Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, but for those who remember their Latin, you might better recognize it as the Feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ).  The Feast was originally established in 1246 by Bishop Robert de Torete, of the Diocese of Liège, Belgium, but not without the 40 year effort of St. Julia of Liège, a Norbertine sister who had a special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, who spend most of her life petitioning for this special feast day. The Word for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 John 6:51-58 When Jesus established the Eucharist at the Last Supper, his use of bread and wine was deliberate and purposeful.  They were the most ordinary of foods, yet represented what was necessary to sustain us.  In Jewish ritual, bread and wine have always been an important part of the Passover m...

A thought provoking article was posted today in our daily Angelus News email... Supreme Court rules in favor of religious hospitals in pension dispute I urge you to read and consider this question: Is this really a win? Religious freedom under the law is one thing, but when it flouts the moral responsibility of the institutional Church to care for it's workers, I really think we, the greater Church, need to stand up for justice. This is a very important and highly charged issue, but one the larger Church is, unfortunately, not well aware.  Anyone who has worked for the institutional Church (or has someone close to them who does) know this issue well and must deal with this daily. Poor wages, poor working conditions, poor benefits, and pathetic retirement plans are the norm. This is particularly poignant given that this Sunday we're being encouraged to give to the annual collection for the priests retirement fund. Why do we need this fund? Because ba...

With Pentecost behind us, the Easter Season has come to a close, but as is typical for the Church, she’s not yet ready to leave the party behind, so for these next two weeks we continue the celebration by looking at the Church’s most sacred mysteries:  The doctrine of the Trinity with this Sunday’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinity Sunday), and next week with doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist with the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (also remembered as Corpus Christi). The Word for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9 Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 John 3:16-18 Our first reading for Sunday comes from Exodus, where God, after having set his wrath upon Israel for the Golden Calf incident, has agreed (with Moses’ urging) to take back his people.  As you may recall, Moses went up the mountain for 40 days and came back with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments....