Corpus Christi Blog

Merry Christmas! Today is the day we celebrate the coming of God to us in the flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ. If you are visiting our parish to celebrate with us, welcome! We invite you to come back, especially if you live in the area and are looking to deepen your relationship with Jesus.

If you are a regular attendee at our Sunday Masses, I hope you have enjoyed the Advent reflections linking the incarnate body of Jesus to the same flesh we find in the Eucharist (the reflections can be found on our parish website). To finish the series, I will share a bit on proven Eucharistic miracles to further demonstrate the connection between the baby who was born to Mary on this day and the Eucharist we have celebrated every day since the Resurrection.

As Advent comes to a close in this fourth week, the word we will focus on is awe. The word awesome is probably one of the most incorrectly used words in the English language these days. We tend to think everything is awesome: the great people in our lives, a good book, or finding a close parking space.

In reality, very rarely do we experience truly awesome things, unless of course, we’re talking about things pertaining to divine realities. Creation is awesome. Our human bodies are awesome. God Himself is awesome. So, as we have been focusing on the Incarnation and the Eucharist this season, if we truly are thinking about them correctly, we should be inspired with a sense of awe that should only increase the more we think about them.

On this Third Sunday of Advent, our word for reflection is “unity.” When it comes to God and all His creations, there is nothing that isn’t connected, in some way, to everything else.

The word for this week’s reflection, showing the connection between the mystery of the Incarnation with the mystery of the Eucharist, is love. God is pure love. The Catechism tells us, “God’s very being is love…God himself is an eternal exchange of love…” (CCC #221).

During the season of Advent, we spend time contemplating Jesus’ coming to us in the flesh as a little baby after being carried in His mother’s womb for nine months. We also contemplate what it means to prepare for His second coming. We are still going to think about those things, but we’ll do it a little bit differently this season.

Earlier this year, the bishops of the United States called for a 3-year period of Eucharistic Renewal in which we intensely focus on the Eucharist and the true presence of Jesus Christ within the Sacrament. For each week’s Advent reflection, I have selected one word that links the mystery of the Incarnation to the mystery of the Eucharist, showing how the Eucharist we consume at every Mass is one and the same as the Jesus that was born in the flesh to a virgin in Bethlehem.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. That is quite a mouthful, and with it comes a lot of weight. We think of Jesus as a king in many different ways, like the king of our hearts or the king of heaven. We think of Him as a humble servant king or a king of justice and mercy.

This week’s topic can be, at times, a touchy subject for people on both sides of the equation, however, please bear with me to the conclusion so that we all might gain a little perspective. Children, particularly infants and toddlers, can often be disruptive at Mass by nature of their youth. With five children myself, I have had many experiences over the years with everything from people asking me not to bring my little ones to Mass, to people encouraging me along, and even complete strangers offering to hold my babies to give me a hand.

One of the most misunderstood teachings of the Catholic Church – both by Catholics and non-Catholics alike – is the doctrine of indulgences. Granting indulgences is an ancient practice of the Church that was given, as a right by divine authority, for the remittance of the punishment due to sin. However, over the centuries, for various reasons, much confusion grew around this practice.

The Catholic doctrine of purgatory is a beautiful one if understood correctly. It can also be controversial, particularly with non-Catholic Christians. It is argued that nowhere in Scripture is the word “purgatory” mentioned. However, this could be said of many other theological words such as Trinity, Incarnation, and even the word Bible itself, yet they are matters of faith which all Christians believe and profess. While the word “purgatory” is not in the Bible, the concept is present, both in the Old and New Testaments. The Church has drawn on these scriptural references to formulate her doctrine on purgatory. Here, the Church’s teaching on purgatory will be explained, citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as by laying out some of the Scriptural references as the basis for those teachings.

When I was in my twenties, I bought a car from Enterprise rental car sales. My brother advised me against it saying, “don’t you know what people do to rental cars?” I imagined this average Dodge sedan going four-wheeling in the desert with the driver and passengers hootin’ and hollerin’ while holding on for dear life! I’ve also lived in several different apartments in my life.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy, compared to the Corporal Works of Mercy, can seem more vague, difficult to identify or understand. The corporal works might seem easier because they involve physically doing things and supporting others in very tangible ways. The key to the spiritual works of mercy is charity – love – agape love, which is an honest-to-goodness, heartfelt concern with the spiritual well-being of another.

What are works of mercy? Why do we have them? How do we do them? It’s a good idea to ask ourselves questions like this from time to time. We can get wrapped up in the busyness of our lives and routines, forgetting that we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need. The works of mercy – corporal (bodily, worldly, tangible) and spiritual – are identified by the Church for our benefit. As the Catechism says, “The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities” (#2447).

Thank you. Two very powerful words that can convey the state of a person’s heart. Surely any of us can recall a time when our mother reminded us to say “thank you” for gifts, for help, and even for a piece of candy. Learning to acknowledge someone’s kindness is part of our basic formation as children. As adults, even though it is mostly second nature, we may forget from time to time to say thank you.

This week, we examine the Catholic Church’s teachings on how we are saved, or how we obtain eternal salvation with God in heaven. I’m going to begin with a somewhat perplexing scripture verse. St. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, states, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col 1:24).