June 22, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters, We come this weekend to the great annual celebration of Corpus Christ: the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of our Lord. The same Body and Blood given for us on the Cross is forever present for the Church in the sacrament of the Eucharist! This great feast is in many ways an extension of the celebration of Holy Thursday: the complete, self-emptying of the Lord Jesus, shown by him taking the form of a servant in the Upper Room and waiting at table. The gift of love in that first Eucharist remains present with us always: when we come together to “eat this bread and drink this cup,” the same grace is present for us that was present for the first disciples. As is my annual habit, I always like to give a few reminders about the manner of receiving Holy Communion on this weekend. I’ll start by acknowledging that the way we receive is a very personal thing, connected with our deepest experiences of God and our cultural traditions. That said, while receiving the Lord’s gift of himself is personal, it is not individual: it is important to be mindful of how we show respect and unity with our wider community. This year, the main point I would emphasize to everyone is to not be hasty at the moment when you receive. It’s important to keep the line flowing (a part of respect for Christ’s presence in his holy people!), but it’s equally important, at the moment of reception, not to rush. So as gentle encouragement to everyone, when you come to Communion: hear the words “the Body of Christ,” respond “Amen!”, extend your hands or your tongue, and then hold still for a couple second. That will avoid the issue of having your hands close on the priest’s or minister’s fingers, or causing our fingers to be licked or bit. Both of those have been happening a fair amount recently, and as you can imagine, they are very distracting experiences for those distributing Communion. Fortunately, they can be easily avoided by just slowing down a bit and enjoying the moment. Thank you to the many who are already so mindful about receiving well. Also, I will add a special invitation: we will have a Eucharistic procession this weekend after the 8am and 12:30pm Masses, beginning right at the end of the celebration. All are invited for these special times of prayer and devotion! As we celebrate this special feast day, let’s enjoy the chance we have to come together each week for the great sacrament of love, to share in the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus with our parish family. God bless,

Father Jantz