Dear Parishioners and Friends,

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is a celebration of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of the Eucharist. On this day, Christians gather around the altar to contemplate and adore the mystery of faith, and the memorial of Christ’s sacrifice, by which He brought salvation to all people. The first Christians perfectly understood the importance of the Eucharist, and encouraged each other to receive Holy Communion saying, let us go forth and receive life, power, love, and holiness!

A certain Catholic newspaper printed a letter they received from a reader, who after several years of living in sin, went through a sincere sacrament of reconciliation. The confessor advised her to receive frequent, even daily Communion. “It saved me” – she said. She found strength to overcome evil in Holy Communion, and went on persevering goodness. After a while others considered her too devout and extreme, and she was asking what to do, “because to me” – she wrote – “to give up frequent Holy Communion, means to return to sin. Without the aid of Jesus in the Eucharist, I will not persevere. I myself, do not have enough strength to resist sin.”

Jesus came down from heaven to earth, lived for 33 years and taught the people about the kingdom of God. Just before His death on the cross He left us in His will the Blessed Sacrament. And when He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He also left us His body and soul in the form of bread and wine. But do you really believe this to be true? Nobody is free from the lack of faith or momentary doubt. The evidence of this is the miracle of consecration in Macerata, Italy. On the morning of April 15, 1356, a priest celebrated Mass in the Benedictine church.  During the consecration, he experienced a brief moment of doubt in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, when suddenly as he broke the bread, blood flowed out of the Host. His hands trembled and drops of blood fell onto the corporal under the chalice.  After the Mass ended the priest hurried to the bishop, who ordered that the stained corporal undergo canonical testing at the Cathedral. This miracle has been compared to the famous miracle of Bolsena in 1236, which instituted the feast of Corpus Christi. The Commission confirmed the authenticity of the miracle and the blood – stained corporal remains exposed for public adoration. Blood stains clearly visible on the corporal are regarded as the Holy Blood of the Savior. The reliquary containing the precious treasure survived stormy vicissitudes and its contents are still venerated in the chapel of the Cathedral of Macerata – particularly in the octave of Corpus Christi.

Jesus once said to the people who were listening to Him, and who had exactly the same problems as us: “My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed, and anyone who eats this bread will live forever.” There were those who believed, as well as those who went on with their affairs. Today, there are also those among us who will accept these words with true faith; others may think them over; and still others might leave and return to their own affairs without any reaction, as if nothing had happened. And what will you do? God bless!