From the Friars: The Cup of Salvation

The Psalm for today’s Mass of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi is Psalm 116. This is one of the Hallel Psalms which Jesus Himself would have sung at the Passover. It is a powerful meditation to reflect on the Messiah singing these prophetic words which were coming to fulfillment at that moment.

Psalm 116 is a song of gratitude to God for deliverance from death and despair. The question is asked: “What shall I render to the LORD for all His bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation…” (vv. 12-13) Later Our Lord would say to St. Peter in the garden, “shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?” (Jn 18:11) The cup of salvation contains the Precious Blood of Our Savior, the price of our redemption.

The word Eucharist means thanksgiving. Jesus died on the Cross in reparation for our sins, but specifically as a thank offering. As our great high priest, He gives Himself to the Father as an act of gratitude on behalf of all creation. It is really the only way that we can adequately thank God, because apart from Jesus our thanks are always imperfect. They may be sincere but they are limited, and therefore not capable of expressing what justice demands.

The cup of salvation is raised up at every Holy Mass. The sacrifice of Our Lord is made present on the altar precisely so we can unite our limited thank you to the perfect infinite thanksgiving of the Eternal Son to the Eternal Father. How generous is our God to allow us to participate in the redeeming sacrifice of His Son. Of course, the words are empty if they do not express a gift of our whole life. To lift up the cup is to make a total gift of myself to the One Who gives Himself totally to me.

One regret I have is that I never really thanked my parents as I should have for all they did for me, for the countless sacrifices they made for my benefit. Likewise with the One Who gave me my parents.

May the woman at the foot of the Cross teaches us how to raise the cup.

–Fr. Peter