Spirituality and Healing
For January and February Spirituality and Healing passages, click here.
For March to May Spirituality and Healing, click here.
This past weekend, we experienced Pentecost Sunday as we have completed the Easter Season and now we celebrate Trinity Sunday as the Triune God is always with us . . . “I am with you all days, even to the [end] of the world. (Mattew 28:20). God is indeed with us.
We are now to take the Lord into the World, Created by God the Father, Recreated by Jesus, through the Power of the Holy Spirit, the Trinity dwells within us. We are dedicated by name since our Baptism and are committed to mirror the Trinity’s love of unity, shared love, life-giving ways.
Our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga has been chosen by God, blessed by the Lord Jesus and guided by the Spirit to be the first of Centers of Spirituality and Healing to share God’s mission to the world around us in this Diocese and beyond. We will be known as a center of prayer, a place of spiritual nourishment, a vessel for the Lord’s healing presence and an opportunity to encounter Jesus in the Word, the Sacraments and within God’s people. During this Month of June, as we devoutly honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we ask the Lord to help us to be His love and mercy to the world around us.
Along with the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this month is also recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is renewing its National Catholic Mental Health Campaign (NCMHC) to raise awareness of mental health issues and eliminate stigmas and lack of appropriate information around mental illness. The campaign encourages people to support those who struggle with mental issues and illness and seek creative ways to journey with them (www.usccb.org).
Besides our many worship experiences and events and prayers of devotion that we have been offering in our parish families, we are now establishing teams of support within our parish family life and within our larger Vicariate [a group of parishes within a diocese that are defined by geographic region for the purposes of parish support].
It is an appropriate and acceptable time to announce the establishment of a Spiritual Wellness Team and a Mental Health Wellness Team within our Cheektowaga Catholic Family. As some of you have already done, please let me know if you have an interest in being on one of these important teams. One aspect of programming that will be a part of our pilgrimage and groundbreaking site is that The Spiritual and Mental Wellness Teams and Wellness Libraries will develop referrals concerning the varying needs presented to those parish-based ministries, agencies and organizations. This support will help to make accessible services to individuals, couples, and families while considering cultural, age-related, physically disabling, and spiritually of those seeking relief and preventive means. These teams will work with parish based already established and functioning ministries. These coordinated efforts will help establish collaboration and communication of need throughout our parish family and surrounding areas.
For more information contact Fr. John at [email protected] or at 716-683-3712. Look forward to hearing from you to learn more about this exciting venture.
We are now to take the Lord into the World, Created by God the Father, Recreated by Jesus, through the Power of the Holy Spirit, the Trinity dwells within us. We are dedicated by name since our Baptism and are committed to mirror the Trinity’s love of unity, shared love, life-giving ways.
Our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga has been chosen by God, blessed by the Lord Jesus and guided by the Spirit to be the first of Centers of Spirituality and Healing to share God’s mission to the world around us in this Diocese and beyond. We will be known as a center of prayer, a place of spiritual nourishment, a vessel for the Lord’s healing presence and an opportunity to encounter Jesus in the Word, the Sacraments and within God’s people. During this Month of June, as we devoutly honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we ask the Lord to help us to be His love and mercy to the world around us.
Along with the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this month is also recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is renewing its National Catholic Mental Health Campaign (NCMHC) to raise awareness of mental health issues and eliminate stigmas and lack of appropriate information around mental illness. The campaign encourages people to support those who struggle with mental issues and illness and seek creative ways to journey with them (www.usccb.org).
Besides our many worship experiences and events and prayers of devotion that we have been offering in our parish families, we are now establishing teams of support within our parish family life and within our larger Vicariate [a group of parishes within a diocese that are defined by geographic region for the purposes of parish support].
It is an appropriate and acceptable time to announce the establishment of a Spiritual Wellness Team and a Mental Health Wellness Team within our Cheektowaga Catholic Family. As some of you have already done, please let me know if you have an interest in being on one of these important teams. One aspect of programming that will be a part of our pilgrimage and groundbreaking site is that The Spiritual and Mental Wellness Teams and Wellness Libraries will develop referrals concerning the varying needs presented to those parish-based ministries, agencies and organizations. This support will help to make accessible services to individuals, couples, and families while considering cultural, age-related, physically disabling, and spiritually of those seeking relief and preventive means. These teams will work with parish based already established and functioning ministries. These coordinated efforts will help establish collaboration and communication of need throughout our parish family and surrounding areas.
For more information contact Fr. John at [email protected] or at 716-683-3712. Look forward to hearing from you to learn more about this exciting venture.
Celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
“[Jesus] took bread, and after giving thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, . . . saying ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ - 1Corinthians 11:24-25 (written by St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, about 20 years after the death of Christ).
“[Jesus] took bread, and after giving thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, . . . saying ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ - 1Corinthians 11:24-25 (written by St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, about 20 years after the death of Christ).
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, previously known as “Corpus Christi”, commemorates the Holy Eucharist, paralleling Holy Thursday commemorating Our Lord’s institution of the Eucharist. While the institution of the Eucharist is celebrated on Holy Thursday, the liturgy on that day also commemorates the washing of the feet, the institution of the priesthood and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. For this reason, the Feast of Corpus Christi was established to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist. Corpus Christi was introduced in the late 13th century to encourage the faithful to give special honor to and of the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. In 1970, the feast officially became known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.
It is customary on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ to have a procession of the Blessed Sacrament just as we will be having after the 11:00 Mass on Sunday, June 22nd in St. Josaphat’s Church and on its grounds – please join us!
