Dear Parishioners,
Last week was First Communion for our boys and girls and a time of great joy for our young ones as they experienced receiving Jesus for the very first time. It was also a day of pride and nostalgia for their parents as they witnessed this important milestone in their children’s lives and remembered their own First Communion years ago.
While we do well to emphasize what the Eucharist does for us—it unites us to Jesus and those in communion with Him through the Church, gives us sanctifying grace, and provides us with the strength and energy to make the sacrifices necessary to live as authentic Christians, it helps us remember clearly and appreciate God’s loving deeds and blessings of the past with His promise to be with us in the future.
This year the Catholic Church in the United States is encouraging the faithful to reflect on and remember the importance of the Eucharist in the lives of her people. In the last 75 years, so many Catholics have lost faith in the Church and the Eucharist. From 70% of Catholics coming to Mass on Sunday in the 1950s, to only 21% currently, and only 31% who believe in the real presence ie, the Eucharist is not bread and wine but the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
From time to time, people have had some difficulty believing in the real presence; so God has worked miracles through the Eucharist one of which established the Feast of Corpus Christi (the Body and Blood of Christ). Google “The Origins of the Feast of Corpus Christi.” If you look up Carlo Acutis, you can find over 100 of these miracles of the Eucharist.
However, the greatest miracle and most important thing to remember is that Jesus can come into our hearts and change us to become more and more like Him if we just give Him the opportunity to do so.
Fr. Carl
