Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

The commentary for this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is offered by M.J. Heggeness, former Director for Adult Faith Formation at St. Michael’s Parish in Poway, Ca. We thank her for her contribution.


Prayer

Let us praise God together on our knees;
Let us praise God together on our knees;
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising Sun,
O Lord, have mercy on my me.

1st Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16

“Honestly. It was like manna from heaven.” Haven’t we said that when describing a huge surprise that came upon us unexpectedly?

God bless that Moses! He may have been exasperated at the importance of the Israelite journeyers, and may have been a little himself! Imagine the whining of a child who is hungry or thirsty on a long car trip! Or, better yet, seeing a gas station sign on the way to Las Vegas when the needle is on empty. Ahhhh, manna from heaven! Although it’s just a temporary fix for the time being.

Moses was trying to make a point to the many. It was God who took care of them in their suffering. He reminded them that it was God who fed them with the bread-like substance called “manna.” He reminded them of God’s bringing forth water from the flinty rock.

God was working hard revealing himself to these faithful (and unfaithful) people on their journey. Moses just had to convince them that God was with them. They listened and they were thankful.

Question

When have you had to be reminded of God’s ever-present love for you?
What was your most recent “manna from heaven” experience?

2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 

This interesting reading and inclusion of the Lauda Sion is specific for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. It was written by Saint Thomas Aquinas around 1264 at the request of Pope Urban IV for this very special feast.

The hymn, sung like a Gregorian Chant, tells of the institution of the Eucharist and clearly expresses our belief the bread and wine presented at Mass become the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ during the celebration of the Eucharist.

After the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, it became an optional addition to the Solemnity. Let’s see if we hear it this weekend!

Questions

What does the word TRANSUBSTANTIATION mean to you?

Try looking it up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Prayer

Let us break bread together on our knees;
Let us break bread together on our knees;
When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising Sun,
O Lord have mercy on me.

Gospel: John 6: 51-58 

Right before this Gospel reading, verse 40-50 says, “Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die.”

From this, we might conclude that the manna was a temporary fix, while the Body and Blood of Christ (Eucharist) is the eternal gift from our living God.

Many of those who followed Jesus thought this teaching was scandalous. Eating his Body and drinking his blood? It was hard for the followers to accept.

It may be hard for you to accept. We truly teach and believe that the Eucharist is the Source and Summit of our Catholic faith. When we stray from attending the Eucharistic banquet and from receiving His Body and Blood on a regular basis, we lose the spiritual nourishment that we so desperately need.

Questions

What does your spiritual odometer look like?
On a scale of 1-10, where do you land?
Do you feel the need for Eucharist?

This Week's Task

Spend some time before the Blessed Sacrament and reflect on the true bread that comes down from heaven. As you do so, pray for those who have refrained from coming to Mass and ask the Lord to bless them.

Prayer

Let us drink the cup together on our knees;
 Let us drink the cup together on our knees;
When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising Sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.

The prayer continues with the responsorial: 

Responsorial Psalm 147 

Response: : Alleluia. 

Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; Praise your God, O Zion, For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you.

R: Alleluia. 

He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. He sens forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word!

R: Alleluia. 

Her has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them.

R: Alleluia. 

Conclude with an OUR FATHER

Next week begins a six-part series on what it means to be beautifully baptized. We hope you enjoy

Pentecost Sunday

The commentaries for the Readings for Pentecost are from Sunday proper. Readings for the Vigil of Pentecost (Saturday evening) are not found in this Christ in Our Neighborhood series. 

Pentecost Sunday (Español)

Prayer

Lord, send us your Spirit and renew the face of the earth. May we always be moved by our Advocate given to us through your Son.You are Lord forever and ever. Amen.

1st Reading: Acts 2: 1-11 

We all recall the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11: 1-9 where, after the destruction of the tower, the Lord confused the language of the whole earth.

The Acts of the Apostles’ reading shows us that what was once destroyed is now restored.The confused “babble” of many languages is now comprehended by all who share in the same Spirit.

Even though all are speaking in their own tongue, they witnessed a miracle of unity and communion.

The universal nature of the Church was celebrated on that great day of Pentecost. It is still celebrated today.

We are reminded that the word “Catholic” means “Universal.” In every age and in every place, we proclaim the same language. Our Catholic faith goes to great lengths to protect the universality of our faith; especially through our weekday and Sunday liturgies and through the celebration of our Sacraments.