The last procession that I was blessed to lead in the Southern Tier in Olean during the Festival of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, a young child wanted to carry the candle, the light of Christ, to lead the way of Our Lord throughout the community. Let us take this child’s example and be the Light of Christ to all we meet as we bring Jesus to all we meet in word and deed.
Prayer of Corpus Christi
O Lord Jesus Christ, You, who have given us Your precious Body and Blood to be our divine food and drink, grant that through frequent reception of You in the Holy Eucharist, I may be strengthened in mind, body and soul to do Your Holy Will. Amen. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us!
Blessings and His Graces on this beautiful Solemnity and always, Fr. John
It is customary on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ to have a procession of the Blessed Sacrament just as we will be having after the 11:00 Mass on Sunday, June 22nd in St. Josaphat’s Church and on its grounds – please join us!
The last procession that I was blessed to lead in the Southern Tier in Olean during the Festival of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, a young child wanted to carry the candle, the light of Christ, to lead the way of Our Lord throughout the community. Let us take this child’s example and be the Light of Christ to all we meet as we bring Jesus to all we meet in word and deed.
Prayer of Corpus Christi
O Lord Jesus Christ, You, who have given us Your precious Body and Blood to be our divine food and drink, grant that through frequent reception of You in the Holy Eucharist, I may be strengthened in mind, body and soul to do Your Holy Will. Amen. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us!
Blessings and His Graces on this beautiful Solemnity and always, Fr. John
Rejoicing in the Lord’s Gift – The Self-Gift of the Body and Blood of Christ . . .
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, previously known as “Corpus Christi”, (the Body of Christ), celebrates the institution of the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Our Lord. While the institution of the Eucharist is commemorated on Holy Thursday, the liturgy on that day also remembers the washing of the feet, the establishment of the priesthood and Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. For this reason, Corpus Christi was established to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist. Corpus Christi was introduced in the late 13th century to encourage the faithful to give special honor to the Blessed Sacrament and was called the feast of the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1970, the feast officially became known as the “Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.”
The feast is celebrated, in most English-speaking countries, on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday. (Trinity Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday following Pentecost.) At the end of Mass, it is customary on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ to have a procession of the Blessed Sacrament. In the past, the Eucharistic procession, in which the Sacred Host was carried throughout the town, accompanied by hymns and litanies. The faithful would venerate the Body of Christ as the procession passed by. This past Sunday, June 22nd, on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body of Blood of Christ, our own St. Josaphat Parish Family held a procession after the 11:00 am Mass. The faithful processed from the church to the streets surrounding the church and paused to pray and venerate the Blessed Sacrament at the Marian Grotto where the Lord was placed on its altar before returning to the church for Benediction and a final Blessing.
Corpus Christi Gratitude Prayer
Thank You, Lord, because in the Last Supper You divided the bread and wine into infinite pieces to satisfy our hunger and thirst. Thank You, Lord, because in the bread and wine you give us Your life, Your Body and Blood, and fill us with Your presence. Thank You, Lord because You loved us to the end, to the extreme that one can love: to die for one another, to give one’s life for another. Thank You, Lord, because You willed to celebrate Your surrender around a table with Your friends, just like with all of us 2,000 years later -- so that they would be a community of love. Thank You, Lord, because in the Eucharist You make us ONE with You. You unite us to Your Life, in the measure that we are willing to surrender ours. Thank You, Lord, because our whole day can be a preparation to celebrate and share the Eucharist . . . Thank You, Lord, because we can begin again every day . . . and continue our journey of community and love with our brothers and sisters in our parish families and our journey of transformation with, through and in You . . .
We thank you and love you Lord, Jesus, Amen!
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, previously known as “Corpus Christi”, (the Body of Christ), celebrates the institution of the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Our Lord. While the institution of the Eucharist is commemorated on Holy Thursday, the liturgy on that day also remembers the washing of the feet, the establishment of the priesthood and Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. For this reason, Corpus Christi was established to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist. Corpus Christi was introduced in the late 13th century to encourage the faithful to give special honor to the Blessed Sacrament and was called the feast of the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1970, the feast officially became known as the “Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.”
The feast is celebrated, in most English-speaking countries, on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday. (Trinity Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday following Pentecost.) At the end of Mass, it is customary on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ to have a procession of the Blessed Sacrament. In the past, the Eucharistic procession, in which the Sacred Host was carried throughout the town, accompanied by hymns and litanies. The faithful would venerate the Body of Christ as the procession passed by. This past Sunday, June 22nd, on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body of Blood of Christ, our own St. Josaphat Parish Family held a procession after the 11:00 am Mass. The faithful processed from the church to the streets surrounding the church and paused to pray and venerate the Blessed Sacrament at the Marian Grotto where the Lord was placed on its altar before returning to the church for Benediction and a final Blessing.
Corpus Christi Gratitude Prayer
Thank You, Lord, because in the Last Supper You divided the bread and wine into infinite pieces to satisfy our hunger and thirst. Thank You, Lord, because in the bread and wine you give us Your life, Your Body and Blood, and fill us with Your presence. Thank You, Lord because You loved us to the end, to the extreme that one can love: to die for one another, to give one’s life for another. Thank You, Lord, because You willed to celebrate Your surrender around a table with Your friends, just like with all of us 2,000 years later -- so that they would be a community of love. Thank You, Lord, because in the Eucharist You make us ONE with You. You unite us to Your Life, in the measure that we are willing to surrender ours. Thank You, Lord, because our whole day can be a preparation to celebrate and share the Eucharist . . . Thank You, Lord, because we can begin again every day . . . and continue our journey of community and love with our brothers and sisters in our parish families and our journey of transformation with, through and in You . . .
We thank you and love you Lord, Jesus, Amen!
