01 | Jun | 2018

Corpus Christi Procession with Pope Francis

DIOCESAN CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION

You are invited to attend the Procession on the Feast of the Most Blessed Sacrament (Corpus Christi) on Sunday 3^rd June. Gathering at St Michael’s Church after the 4.30m Mass. The procession will proceed from St. Michael’s to St. John’s Cathedral.

The children who received their First Holy Communion throughout the diocese are particularly welcome to attend and join in the procession in the Holy Communion attire. All are Welcome!

FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, historically known by its Latin name, Corpus Christi, celebrates the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

In 1263 a German priest, Fr. Peter of Prague, made a pilgrimage to Rome. He stopped in Bolsena, Italy, to celebrate Mass at the Church of St. Christina. At the time he was having doubts about Jesus being truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. In response to his doubt, when he recited the prayer of consecration as he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, blood started seeping from the consecrated host and onto the altar and corporal. He reported this miracle to Pope Urban IV, who at the time was nearby in Orvieto. The pope sent delegates to investigate and ordered that host and blood-stained corporal be brought to Orvieto. They were placed in the Cathedral of Orvieto, where they remain today.

St. Juliana was a nun and mystic she had a great devotion. she convinced Pope Urban IV, to create this feast in honour of the Blessed Sacrament. Pope Urban instituted the feast, celebrating it for in Orvieto in 1264, a year after the Miracle in Bolsena.

St. Thomas Aquinas, composed the Mass and Office for the feast of Corpus Christi, including Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, Panis Angelicus, & O Salutaris Hostia are the beloved hymns the Church sings on the feast of Corpus Christi as well as throughout the year during Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Prayer

“Lord Jesus, Who in the Eucharist make your dwelling among us and become our travelling companion, sustain our Christian communities so that they may be ever more open to listening and accepting your Word. May they draw from the Eucharist a renewed commitment to spreading in society, by the proclamation of your Gospel, the signs and deeds of an attentive and active charity,” Pope John Paul II

Historic Witness to the Eucharist

Within a century of Christ giving us the Eucharist, St Justin Martyr, a converted former pagan philosopher, wrote: “This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Saviour being incarnate by God’s Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.”

INKLINGS

Most people think that “holding on” is the key to happiness. Actually, the reverse is true. The key is letting go. (Anon)

Forgiveness imitates God and disappoints Satan. (St. John Chrysostom)

Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs. (Anon)

You miss 100 percent of all the shots you never take. (Wayne Gretzky)

The giant oak is an acorn that held its ground. (Anon)

Never trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you. (Anon)

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again (Anon)

I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm. (Calvin Coolidge)

All human wisdom is summed up in two words, wait and hope. (Alexandre Dumas)

A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it is written on. (Sam Goldwyn)

BRAINBOX’S PERFECT QUIZ

What country was ruled by King Zog I until 1939?
Who was the pope at the beginning of the 20^th Century?
Bamako is the capital of which African country?
Who were the parents of Joseph in the Old Testament?
Where is the International Court of Justice based?

INNIU SA STAIR: June 3rd 1963

A priest I know was flying to the US when the news broke that Pope John XXIII had died. A fellow passenger introduced himself to my friend saying “I’m a Baptist by the way but by golly I just loved that Big Fat Guy. Truly, John XXIII caught the world’s imagination in his five years as pope. Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, on Nov. 25^th 1881, he was the third child and eldest son in a family of 13 born to Giovanni Battista and Marianna Giulia (Mazzola) Roncalli. Inspiried by the genuine simple piety of the family he sought priesthood. Ordained on Aug. 10^th, 1904, he was named secretary to the bishop of Bergamo, a man deeply concerned about social reforms, for the working class and the poor. He also lectured in Bergamo seminary. When WW I came he enlisted in the medical corps and later as a lieutenant in the chaplains’ corps. After the war he became a diplomatic career which lasted for 30 years. During WW II, he worked hard to provide food, shelter, and safety for many thousands of refugees.

On Jan. 12^th ‘53, he was appointed Patriarch of Venice. He had always wanted to be a “shepherd of souls” and he was a vigorous and much-loved prelate.

Pius XII died on the 9^th Oct 1958 and on Oct 28^th He was appointed as John XXIII. his warmth, humour, and easy approachability, quickly endeared him to one and all. Unannounced and un-escorted he visited hospitals, nursing homes, and even prisons. He issued eight encyclicals during his reign, including Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher), issued May 15, 1961, and Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), dated April 11, 1963.

He summoned the Second Vatican Council. to bring about a renewal, a “new Pentecost

It opened in St. Peter’s on Oct. 11, 1962. He was not in good health, he was suffering from inoperable cancer, much of the time he was in great pain. At one point he told his physician, “My bags are packed and I am ready, very ready, to go.” He passed quietly away on this day June 3^rd in 1963.

He was the son of simple Italian peasants, and never lost that simplicity of heart and it is a literal truth to state that he loved everyone, and truly everyone came to love him.