The source of all our unity is the One Spirit who gathers all nations together.

We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord.

Question

In what way does the Spirit call you to unity and communion?

2nd Reading: 1 Cor. 12: 3-7, 12-13 

We all know that to call God, “Father,” is a gift from Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. It is through Jesus that we can claim to be adopted sons and daughters of our Father in heaven. Only through Christ do we know the Father.

Our faith, through Scripture, also reminds us that there is only one way to know the Only begotten Son.

St. Paul tells us: “No one can say: ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except through the Holy Spirit.”

Knowing Jesus is more than just an intellectual act. For example, we would be hard pressed to find a person on earth who does not know that Jesus existed or that Christians follow the Christ.

Knowing the Lord, for St. Paul, is the intimate knowledge of Christ through faith which is given to us by the breath of the Holy Spirit.

Born again through water and the Holy Spirit, we know Christ as co-heirs, blood relatives, and royal members of the household of God.

Question

How do you know Christ?

Gospel: John 20: 19-23 

Normally, a priest will begin the Mass with, “The Lord be with you.” However, if a bishop comes to your parish (perhaps at Confirmation), you will here him say, “Peace be with you.” As a successor of the Apostles, his greeting at Mass is a response to the greeting offered by Jesus to the apostles gathered in the upper room.

After Jesus uttered these words of Peace, he breathed on the Apostles the gift of the Holy Spirit.

With this gift came the commission to “be sent” as Christ was sent by the Father and to forgive sins. As Christ was sent and as Christ forgave, we understand that the sharing of the Spirit was the sharing of Christ’s nature. As Christ humbled himself to share in our human nature, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have a share in his Divinity.

By this gift of the Holy Spirit, the Church is truly the Body of Christ.

As Jesus showed his hands and side to the Apostles, the Church shows the hands of Christ to the world. Indeed, Christ has no hands but ours.

Question

In what way are you Christ to those around you?

This Week’s Task 

As we celebrate Pentecost, we are reminded of the children, adults, and teenagers who have celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation within the Easter Season. The Feast of Pentecost is a challenge to all of us who have the Spirit, to invite others to the Sacrament of Confirmation. Do you know that nearly half of those who celebrate their First Communion go on to celebrate Confirmation? Make it a point to ask someone if they would like to participate in Confirmation. Perhaps, you could be their sponsor.

Prayer

The group prays the following sequence for Pentecost together: 

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from thy celestial home Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine!
You, of comforters the best;
You, the souls most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, man has naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour thy dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away.
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful who adore
And confess thee evermore
In your sev’nfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia!

Conclude with an OUR FATHER

Ascension Sunday- "Go and make disciples!"

Ascension Sunday (Español) 

The commentary for this week is provided by Deacon Mark Silvia of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Diocese of San Diego. For an online view, visit: christ-ion.com

Prayer

Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Amen 

Commentary

1st Reading: Acts 1:1-11 

The sight of the Lord Jesus ascending into the cloud could only have been described as awesome to behold. If we had been there, I suppose we would have stood in silent awe as well. The disciples may have remained awestruck and staring into the sky for hours if the two angelic figures had not interrupted this moment. 

They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” 

There is a mission to begin and an urgency to begin it at once. 

It may seem strange that the Mass ends so abruptly. The Eucharistic celebration is awesome to behold for those who believe that the consecrated bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Jesus. After receiving Him, we may want to remain together in awesome wonder. But, almost as soon as we receive the Eucharist, we are dismissed from Mass and we are sent into the world on a mission. The dismissal that best demonstrates this is “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” 

Question

Have you felt the awesome wonder?

2nd Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23 

St. Paul writes to the Church in Ephesus; May the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, enlighten the eyes of our heart, that we may see how great is the hope to which we are called. 

St. Paul explains that the Great Hope to which we are called is the one who sits at the right of the Father. The one who is far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named. The Father has placed all things beneath His feet. Christ sits as the head of Church, which is his body. 

Those who believe know the Great Hope that awaits us. He is the one who created us, who loves and nurtures us, who forgives and heals us, and who prepares a place for us in His Father’s house. There is no greater love than this or greater cause for our joy. 

Questions

What does it mean to you that we have such a Great Hope? 

How were the eyes of your heart were enlightened to see the Great Hope to which we are called?

