If someone asked you, “What is the greatest gi that has ever been given in the history of the human race?” how would you answer that ques on? One could look back historically and find many examples of kings giving away vast swaths of land or billionaires gifting massive yachts. The stunningly blue, 45 carat “Hope Diamond” was once a gift given by a media mogul to his wife, and the largest gem quality diamond ever discovered (the 3000+ carat “Cullinan Diamond”) was given as a gift by the owner of the diamond mine where it was found to the British King Edward VII to become the centerpiece of the British Crown Jewels.
While these sorts of gifts are incredibly expensive, none of them can be considered the greatest gift ever bestowed. That gift was given to us by Jesus, when he gathered his closest followers around a table and said, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it. This is My Body, which will be given up for you…”
The gift of the Eucharist is a gift beyond any price; one without any equal or parallel in history. Next weekend, on the Solemnity of Corpus Chris , we will process through the streets of New Haven to declare before the world that we have been given the greatest of all gifts. We will process as a public act of professing our belief that the Eucharist is indeed the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We will process to proclaim that Jesus as Emmanuel, “God with us,” is not just a reference to a one me event in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, but a present reality that happens every single me the holy Mass is celebrated.
We will process to invite others to come to know this gift and mystery. To witness to the reality of the Eucharist and to invite them to come join us in this belief in the Holy Catholic Church. I look forward to joining with all of you next weekend for what will be an incredible, beautiful, powerful profession of faith. I look forward, as well, to being able to gather with all of you afterwards for our parish picnic, where old friendships can be strengthened and new friendships can be forged.
See you all next weekend!
God Bless,
Fr. John Paul
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