Saints + Scripture: Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Religious Freedom Week '19
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: YouTube-link & U.S.C.C.B.-link.

'Tis the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi): Corpus Christi-link ūnus, Corpus Christi-link duo, & Wikipedia-link Corpus Christi.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Liturgical solemnity celebrating the real presence of the body & blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God, in the elements of the Eucharist—known as transubstantiation.

Wikipedia-link Real Presence, Wikipedia-link Body of Christ, Wikipedia-link Eucharist, & Wikipedia-link Transubstantiation

Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
The Book of Genesis, chapter fourteen, verses eighteen, nineteen, & twenty;
Psalm One Hundred Ten, verses one, two, three, & four;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter eleven, verses twenty-three thru twenty-six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter nine, verses eleven(b) thru seventeen.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, our Gospel today tells about the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus instructs the crowd to recline, and they do so on the grass. Taking the loaves and dried fish, Jesus makes a meal that satisfies the enormous crowd. They are hungry, tired, worn out from their exertions, and Jesus gives them sustenance for the day.

For Thomas Aquinas, the great metaphor for the Eucharist is sustenance, food for the journey. The Eucharist is daily food, sustenance for the journey, nourishment to get us through the day to day. How effective would we be if we never ate, or ate only on special occasions and in a festive environment? Not very. So, in the spiritual life, we must eat and drink or we will not have strength.

Is this just meant in some vague symbolic way? No, rather in a vividly analogical way. For just as the body needs physical nourishment, the spirit needs spiritual nourishment, and there is no getting around this law.

“Well, it’s no big deal if I stay away from Mass and refrain from receiving Communion.” Think again!

Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Video reflection by Father Claude Burns (uCatholic): Weekend Reflection with Father Pontifex.

Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.

Mass Readings—Vigil of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter one, verses four thru ten;
Psalm Seventy-one, verses one & two, three & four(a), five & six(a/b), & fifteen(a/b) & seventeen;
The First Letter of Peter, chapter one, verses eight thru twelve;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses five thru seventeen.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Covenant Crag, Day 7
The Book of Genesis, chapter six, verses seventeen thru twenty-two.

Commentary: Noah Makes the Ark as God Commands (concluded; Genesis, 6:17-22).

Mass Journal: Week 30
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:

Holiness & renewal are inseparably linked. Where there is holiness the Church has always thrived. If the Church is not thriving there is one primary reason for that… & when you & I begin to take God's call to live holy lives seriously, the Church will begin to thrive in new & exciting ways. Holiness is compatible with every state in life. Married people are called to live holy lives just as much as monks & nuns. Sexual intimacy is a profound gift from God & an instrument of holiness. The riches of this world have value only inasmuch as they help us fulfill our essential purpose. If we own them, they can be powerful tools that help us live holy lives. If they own us, they will prevent us from becoming the-best-version-of-ourselves. The rich are called to live holy lives by using their wealth in productive ways that foster their own growth & the growth of others. Material possesions, marriage & sexual intimacy, work, money, & positions of authority are just some of the opportunities life presents to live holy lives.

†

Otherwise, 23 June would be the festival of Blessed Lanfranco Beccari, Bishop (circa 1124-1198), Bishop of Pavia: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link (Italian); Diocese-link Pavia & Wikipedia-link Pavia.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Peter of Juilly, Priest & Religious, O.S.B. (died 1136): Saint-link ūnus & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Thomas Garnet, Priest & Martyr, S.J. (1574-1608), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish king James VI & I, one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Giuseppe Cafasso, Priest (1811-1860, the "Priest of the Gallows;" Anglicized as Joseph Cafasso): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Uncle of Bl. Guiseppe Allamano [16 February].

'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Ioan Suciu, Bishop & Martyr (1907-1953), martyred in the reign of the Communist dictator Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Bl. Ioan was beatified on 2 June 2019.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Without illusions, without ideological utopias, we walk the streets of the world, bringing within us the Body of the Lord, like the Virgin Mary in the mystery of the Visitation."
—Pope Benedict XVI (born 1927, reigned 2005-2013)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"My one thought, Jesus, is to love You."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the living heart of each of our parishes."
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 29 May)