"May our worship of this Sacrament of Your Body and

Blood help us to experience the salvation won for us…."

May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus be with you! This quote is part of the opening prayer for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. It is good to remind ourselves of the thought that it expresses, for several reasons. First, because it speaks to what is the heart of our Catholic Faith, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and it is good to always meditate on that fundamental reality of our Faith. Second, because it reminds us of the great event that is about to take place in our Parish. In a little more than a week, a group of our younger brothers and sisters will receive the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus for the first time. Because this is such a holy and significant event, not only for them but for the whole Parish, we always invite the entire Parish to participate in this event. For that reason, we only have one Sunday Mass on that weekend, the Mass at which the First Communicants will receive their First Holy Communion. The Church encourages her members to be present at and actively participate in the Masses in which brothers and sisters receive the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation.) In fact, in terms of First Communion, she shows her encouragement of that by offering a plenary indulgence to all of those who attend such a Mass: "A plenary indulgence is granted the Christian faithful when they receive their First Communion and also when they devoutly assist at a First Communion ceremony." (The Handbook of Indulgences, p. 77). When we join together as a Parish to support each other in this way, it not only bears an excellent witness to the Faith that we share, it deepens our own Faith. It allows each of us to penetrate more deeply the mystery of the Eucharist and the awesome privilege of our participation in this greatest of God's gifts to us. I realize that different circumstances may make it impossible for some folks to attend this celebration, but I strongly encourage those who can, to join together for this happy occasion, assisting our younger brothers and sisters by our prayers, our support, and our presence as they enter, for the first time, into the glorious mystery that is so much the heart of who we are as Catholics. It would be a worthy gift we could offer to them. Another gift we can offer to them is to take some time to pray for them before their First Communion Mass, that God would continue to be opening their hearts to this great moment, that He would prepare the way, disposing them for the proper reception of this great Sacrament by blessing them with ever greater gifts of faith, hope and love.

This is also a special time for each of us to reflect on our own love of the Lord Jesus as He is present to us as the Eucharistic Lord. How do we approach, with love, reverence, devotion, and awe, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? How do we prepare our hearts to receive so great a Guest? How do we express our thanksgiving to Him, Who has given so much to us? Let us plead with the Lord Jesus to bring us all more deeply into His Sacred Heart and help us to participate, fully, actively, and consciously, in this most sacred of all His holy Mysteries. I commend you to the care of the Mother of God and the protection of St. Michael.

Fr. Ed