CELEBRATE SUNDAY
WITH ST. MARY'S
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
Priests bring the Body of Christ to the whole Church.
CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY
When we refer to the Body of Christ, we could potentially mean three different things: the physical body of the man who lived two thousand years ago, the sacrament of the Eucharist, or the Church. This is not a title that happens to be given to three separate things; rather, all three are mystically the same identity, the same thing offered to humanity as the perfect gift from God, through which we can access unity in Him. But in each of these three identities of the Body of Christ, the gift of Christ is not offered directly to humanity from the Father, but through an intermediary, through the one who offers the sacrifice and the gift–the Body of Christ is accessible only through the priest.
READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE
Last week, the Diocese of Salt Lake City ordained Fr. Kenneth Parsad to the priesthood. This was a momentous occasion particularly for our parish; not only did we get to know Fr. Parsad when he was a seminarian and served St. Mary’s during his pastoral year, but he has also been assigned as our Parochial Vicar for the upcoming year. As a Church community, we were part of the formation of this man who, at the moment of his consecration, became a priest forever, capable of standing in the person of Christ when imparting the sacraments on the faithful. Now, Fr. Parsad will be offering the Body of Christ to us. Each parish is an individual part of the global Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. And in each part of the Church, a priest oversees the fulfillment of the Church’s identity, from a parochial vicar to a local pastor to even the Pope, the worldwide head of the Church. Without priests, there is no Church, and without a Church, the Body of Christ becomes inaccessible to us. Only through the hands of a consecrated priest is the Blessed Sacrament made available, as he calls on the Holy Spirit to descend upon the gifts of bread and wine so that they may become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. In the Eucharist, we encounter the real person of Jesus Christ, one and the same as the Mystical Body of Christ united in the reception of this most Holy Communion. In this sacrament, we encounter the physical man who lived two thousand years ago, the man who is referred to in the letter to the Hebrews as our High Priest. These three things (a community, a man, and what appears to be bread and wine) might initially seem unconnected by their accidents, but they reconvene and unite through the presence of a priest at the sacrifice of the Mass.
On this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we must remember above all else that God became physical to us through Christ, and because of this, we are now capable of uniting ourselves physically to Him. Catholicism is ridiculed and mocked for worshipping what appears to be bread and wine, believing that the fullness of the God we worship is confined in such small and insignificant matter; yet, we also believe that the fullness of God became a human person. And that human person fulfilled a truth about the Divine from the very beginning: God always desired to present Himself through bread and wine. We often point to Abraham as the Father of our monotheistic faith, but even he learned about sacrifice from Melchizedek, a priest of God Most High. That sacrifice was a gift, bread and wine, which imparted a blessing on Abraham for the mission that was ahead for him. When Christ referred to his own body and blood (the lifesource according to Jewish tradition), He did so while presenting bread and wine. And when our priests stand at the altar, between us and our Creator, they hold up the fruits of our labor, the work of the community–bread and wine. On this Solemnity, pray for two things: express your gratitude that the God of the Universe has decided to allow us to experience Him physically and to unite to Him physically, but also pray for our priests. Pray that we may continue to have men in our lives willing to offer the sacrifice that enables us to encounter our God in the Sacrament of the Altar.
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