Corpus Christi, C June 19, 2022
Fr. Alexander Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
You may have heard that the US Bishops are launching a kind of Eucharistic Revival in our country over the next few years. To start that off, Bishop Deshotel has asked us to read this letter from him to you:
“Dear Friends in Christ,
The Church celebrates this weekend the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord. The celebration invites us to reflect on that most precious gift given to us by Our Savior Jesus Christ, the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. In the Eucharist, the promise of Jesus that He would always be with us until the close of the ages is fulfilled.
The Eucharist was instituted by Our Lord when, seated with His apostles at the Last Supper, He took bread and wine and said, “This is my body, this is my blood, do this in memory of me”. In the Eucharist we are changed and become the food we eat. Jesus told the crowds after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, ‘You should be looking for true food, my own body and blood. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life and I will raise him up on the last day.’
The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice in which the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ is contained, offered and received. A sacrament is an outward sign that contains a true reality. Bread and wine are the outward sign which when the words of Jesus are pronounced by the priest become the true body and blood of the Lord. The Eucharist is a sacrifice because the whole redemptive work of Jesus Christ, His life, His perfect obedience to the will of the Father, His suffering, death on the cross, resurrection and ascension are made present on the altar and offered to God the Father. In His presence on the altar, we are joined to Him to give the most perfect worship to God and atonement for our sins. He is the perfect Lamb of God offered for our sins.
Jesus Christ is truly present under the form of bread and wine. The complete Jesus is present under the form of bread and completely present under the form of wine. We receive His body and blood when we receive Holy Communion. It is our spiritual nourishment and the pledge of our everlasting life.
On this solemnity, let us all renew our love and devotion to Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. We should assist at Mass as often as possible, most especially on all Sundays, the Lord’s Day. Many of the faithful have a devotion to daily Mass. Why not stop and make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in Church sometimes and spend quiet time with Jesus present in the tabernacle. The Church has many devotions to the Eucharist: Benediction, Eucharistic processions, praying the rosary before the tabernacle and more.
The beautiful prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas highlights this great treasure that is ours as Catholics: ‘O holy banquet in which Christ is received, the memory of His passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace and there is given to us the pledge of everlasting life.’
With every good wish, I am
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel, D.D.
Bishop of Lafayette”
The Bishop has given us an excellent reflection. There’s just a few things I want to emphasize and add with the time I have left. First is that the bishop asked you to “assist” at Mass. I love that word because that’s what you do when you come. You don’t just watch, you assist by your presence, your prayers, your attention, your singing, and your responses. This is true even if you don’t receive communion. Communion should be a part of this, but it starts with you assisting the whole Mass… not just coming to get something and leave. You being here makes Mass better for all of us. You missing Mass means that all of us miss out on something that only you can do. Please try to remember that you are wanted… your presence here matters.
Secondly, I want to expand on what Bishop said about the forgiveness of sins. Receiving communion worthily forgives all venial sins. Receiving communion worthily helps us to avoid sin and helps us shave off time in purgatory for past sins. The Eucharist is immeasurably powerful, but it is still not magic. It does not bypass our own free will. If we reject Jesus’ teachings, receiving communion does not fix that. If we are living in mortal sin, receiving communion does not fix that. Most priests don’t want to deny communion to anyone ever. But, if someone flatly refuses to accept Church teaching or is living publicly in sin without even being sorry for it, we have to deny them. I know some people wrestle with this, so I want to emphasize that it’s not about excluding people or about expecting perfection. The Eucharist is medicine for sinners, but just like taking aspirin for a virus can actually hurt you, so can taking communion without repentance cause spiritual harm. It’s not about being good enough, it’s simply about having genuine repentance.
Finally, the Bishop concluded by calling for renewal through a variety of Eucharistic devotions. It’s one of the reasons this/tomorrow morning began/will begin with adoration and why we’ll have a short procession after Mass [tomorrow] ending with Benediction. It’s also why, starting this week, I’m moving the Wednesday afternoon exposition into the Church and extending it by 30 minutes. The chapel will remain as it is now. 1st Friday 40 Hours adoration will still be in the Chapel for security reasons. But, every Wednesday, I will expose the Blessed Sacrament in Church after Mass and it will stay that way until 6:30. At about 6:20pm each Wednesday, I will offer Benediction like we used to do on Sunday afternoons.
I highly encourage you… indeed, as your pastor, I challenge you to make this devotion part of your weekly pattern if it’s at all possible. Just pop in for a few minutes on the way home for work. Bring the kids over for the last 10 minutes to catch Benediction before returning home for dinner. We often have events here on Wednesday nights: meetings, game nights, and so on. From now on, those will start at 6:30, but I’ll ask people to come early to participate in this powerful devotion.
St. John Vianney once said that if we understood the Mass – where we encounter the Eucharist – we would die of joy. A joy nothing in this world could possible equal. This revival is an opportunity to get a little closer to that kind of understanding and that kind of joy. So, take advantage of it and come with forward with hope to receive your God.