This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – Corpus Christi, a solemn and beautiful reminder of the central mystery of our faith – that Christ is truly present with us in the Eucharist. This is not just a symbol or a memory. It is Christ himself – His Body given for us, His Blood poured out for us, offered again and again at every Mass for the life of the world. For Catholics, the Eucharist is not just something we receive. It is someone we encounter. Jesus meets us in bread and wine, made sacred, and enters into our fragile, everyday lives. At a time when so much feels uncertain, when our world faces division, when families and communities experience change, when we face the reality of parish communities being united and now one of our worship sites being closed, the Eucharist grounds us. It reminds us that God is not distant. Christ walks with us, feeds us, and remains with us.

The Eucharist calls us to be Eucharistic people – people of gratitude, presence, and sacrifice. We are invited not only to receive Christ, but to become what we receive, His Body in the world today. That means carrying His peace into places of conflict, His compassion into suffering, and His hope into situations that seem hopeless. Even in uncertainty, the Eucharist assures us that God is with us, God is for us, and God will not abandon us.

Saint Thomas Aquinas once wrote so beautifully, “The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; it signifies Love, it produces Love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life.”

How then do we live this out today? We begin with small acts – reaching out to a neighbor who is isolated, praying for those who suffer in silence, showing up for one another in times of grief or transition. We join our struggles with Christ’s, offering them quietly at Mass. We let the Eucharist shape not only what we believe but how we treat others. When we do this, we become signs of God’s presence for our weary world, and for those in our community who are saddened and struggling with change and for our weary world.

As we receive the Body of Christ at any one of our sacred worship sites, and in a particular way today at Saint Catherine of Siena-Saint Lucy Church as we offer the closing Mass in this sacred space, let us become more fully the Body of Christ in our community and in the world. Together, even in uncertainty, let us find strength and hope, trusting we are held in the heart of God.

ASCENSION AND ST. EDMUND PARISH - Friends, be aware next weekend of those who may be coming from Saint Catherine-Saint Lucy worship site to join us for Mass. Our Parish Churches are open to all seeking a spiritual home. Also, a word of THANKS to all who have supported our drive to have a stronger end to our fiscal year. It is not too late to be an angel donor! Any gift helps to make a difference and you can still make a gift until June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA-ST. LUCY AND ST. GILES PARISH - Next weekend at our Saint Giles worship site, we will have a welcome weekend as our parish comes together to worship as one Body of Christ. There will be name tags for those who wish to use them and light refreshments after Mass as we begin to know each other more closely.

With you a Christian. For you a priest.

Father Carl Morello
Pastor
Ascension and St. Edmund Parish
St. Catherine of Siena – St. Lucy and St. Giles Parish