The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, June 2, 2024

SJE Admin • May 31, 2024

Dear Friends,
It was so wonderful last Saturday to have with us Most Reverend Bill Wack, C.S.C., Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. He came to confirm our teens and some adults as well. He also stayed until Sunday to celebrate the 11:00a.m. Mass with and for us. Please continue to pray for those who have been confirmed, that they be set on fire with God’s love through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Vincent is back after attending his father, Hoa Nguyen'’s, ordination to the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia, by Most Reverend Stephen Parks. This beautiful event took place last Saturday, May 25, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah. It must have been a wonderful and moving emsrience for Fr. Vincent and his family. We continue to offer our prayers for Deacon Hoa, his wife Kelly and their children.

We are now beginning the 9th Week in Ordinary Time. As we do so, we celebrate the last of the special solemnities that follow the Great Solemnity of Easter: the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as by the Latin title, Corpus Christi (Body of Christ). On this occasion, it is fitting for us to examine our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. A recent (2019) Pew Research Center study uncovered an alarming disparity between what many Catholics believe and what the Church teaches (and Christ Himself said) about Holy Communion:

“About six-in-ten (63%) of the most observant Catholics — those who attend Mass at least once a week — accept the church’s teaching about transubstantiation. Still, even among this most observant group of Catholics, roughly onethird (37%) don’t believe that the Communion bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ [at the Consecration] .. ... And among Catholics who do not attend Mass weekly, large majorities say they believe the bread and wine are symbolic and do not actually become the body and blood of Jesus” (emphasis is mine). Source: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/08/05/transubstantiation-eucharist-u-s-catholics

How about us here at St. John’s? What do we believe? It is my most fervent prayer that our parish is far from this norm, and that all of us truly and firmly believe in the Real Presence of Jesus, that His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity is present in the consecrated bread and wine — that we ardently believe that we receive the Body and Blood of Christ during Holy Communion.

In honor of the Solemnity of the Blood and Blood of Christ, here are some questions for reflection about how we — each
of us — prepare for and celebrate the great and glorious mystery of the Eucharist during Mass:
Do we spend conscious time, before coming to Mass, preparing for what — and Who -- we will soon encounter?
Are we faithful to the Eucharistic Fast? That is, do we abstain from eating anything for one hour before Mass? This
includes refraining from chewing gum, eating mints, or drinking any beverage (even coffee!) other than water.
Do we dress appropriately?
Do we genuflect when we enter the church or our pew to honor our Lord and acknowledge that He is present in the
Tabernacle?
Once seated in our pew, do we consciously maintain silence, not only to continue preparing for the celebration of the
Eucharist, but also to avoid disturbing others and to encourage our brothers and sister to do the same?
Do we participate in singing the hymns of worship, praise, petition, and love that are offered by our choirs for our
spiritual uplifting?
Do we go up to receive the Eucharist with utmost respect and reverence? Do we form a throne of our hands to
receive him?
How do we respond to the words spoken by the clergy or the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion when they
say, “The Body of Christ,” “The Body of Christ”? (Our response should only and always be “Amen,” by which word we
acknowledge, “Yes, | do believe that | am receiving Jesus, His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.”)
As we receive our Lord, do we thank Him for this gift of Himself?
When we have returned to our pew, do we spend time in prayerful silence, gratefully resting in His great
Love for us?
Do we remain in our pew after the dismissal (“Go, the Mass is ended . . . “) until the Altar Servers and the
Clergy have processed out to the Narthex?
Do we realize that, when we leave church, we are the Tabernacle holding our Lord and that we are tasked with
sharing Him with others?

As we seek to understand the meaning of what this Solemnity places before us, | offer you a portion of the Sequence, Lauda Sion (Praise, O Zion). The Sequence was composed by St. Thomas Aquinas almost 800 years ago for use during the Masses celebrating this Solemnity:

Lo! the angel’s food is given
To the pilgrim who has striven;
see the children’s bread from heaven,
which on dogs may not be spent.

Truth the ancient types fulfilling,
Isaac bound, a victim willing,
Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling,
manna to the fathers sent.

Very bread, good shepherd, tend us
Jesu, of your love befriend us,
You refresh us, you defend us,
our eternal goodness send us,
In the land of life to see.

You who all things can and know,
Who on earth such food bestow,
Grant us with your saints, though lowest,
Where the heav'nly feast you show,
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

Have a Blessed Week!

With.Love,

Fr. John

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First Sunday of Lent, March 9, 2025

March 9, 2025

Dear friends, The holy season of Lent has begun with a glorious Ash Wednesday. It was heartwarming to see our children at the 7 a.m. Mass that day. They wore the cross-shaped ashes on their foreheads to school, proud to show their faith and be silent evangelizers. We are very proud of them! Now that it is Lent, we will offer Stations of the Cross at the Grotto each day of the week except Sunday, including the traditional Stations on Fridays. I urge you to look at the bulletin for all the details about special Masses and other spiritual activities that have been created to support you on your lenten journey. I ask that you take the Lenten Schedule on page 8 and post it where you will remember to look at it. In particular, note the information about the Lenten Mission on March 16-18, the special programing for the Tuesdays of Lent, and the many spiritual activities on Fridays. We can approach Lent as the opportunity to do a spiritual “spring cleaning.” As one good priest reminded me: “Lent is a time to re-read the ‘owner’s manual,’ to tune our ‘engines,’ and to refurbish our ‘vehicles’ – not only for the journey of 40 days but also for the journey of life, the right life–and the right eternity.” God has given us an inexhaustible capacity for the transformation needed for becoming holy. Lent is also that special time of year when we walk with our catechumens and candidates as they prepare to become full members of the Catholic faith during the Easter Vigil. We are called to support them through our prayers and examples of faith. Remember to pray for their sponsors and their families as well. During the Vigil Mass on 8 March, the St. John’s family will join with our catechumens in celebration of the ritual called the Rite of Sending. In this rite, they will be recognized for the progress they have made in their spiritual formation. Then we will send them on to the Rite of Election which will be celebrated by Bishop Noonan the next day, 9 March, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. We are very proud of the perseverance and dedication of our sisters and brothers . In this Jubilee Year 2025 themed, “Pilgrims of Hope,” it is good to reflect on the words of St. Teresa of Avila about hope and what it accomplishes: “Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.” On the First Sunday of Lent, we always revisit the scene of the temptation of Jesus in the desert where he spent 40 days fasting and praying. We also recall our ancestors in faith, the ancient Israelites, who for 40 years trudged their way through the desert to the promised land. Jesus, through his patient acceptance of suffering and his rejection of the allurements of the devil, models the correct response in times of adversity and testing. This is in contrast with the ancient Israelites who murmured and complained bitterly about their ordeal. Jesus never swerved from being obedient to his Father; he completely and utterly depended on Him. Let us, too, place complete confidence in the Father during our times of trial, of which there will be many. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, continues to need our prayers. Let us continue to pray for his healing: “O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful, look favorably on your servant Francis, whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd; grant, we pray, that by word and example he may be of service to those over whom he presides so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care, he may come to everlasting life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” I take this opportunity to announce that Beth Lowry has joined our parish staff as the new Business Manager. She held the position of bookkeeper in our office some years ago. Beth is well known to many at St. John’s. She and her devoted husband Steve have long been involved in many of our ministries. Beth brings a rich variety of work experience and abilities to her new position, and we wish her a positive and pleasant experience as she takes on this leadership role at St. John’s. Welcome, Beth! Have an inspiring and enriching LENT! With love, Fr. John