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20 

When the eleven disciples saw Him, they worshiped, but they doubted. We may wonder why they would doubt after all they had seen and heard in Jesus’ presence. And yet, regardless of any doubt they may have had, Jesus commissioned this small group to, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” 

Just as at the moment of creation, God again sent out his Word and it quickly runs his command. The Word spreads from a small group of disciples to all the world. “Their voice has gone out to the limits of the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” 

If the canon of the bible had continued to grow, it would contain all the stories of the Church including all the popes and saints from the time of this great commissioning to today. It would contain the names of each and every person baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 

How could such a great Church have sprung from a small group of doubters? Because, as He promised, Jesus is with us, and will be with us, always, until the end of the ages. 

Question

Recalling the richness of the Church’s history, what does it mean to you that Jesus will be with us, always, until the end of the ages? 

This Week's Task

Take time to read something about our Church history. A good on-line source is New Advent.

Prayer

The leader invites the group to pray the following words together. 

God our Father, the heavens proclaim your glory. Day unto day takes up the story, and night unto night makes known the message. Your Word extends through all the earth, to the utmost bounds of the world. We praise and thank you for the gift of your Son who promises to be with us always until the end of the ages. In your great love and mercy, guide us always and protect our ways. Keep us free from sin and error. Make us messengers of the Great Hope to which we are called. Amen. 

Psalm

Response: God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord. 

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. 

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord. 

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the LORD, amid trumpet blasts. Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise. 

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord. 

For king of all the earth is God; sing hymns of praise. God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne. 

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord. 

Conclude with an Our Father

For a PDF of this commentary, visit Christ in Our Neighborhood website.

6th Sunday of Easter; A Reason for Your Hope!

Our theme this week, focuses on Hope.  From, 1 Peter 3:15-19, “always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope," Bishop John Dolan has a discussion with Vino Pajanor of Catholic Charities San Diego and Deacon Jim Vargas of Father Joe's Villages.

6th Sunday of Easter (Español) 

The commentary for this week is provided by Deacon Mark Silvia of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Diocese of San Diego. For an online view, visit: christ-ion.com

Opening prayer

Grant, almighty God, that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy, which we keep in honor of the risen Lord, and that what we relive in remembrance we may always hold to in what we do. Amen.

1st Reading: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 

After the martyrdom of St. Stephen, a severe persecution of the church in Jerusalem broke out and all the disciples of Jesus were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Phillip, one of the Church’s first deacons, traveled to Samaria where he preached and baptized many people. When the Apostles heard that Samaria had accepted the Word, they sent Peter and John that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for they had only been baptized.

The Word was accepted with great joy in Samaria and Judea by those who heard it preached to them, and the Church responded quickly to welcome them with the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.

Questions

In the early Church, there was a great zeal and urgency to share the Word with the world. Is there a need for the same zeal and urgency today? Do you feel the same zeal and urgency to share the Word with others?

2nd Reading: 1 Peter 3:15-18

St. Peter tells us to, “always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” At the very heart of evangelization is the sharing of the great hope we have in Christ Jesus.

There are so many people who live without hope, and sadly do not know where to find the hope they long for. We are called to be the light that guides them to Christ. We are called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone who deeply longs for Him, though they may not recognize the reason for their longing.

Sometimes, we may not feel equipped or worthy to share our hope in Christ, but just like the Samaritan Woman at the well, once we have drunk deeply of the Living Waters of Jesus, we are compelled by the joy of the Holy Spirit to run and tell others.

Every person, if they recognize it or not, is longing for God. Jesus told the Apostles, and through them each of us, to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.

Questions

How would you explain the reason for your hope in Christ Jesus?

What does it take to be an evangelist for Christ?

Gospel: John 14:15-21 

Jesus told his disciples that he was returning to the Father, and if we love Him and keep His commandments, He will ask his Father to send an Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, who will be with us always.

In the Father and in the Spirit, Jesus promises to be with us always. Though the world may not see Him, we will know that He is present.

Jesus said, “Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

Jesus promises not to leave us orphans, but to be with us always. He is our Lord and our beloved companion on the journey.

If you have lived long enough, chances are that you have had difficult times in your life. It may have been times of the loss of a loved one, anxious times due to financial or employment issues, painful times of injury, illness, or depression, or it may have been the despair of an addiction. Yet, no matter how difficult it may have been, Jesus promises to be with you always.

