Summer Ordinary Time starts off with a liturgical bang, with Trinity Sunday and the Feast of Corpus Christi taking center stage on May 26 and June 2, respectively. Officially called the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday is a celebration of one of the central tenets of our Catholic Christian faith: Three distinct persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in One God. The New Testament lectionary readings on Trinity Sunday refer to this mystery of our faith. The second reading, which is from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, reminds us that we are God’s children and, along with Christ, God’s heirs; the Spirit witnesses to our relationship with God, the Father. The gospel reading from Matthew is even more explicit, telling us that Jesus commissioned his disciples (and us) to bring his message to all the nations and to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This formula is one which we repeat every time we make the sign of the cross; it helps us to remember that our God is indeed One in Three persons.
The Feast of Corpus Christi, now called the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, was instituted for the whole Church by Pope Urban in 1264. Older Catholics may have memories of Corpus Christi processions held in many neighborhoods on this day, processions that celebrated the importance of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, we pay close attention to the fact that we believe that the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus with us, under the appearances of bread and wine. The gospel for this day is a recounting of the Last Supper and Jesus’ institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist, while the text for the Alleluia verse (Gospel Acclamation) for the feast says it all for us: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
While on the subject of Corpus Christi, we note that the Catholic Bishops of the United States are currently sponsoring a National Catholic Eucharistic Revival; the Revival’s website is at www.eucharisticrevival.org/. As stated on its website, the Revival movement is “the joyful, expectant, grassroots response of the Church in the United States to the divine invitation to be united once again around the source and summit of our faith in the celebration of the Eucharist.” Read more about the Revival, its mission and activities on its website.
During June and July this Summer, we will be hearing Sunday gospel readings from the early chapters of the Gospel of Mark; these readings help us to know more about Jesus and his mission. From July 28 through August, we will be listening to the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, readings which focus on Jesus’ teaching that he is the bread of life. You can prepare for every Sunday’s readings at liturgy.slu.edu/.
On July 28, the universal Church will observe the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Pope Francis established this observance in 2021, placing it on the Sunday closest to the July 26 feast day of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents. The US Bishops’ website (bit.ly/WDGE2024) has a brief notice about this celebration, the theme of which is “Do not cast me off in my old age” (cf Psalm 71:9). The Vatican News states that on this day, “[c]atholics around the world will be invited to take time to reflect on the great heritage and wisdom passed on by their grandparents and the elderly” (bit.ly/VNWDGE2024). The pope’s message for World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly can be found at bit.ly/PFWDGE2024.
BACK TO LIST