The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus
From The Font
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews time in the desert was punctuated by the two things everything in the desert lacks: water and food. When the Jews fled the desert of Sin, they stopped at a place called Rephidim where the Jews had no water to drink. Moses struck a rock and the Holy Spirit made water flow from it. Moses renamed the place Massah and Meribah.
Later, the Jews were starving and Moses again prayed. This time, the Holy Spirit sent “Manna” which was a thin, flakey substance that fell like snow and hardened like frost. This bread-like substance fed the Jews until they entered the Promised Land.
Jesus taught that HE is the true Manna, the true bread which came down from Heaven and He added that He would continue to send this new bread from Heaven to His followers in the form of the Holy Eucharist.
As with so many of the images which derive from the Old Testament, we modern Christians struggle to understand the real significance of what Jesus is saying. He’s not saying that He intends to leave a merely spiritual presence or that He wants there to be a symbolic meal. For the Jews, the manna was the ONLY reason they survived the desert. Further, the Manna was given by God conditionally. It couldn’t be stored up for the future. It rotted away when people tried to store it. When Jesus mentions “Our Daily Bread” in the Our Father, He’s referencing this manna. Further, the bread stopped immediately when the Jews completed their journey from slavery to the desert of Sin to the Promised Land. The image is so clear that it’s hard not to see the Holy Eucharist foreshadowed in the manna.
The Seder supper which was the context for the Last Supper uses unleavened bread in part as a reference to the manna in the desert. And we as Catholics continue that same tradition of using unleavened bread stamped down into a cracker-like host specifically to evoke the image of the manna. That’s why we don’t use pita-type unleavened bread - Jesus is the manna, the bread come down from Heaven which is our only real sustenance in this world.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
This weekend, we return to the distribution of Holy Communion under both the form of bread and the form of wine. After the consecration at Mass, these forms remain unchanged to our senses, but their very existence becomes the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus.
Please be very, very clear. There is NO SPIRITUAL DIFFERENCE AT ALL between the consecrated bread and the consecrated wine. Both are the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus. There is no objective spiritual advantage to receiving both forms. There is no need of any sort to receive both. It’s essentially important that we understand this... There may very well be a subjective (that is a personal or emotional) benefit to receiving Holy Communion from the chalice, but there is no spiritual difference between the two. Anyone who receives the consecrated bread receives the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus. Anyone who receives the consecrated wine receives the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus.
Please, please, please - for my sanity and your holiness - do not call the Holy Eucharist “the wine.” It’s not semantics, it’s actually important. It’s essential that we understand what we do and why we do it. St Paul, after all, warns us that “Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (c.f. 1 Cor 11).
If we approach Holy Communion without understanding and without a sense of deliberate reverence, we risk committing the serious sin of desecration. This is why we can’t receive Holy Communion if we haven’t been to confession in a while. If we receive Holy Communion outside of the “State of Grace” (having committed no serious sins since our last confession), then we don’t receive any grace from the reception and we commit the further sin of blasphemy and desecration. This is why we need to be making a regular confession.
It’s also why we need to think about what we do when we receive Holy Communion and do it in a very deliberate way. We don’t just come up and “take” Holy Communion. We “receive” Our Lord.
When the minister offers you Holy Communion, they say “The Body (or Blood) of Christ.” Your response is “Amen.” This ritual dialogue matters! It’s a way of being deliberate and intentional with our reception.
In the same way, the Church requires (not suggests) that we cannot receive Holy Communion unless we have fasted from food and drink for one (1) hour. If you’re pulling up to Church and taking a swig of coffee, you’re not in trouble or anything, but you can’t and shouldn’t receive Holy Communion. Why? Because that brief fast forces us to think about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.
