Corpus Christi Blog

In two of the gospels, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray what we now refer to as the Lord’s Prayer, or the Our Father. St. Luke (11:2-4) gives us a slightly abbreviated version, while St. Matthew (6:9-13) gives us the fuller text, which we pray today. In the section on Christian Prayer, the Catechism of the Catholic Church devotes many pages to dissecting and breaking down the Lord’s Prayer and its importance to our faith and prayer life. Today, we will begin a seven-part series to take a closer look at each of the petitions Jesus gave us, as identified in St. Matthew’s version.

Have you ever stopped to consider what attracts you to the Catholic Church? What forms of prayer or worship are most fruitful for you? Towards which ministries are you most drawn? We can answer these questions more deeply when we examine them under a philosophical principle referred to as the transcendentals.

Have you ever wondered why the Catholic Church uses a crucifix as a symbol as opposed to other Christian churches that use an empty cross? It is common to hear from those outside the Church that He is risen, but we “leave Him hanging there” or that the crucifix reduces the power of the Resurrection. Also, the crucifix is often thought of as gruesome or morbid. These misconceptions are due to a lack of understanding what the crucifix actually means to us as Catholics.

Today we celebrate a very blessed day for our parish as it is the feast of our namesake, Corpus Christi, or the Body of Christ.

Before leaving his Apostles, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper in order that He may remain physically present with His people for all time. He knew we would need Him to sustain us, both spiritually and physically, as we navigate the stormy seas that exist in our lives. In Matthew 14, Jesus walks on water. Peter, having faith in his beloved friend, asks the Lord to call him out on the water to join Him, which he did. As the winds stirred the water, Peter became afraid and started to sink, crying out to the Lord for help. Jesus reached out His hand and saved Peter. We are Peter, struggling through the trials that life throws at us, and the Eucharist is, in fact, Jesus physically liŌing us up above the fray.