Dear Friends,

I would like to invite you to join us to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ, on Sunday, June 7th. This Feast day, which started in Italy after the Eucharistic Miracle of Balsano, was popularized by St. Thomas Aquinas who wrote the famous hymns Pange Lingua (the last verses of which is the Tantum Er- go) and O Salutaris in the 13th century. On Corpus Christi we are reminded that Our Lord is truly present– Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—in what appears to be “just bread.” It is not; rather it is the Lord, whom we recognize in the breaking of the bread. This feast day reminds us that we need “faith for all defects provid- ing when the feeble senses fail.” The gift of the Eucharist is the gift of His presence through His Sacrifice on Calvary made present at Mass, through His abiding with us in the tent of meeting, the tabernacle, and yes even by entering us and making us tabernacles of His presence in Communion. How wonderful it is and im- portant for us to remind others, and ourselves, of His promise: I am with you always even until the end of the world! The Eucharist is the center of the Christian life, the Source and Summit of what it means to be Catholic. True Catholic Culture starts and ends with the Holy Eucharist. So I hope you will join us after the morning Masses at about 1pm when we will take our Lord out onto the streets of the west side. This year we are so happy to be walking to St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church where Father Roman will offer Eu- charistic Benediction. We will remember that our Lord is with us even during tribulations during this seg- ment of the procession and pray for peace in the world and particularly in Ukraine. Parishioners from St. Michael’s are invited to join us for the procession back to Sacred Heart and all those who walk (all or part of the procession) are invited to join us in the courtyard at Sacred Heart for a potluck cookout. A reminder that the parish will be providing the meat but all are asked to bring a side dish to share.

Corpus Christi is one of my favorite feast days and is so central to our faith, so please pray about joining us. I hope to see you there.

In Christ,
Fr. Ron Floyd, Pastor Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish