Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Church calls our attention to the great Mystery of Faith, which is the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. In this sacrament, we are able to draw close to Jesus and receive divine nourishment for our souls. The act of receiving Communion is both personal and communal. When I receive Jesus in the Eucharist, our Lord gives Himself to me in an intensely personal way. Those moments after receiving are truly moments of great union with our Savior. As Pope St. John Paul II wrote in Mane Nobiscum Domine, “Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus. ‘Abide in me, and I in you’ (Jn 15:4). This relationship of profound and mutual ‘abiding’ enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth. Is this not the greatest of human yearnings? Is this not what God had in mind when he brought about in history his plan of salvation? God has placed in human hearts a ‘hunger’ for his word (cf. Am 8:11), a hunger which will be satisfied only by full union with him. Eucharistic communion was given so that we might be ‘sated’ with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfillment in heaven.” At the same time, to say “Amen” at the moment of Communion is to say “Yes, I believe, I am with all who profess this faith.” That is, receiving the Eucharist is not a neutral act. It is a public, visible act, and one which we rarely undertake alone – rather we are shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in faith.
In the United States, we are in a period of Eucharistic revival (www.eucharisticrevival.org). This is a time to reinvigorate our faith in Jesus real presence, and to appreciate more deeply what it means to receive the Lord in the Eucharist. Today (Sunday), in honor of Corpus Christi and following a long tradition in the life of the Church, we will hold a Eucharistic procession, carrying our Eucharistic Lord from the church building out into our neighborhood. While the route of the procession is short and simple, a procession is a very visible sign. In this procession, we accompany Jesus in a very real way. This is a sign of what we want to do spiritually every day: we want to bring Jesus to the world in which we live. When our procession reaches the park at the intersection of Brookside Drive, Mill Plain Road, and Burr Street, we will pause for Eucharistic benediction, calling down the blessing of Jesus Christ upon our entire parish, town, and community.
Additionally, as we continue through this time of Eucharistic revival, I would like to encourage the practice of Eucharistic adoration. This practice is profoundly simple, yet deeply significant. Jesus, present in the Eucharist, is placed in a monstrance, a special vessel used to allow us to see the Eucharist for a prolonged period of time. We then spend time with Jesus in prayer. We are only a few hours away from being able to start holding continuous Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from Mondays at 9 AM until Fridays at 9 PM. I am profoundly grateful to everyone who has volunteered to spend an hour each week with Jesus. To anyone who has not yet signed up, I encourage you to commit to an hour that is convenient for you: https://www.st-pius.org/adore365/.
Peace,
Fr. Sam
