Pastor Notes 6-11-23
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June 12, 2023Our celebration this Sunday of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi Sunday) carries a bit more relevance this year of the National Eucharistic Revival. There has been concern about the “Real Presence” within the Eucharist we are privileged to receive. Not the truth of such, but the wandering belief of such within the faithful. Regardless of the size of the church or that of the congregation gathered, the culture or circumstances within the country, whenever the Eucharist is celebrated, the Real Presence is absolute.
Transubstantiation is that mysterious word describing the bread and wine becoming the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus. Even more so in its definition: “The complete change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ's body and blood by a validly ordained priest during the consecration at Mass, so that only the accidents of bread and wine remain.” Perhaps it isn’t the intellectual understanding of the Real Presence in the Eucharist that draws us into this mystery, but the truth of its substance as Pope Francis describes: “The Eucharist is essential for us: it is Christ who wishes to enter our lives and fill us with his grace. . . .The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. . . .Jesus speaks in the silence of the mystery of the Eucharist and reminds us each time that following him means going out of ourselves and making our lives not something we 'possess,' but a gift to him and to others.” Setting aside our distractions and concerns can be a challenge when we participate in the Eucharist. Acknowledging our frailty and the blessings we have received, as we come forward to receive Communion, we are where Christ is calling us to feed us with his very body and blood. As Timothy O’Malley shared in a recent article within the Catholic periodical America, “None of us gets to create the guest list for this feast, where the Lord gives himself to every man and woman. Whether members of this or that political party, whatever country we are from, whatever our status in the hierarchy of the church, we are first and foremost citizens and sojourners convoked so that the Lord himself might feed us.” In the end, it is our ‘letting go,’ opening our heart and very soul to the truth, the mystery, the Presence in the Communion we receive.
On this Sunday, may this ancient Litany of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar give us pause from our distractions and concerns, allowing our hearts to be touched by the Real Presence.
Word made flesh and living among us, have mercy on us.
Hidden manna from above, have mercy on us.
Living bread that came down from heaven, have mercy on us. Chalice of blessing, have mercy on us.
Precious blood that washes away our sins, have mercy on us.
Food that lasts for eternal life, have mercy on us.
Mystery of faith, have mercy on us.
Medicine of immortality, have mercy on us.
Food of God’s chosen, have mercy on us.
Perpetual presence in our tabernacles, have mercy on us.
By the great longing you had to eat the Passover with your disciples, Good Lord, deliver us.
By your humility in washing their feet, Good Lord, deliver us.
By your loving gift of this Divine Sacrament, Good Lord, deliver us.
By the five wounds of your Precious Body, Good Lord, deliver us. By your sacrificial death on the Cross, Good Lord, deliver us.
By the piercing of your Sacred Heart, Good Lord, deliver us.
By your rising to new life, Good Lord, deliver us.
By your gift of the Holy Spirit, our advocate and guide, Good Lord, deliver us.
By your return in glory to judge the living and the dead, Good Lord, deliver us. Amen.
God Bless, Fr. Tim
FYI: One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you
are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying. (Joan of Arc)