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Dear Friends,
This weekend is another great liturgical feast, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, otherwise known as Corpus Christi.
Christians from the beginning have believed that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. They were convinced of it because of Jesus’ words in today’s gospel. He uses very graphic language so that there is no doubt that He means what He says. We know that what Jesus says is upsetting to the crowd because they start quarreling about it. They are taking His words very literally. And that is what Jesus intends.
It is a tragedy that the doctrine of the Eucharist has become an issue of division between Christians, because, as St. Paul emphasizes in the second reading, the Eucharist is a source of unity:
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
Every time we gather for Mass, a miracle takes place. Jesus Christ, through the priest, turns ordinary bread and wine into His Body and Blood. What an incredible gift! It is that love that brings you here today, even though there are a thousand other things you could be doing. Jesus Christ is here. Why would we ever want to miss out on the opportunity to receive this wonderful gift?
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Shawn
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