Corpus Christi

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, 

This weekend we celebrate Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) Sunday and we will have a procession honoring the Holy Eucharist after the Sunday Holy Masses on Sunday. Please plan to attend if you are able. 

I urge us all to grow in our love for Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! Our Savior and True Friend, Jesus, is truly with us in the Holy Eucharist! Let make time to be with Him in prayer, adoration and Holy Mass – every Sunday and any time we can on weekdays! 

Here is some of what our Catechism of the Catholic of the Church teaches on the Holy Eucharist: 

“The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." (Lumen Gentium 11) "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ Himself, our Pasch." (Presbyterorum ordinis 5) 

"The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the Divine Life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through Him to the Father in the Holy Spirit." (Congregation of Rites, instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium, 6) Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate Eternal Life, when God will be all in all. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:28) 

In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: "Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking."” (St. Irenaeus) (CCC 1324-1327) 

This coming Friday, June 23, is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is a very special celebration that is focus of the First Friday monthly devotion. I encourage you to attend Holy Mass that day, if possible. The history of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus dates back to apparitions of Jesus to a religious sister named St. Margaret Mary Alacoque from 1673-1675. Here is a brief history: 

“In 1667, Jesus appeared to her (St. Margaret Mary) to strengthen her resolve to enter the convent and overcome her family’s pressure to marry. She entered the Sisters of the Visitation (founded by St. Francis de Sales) and on December 27, 1673 (the feast of the Beloved Disciple), Jesus appeared and told her to sit next to Him as the Beloved Disciple had done. Jesus revealed that His heart desired frequent Communion (especially on First Friday). He requested a feast of the Sacred Heart, asked for an image of His Sacred Heart, and gave the following 12 promises to those who practice this devotion: 

1. I WILL GIVE THEM ALL THE GRACES NECESSARY FOR THEIR STATE OF LIFE. 

2. I WILL GIVE PEACE IN THEIR FAMILIES. 

3. I WILL CONSOLE THEM IN ALL THEIR TROUBLES. 

4. THEY SHALL FIND IN MY HEART AN ASSURED REFUGE DURING LIFE AND ESPECIALLY AT THE HOUR OF DEATH. 

5. I WILL POUR ABUNDANT BLESSINGS ON ALL THEIR UNDERTAKINGS. 

6. SINNERS SHALL FIND IN MY HEART THE SOURCE AND INFINITE OCEAN OF MERCY. 

7. TEPID SOULS SHALL BECOME FERVENT. 

8. FERVENT SOULS SHALL SPEEDILY RISE TO GREAT PERFECTION. 

9. I WILL BLESS THE HOMES IN WHICH THE IMAGE OF MY SACRED HEART SHALL BE EXPOSED AND HONORED. 

10. I WILL GIVE TO PRIESTS THE POWER TO TOUCH THE MOST HARDENED HEARTS. 

11. THOSE WHO PROPAGATE THIS DEVOTION SHALL HAVE THEIR NAME WRITTEN IN MY HEART, AND IT SHALL NEVER BE EFFACED. 

12. I PROMISE THEE IN THE EXCESS OF THE MERCY OF MY HEART, THAT ITS ALL-POWERFUL LOVE WILL GRANT TO ALL THOSE WHO SHALL RECEIVE COMMUNION ON THE FIRST FRIDAY OF NINE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS THE GRACE OF FINAL REPENTANCE; THEY SHALL NOT DIE UNDER MY DISPLEASURE, NOR WITHOUT RECEIVING THE SACRAMENTS; MY HEART SHALL BE THEIR ASSURED REFUGE AT THAT LAST HOUR.” (Taken from: Building a Kingdom of Love by Msgr. John Esseff) 

I urge all to practice devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary (the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart)! Jesus’ promises are real and they are filled with power and strength. I encourage all to ask Him for His mercy and to take up this glorious devotion to His Sacred Heart and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary! Many of you have asked me to enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in your homes. 

Through the intercession of the Immaculate of Mary, the Chaste Heart of St. Joseph and our patron, St. Columbkill, may the Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, pour out His blessings upon you, your families and our parishes! 

In Christ through Mary, 

Fr. Kasel