Reflecting on Eucharistic Procession for Corpus Christi (6/11/2023)

Saint Vincent de Paul said, "Once you understand the Eucharist, you can never leave the Church. Not because the Church won't let you, but because your heart won't let you."

I reflected on these words of the great saint as I prepared myself spiritually, mentally, and physically for the two Eucharistic Processions that I presided over after the 10:00 and 12:00 Masses on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. In the week leading up to the great feast, I spoke with several fallen away Catholics who no longer practice their Catholic faith but either attend a non-denominational Christian service or not at all. It was heart-breaking for me to hear Catholic who say that they no longer go to Mass because they did not get "fed" by the preaching or that the Mass was "repetitive." While I understand where they are coming from, I am heart-broken for them because they do not realize and believe in their hearts that the Eucharist - the Word made Flesh, the Living Bread come down from heaven, the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation - is the "source and summit" of not only our Christian faith, but our lives as Christians. So, I prayed for these fallen away Catholics and Catholics who do not believe in the words of consecration and the Real Presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament as I walked and held our Lord close to my heart.

Fr. Michael O'Connor gave a beautiful homily during Mass that I think pierced and convicted the hearts of many of the faithful in the pews because so make parishioners did not leave but stayed for the Eucharistic Procession and Benediction afterwards. He asked those in the pews, "if we are not transformed after we receive our Lord in the Eucharist," then there is something wrong with us. He shared that his mother (God rest her soul) once asked him, "How do people live without faith? How do people go without the Eucharist?" For me personally, I would be devastated if I could not go to Sunday Mass, which is why, when we travel, the first I do after I booked our hotel is I find the nearest Catholic Church for Mass. Fr. Michael also asked several evocative questions: "What if you leave Mass today and you did not know when you will be able to come back to Mass again? If you had to walk several days to be able to attend Mass, would you do it? What is you were not allowed to receive the Eucharist?" We experienced this during the COVID-19 pandemic and, for me, my heart was yearning for our Lord. I was blessed that, Fr. Charlie made sure that his deacons where able to receive Holy Communion even when we are limited to 6 people in one area during the early part of the pandemic.

After the Prayer after Communion and announcements, I encouraged our parishioners to please join us for the Eucharistic Procession or, if they cannot walk with us, then stay in the sanctuary and pray until we return for Benediction. My heart was filled with join when I did the Benediction at the four altars and saw so many faithful Catholics walk with our Lord in prayer. And, even though it was getting hot outside, I felt the Holy Spirit in the breeze throughout the Eucharistic Procession and it encouraged and strengthened us to keep going - for God, for the Church. [I also cannot thank enough my brother Knights of Columbus and the men who helped carry the canopy. It provided much reprieve of the hot son on my head.] I was truly blessed to walk with our Lord, not only during the Eucharistic Procession, but every day as a deacon for his Church and the faithful people of God. Our society has lost our sense of the divine, for the transcendent. We look inward too much and not upward to our Creator nearly enough. However, our Lord is kind, gentle, forgiving, merciful and loving, and He patiently waits for us to return to Him so that we may have life and have it abundantly when we receive Him in the Eucharist.

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I would invite you all to listen to Fr. Michael O'Connor's powerful homily on the Eucharist. https://saintalbert.podbean.com/e/frmichael-o-connor-1000-am-mass-homily-english/

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