If you’re at Mass and you’re not able to receive, that’s ok! It’s a courageous thing to abstain from Holy Communion! It’s evidence of discernment and honesty with the Lord and with yourself. You can either remain in your pew or you can come forward to the rail and cross your arms over your chest. I’ll give you a blessing and you’re good to go.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Inez and C.B. DeMoss/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tues 9:00a In memory of Edgar Lancaster (birth anni)/family
- Wed 9:00a In memory of A.P. and Pat Guizerix/family
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Rosa and Gus Gremshell and May DiTomasso
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Father Ferre (birth anni)/Magoun
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Thomas Trichell (birth anni) Tommy Trichell
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living Deceased Members of our Parish
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of MaryAnne Gilfoil
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 6/10 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil |
| 6/11 9:00a | Cooper and Maura | D Ellerbee |
| 6/17 5:30p | None Scheduled | M Rome |
| 6/18 9:00a | Kathleen and Evelyn | Youth |
| 6/24 5:30p | None Scheduled | C VanderVieren |
| 6/25 9:00a | Chandler and Annie | C Guizerix |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and on Sunday from 9a until Mass
- Sunday Catechism and Donuts after Mass during the school year unless otherwise indicated
- Wednesday Morning Catechism about 9:30 a.m in Church and on Facebook and YouTube
- Pastoral Council meeting monthly on the third Wednesday at 6p
For Your Information:
ROSARY GROUP… a group of parishioners is meeting on Monday at 5:30 p.m. to pray the Rosary. Everyone is invited to join the group. If you need additional information, please contact the Coordinator, Louise Magoun, at 318-341-2403.
FORMED.ORG… FORMED has an entire page of weekly featured videos that are worth checking out at https://watch.formed.org/this-week-on-formed. Remember to sign in using our parish’s zip code (71282) at http://signup.formed.org
Stewardship The Scriptures today remind us that “we, many though we are, are one body for we all partake of the one loaf.” How are we using our gifts of time and talent to build up the body of Christ?
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| May Budget | $ 8,444 |
| May Income | $ 10,689 |
| May Expenses | $ 10.690 |
| June Budget | $ 8,444 |
| June 3-4 Collection | $ 2,738 |
| June Income To Date | $ 2,738 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday MaryKathryn Book (June 13), Emily Ginn (June 14), Connie Copes (June 15), Margaret Gilfoil (June 16)
In Our Daily Prayers…
Please let us know of anyone who is ill or hospitalized and would like to receive a visit from Father. Also, help us keep our prayer list up to date by advising us of those who should be added or removed.
Our Holy Father Pope Francis; Bishop Robert Marshall, and our Diocesan leaders, our President, Governor, Mayor and national, state and local elected representatives
Our parishioners who are sick, shut-in, or otherwise in need of our prayers: Connie and Dan Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Leslye Ellerbee, Susan and Johnny Gilfoil, MaryJane Johnson, Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Terry and Susie Murphy, Sue & Mike Rome
Those under full-time care: Frances Kennedy, Carol Dunning
Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Lee Adams (Smith), Ashley Alexander (Regan), Graham Allen (S Gilfoil), Kathryn Wood Allsopp (D Wood), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), the family of Carolyn Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Tommy Bickham (C Copes), Chris Breard (Gilfoil), Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Ruthie Coenen (Wilks), Jami Cook (Wilks), Marla Evans Cummings, Susan Ward Daigle (Gilfoil & Keene), Don Deweese, Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Monique Florence, Judy Fortenberry, April Franklin (Wilks), Thom Gilfoil, Wyly Gilfoil (Gilfoil), Charlotte Green, Rita Hargrave, Arlice Evans Headley, Evie Hilburn (Lancaster), Charles Howington, Dee Jones (Keene), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, John Neill, Caryn Oliver, Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Levi and Kristin Reagan and their infant twins, Mary Anne and Adam Todd (Gilfoil/Ginn), Janie Saxon (Lancaster), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy),Tuleta Sasser (Wilks), Tommy Trichell, LeeAnn Rome Tranchina (Rome), Joe Yerger,
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Callie Ezell, Lilly Falgout, Chris Hall (USMC), Nick Hall, Bruen Johnson, Caroline Marsh, Emmy Lu Marsh, Blake Sullivan, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Marsh Wood
