we are capable of fulfilling. Now, let us pray together:
O God, whose providence never fails in its design, keep from us, we humbly beseech you, all that might harm us and grant all that works for our good. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
June 4, 2026 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Gospel: John 6:51–58
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In some dioceses, for pastoral benefit, this feast is transferred to the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. To accommodate those dioceses, this year we provide both the reflection for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and that for Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time.
The Gospel for the Solemnity is taken from the Gospel of John. In this passage, we see Jesus speaking to the crowds and the Jews about the Bread of Life. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
We often understand our relationship with God according to our own limited perspectives. At times, like the Jews in John 6:51–52, we struggle to accept that what we receive from the hands of the priest during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is no longer ordinary wheat bread or wine, but the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ—given freely by Him to His Church out of His own will, on the eve of His Passion.
Today, if we approach the church with lively faith to participate in the Mass, we will no longer regard the Body and Blood consecrated through the full celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy—with the priest invoking the Holy Spirit in great faith—as mere unleavened bread and wine. For these are the very words Jesus spoke at the Last Supper. Then He took bread, broke it, and gave it to His apostles, saying: “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you.” In the same way, He took the chalice, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying: “Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins” (cf. Matt 26:26–28). Elsewhere He said: “Do this in memory of me” (cf. Luke 22:19). When we receive this food from the priest’s hand, we become partakers of it. By sharing in the one Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are brought into communion with the Church spread throughout the world. If our conduct is conformed to Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, and lived faithfully each day, then through our good words and deeds we shall merit the kingdom of heaven. Together with all creation freed from sin and death, and in the communion of saints, we shall enter into the inaccessible light and join the heavenly host in praising the infinite mercy of the Lord.
O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament have left us a memorial of your Passion, grant us, we pray, so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood that we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of your redemption. Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
全属于祢 
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