2025.06.22 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Dear Parishioners,

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi. The gathering every week for Mass or Eucharist, or what we often call “breaking of the bread,” began with the very first days of the church—even before St. Paul had set out on his mission or any of the gospels were written. Of course, those celebrations have spread far and wide and have come to include us, in the Parish Community of St. Rose of Lima. Sunday Eucharist in essence helps to define who we are and what we do. Although the Eucharist is our most important gathering and gives us a purposed sense of routine, we must always be careful not to allow the Eucharist to become so routinized that its special beauty gets lost.

Celebrating the Body and Blood of Christ gives us an opportunity to fully appreciate just how wonderful it is to be called by the Lord to gather in His presence, to be His guests at His table, and to eat and drink from His wonderful bounty. First and foremost, in the Eucharistic banquet we become one with Christ; we are transformed into being the Body of Christ. Secondly, through the Eucharist, Christ’s Body and Blood flows throughout the life of the Christian community, well beyond our Sunday gathering. With the Eucharist we receive, we are given the strength to be His witnesses in the world and carry on our mission. And lastly, it is through the Eucharist that we inherit the life that never ends.

So, on this Corpus Christi Sunday, let us pray, for our own Parish community and for the communities of believers around the world, that we may become what we eat—the Body and Blood of Christ — for ourselves, for our God, and for others.

Fr. Vijai, C.S.C. ~ Pastor