Questions

How did you recognize Jesus’ presence during your most difficult time?

How did it help to know that Jesus was with you?

This Week's Task

Take time to pray to the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, and reflect upon how He has guided and helped you throughout your life. Reflect upon the presence of Jesus with you through your most difficult times and share that experience with another person.

Prayer

The leader invites the group to pray the following words together. 

Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.
Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Psalm

The leader will guide the group in praying Psalm 33 (from the 6th Sunday of Easter)

Psalm Response: Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. 

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.

R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. 

“Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.

R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore, let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.

R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. 

Hear now, all you who fear God,
while I declare what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!

R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

Conclude with an Our Father

5th Sunday of Easter: Happy Mothers Day!

As we prepare for Mothers Day on the 5th Week of Easter, we are blessed to have a number of women religious (in the Diocese of San Diego) who will be hosting a six week Christ in Our Neighborhood group sharing of Sunday Scriptures.  To sign up, visit christ-ion.com and register today. We are grateful to the religious sisters among us who are our spiritual mothers.  We extend to them a Happy Mothers Day!

5th Sunday of Easter (Español) 

Prayer

Almighty ever-living God, constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us, that those you were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism may, under your protective care, bear much fruit and come to the joys of life eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Commentary

The commentary for this week is provided by Deacon Mark Silvia of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Diocese of San Diego. For PDF view, visit Christ in our Neighborhood

1st Reading: Acts 6:1-7 

There was much work to be done as the early Church began to grow and there was a need for more helpers. 

The community selected seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, for the Apostles to appoint to this task. The Apostles prayed and laid hands on them, thus ordaining them as the first Deacons of the Church. Among them were Stephen who was the first martyr of the Church (Acts 7:54-60) and Phillip who later baptized the people of Samaria and elsewhere (Acts 8: 4-17). 

The title of “Deacon” simply means “servant.” Although not everyone is ordained as a Deacon, by our baptism each of us are each called to the “diakonia,” which means to the “service of others.” 

Questions

How are you called to the service of others? 

What do you do for the service of others? 

What do you do for the good of the Church?

2nd Reading: 1 Peter 2:4-9 

St. Peter tells us that Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Church. 

As “Living Stones” we are called to be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, and to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ Jesus. 

To build a spiritual house the Church needs Living Stones. Living Stones are alive and full of the Holy Spirit. You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 

To those with faith, Jesus is the Cornerstone and the firm foundation of His Church. For those who do not believe, Jesus is a stumbling block and foolishness. We are the Living Stones of Christ’s Church! 

Questions

How do you see yourself as a Living Stone for the building up of Christ’s Church? 

Have there been times when your faith in Christ has been a stumbling block or viewed as foolishness to others?

Gospel: John 12:1-12 

During the Last Supper Jesus told his disciples “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” He said he is going on before them to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house. He says, “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going, you know the way.” 

Feeling uncertain, Thomas asked, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” 

Before the Church was called Catholic and disciples were called Christians, the early Church was referred to as “The Way” based upon Jesus’s response to Thomas’ question, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

The Way to the Father is Jesus. In Him, with Him, and through Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, we the Church journey together on our earthly pilgrimage to the Father’s house. 

Then Jesus adds, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Questions

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” What causes your heart to be troubled? 

Jesus is expecting great things of us. What are the challenges and opportunities of today’s disciple? 

This Week's Task

Talk to a friend or family member about your personal experience of following the Way of Christ.

Group Prayer

Blessed Mother of our Lord Jesus, through your prayers ...

Bless all women on Mothers Day.

Bless mothers who are among us and mothers who have gone before us.

Bless mothers of infants, mothers of teenagers, and mothers of adult children.

Bless mothers who have lost their children.

Bless women who long for children,

Bless every woman who prays for a child,

Bless every woman who loves and cares for a child,

Bless every woman who is single, and every woman who is married,

You who are blessed among women, bless all women of God.

We make this prayer through Jesus, your Son. Amen.

Psalm

The leader will guide the group in praying Psalm 33 (from the 5th Sunday of Easter) 

Psalm Response: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. 

Exult, you just, in the LORD; praise from the upright is fitting. Give thanks to the LORD on the harp; with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises. 

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. 

Upright is the word of the LORD, and all his works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. 

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. 

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. 

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. 

Conclude with an Our Father

For a PDF of this commentary, visit Christ in Our Neighborhood website.