June 22, 2003

The greatest gift of God to us is Himself in the Holy Eucharist. Pentecost Sunday celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit into the Church, and Trinity Sunday celebrated the central mystery of the Faith, the dogma of the Holy Trinity. Today, in a feast formally decreed by Pope Urban IV in 1264, the celebration of the Body of Christ, Corpus Christi, becomes a celebration of a celebration, for it rejoices in the Eucharistic action during which the Church prays to God the Father, invoking God the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of God the Son. All this is a unified action, indeed a sacred dance, ritualizing the unity and harmony of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

In the Eucharist, the priest bids Ut hoc sacrificium meum ac vestrum acceptabile fiat apud Deum Patrem omnipotentem — That this sacrifice — mine and yours — may be acceptable to God the almighty Father. This gets muddled in translation, for “our” sacrifice is not “mine and yours.” The priest offers the sacrifice of Christ Himself to which the people join the sacrifice of themselves: their souls and bodies and their possessions. That is why money and other gifts are offered, as signs of the week’s work. These gifts should be real tithes, or a substantial portion of what we have, to be an authentic sacrifice. They support the works of Christ in the world. An informed conscience should be the guide. For most people, a dollar is not a sacrifice.

It is appropriate that on the Feast of Corpus Christi we have exceeded the parish’s goal for the Cardinal’s Appeal. This involves us more generously than ever in the Church’s work among the poor, the sick and dying, children in the schools, and the many other charitable ways the Church heals a broken world. No arms were twisted and little mention of the Appeal was made at the Masses, for if the Gospel is preached all else will follow. If for some reason you did not do your part, you can rethink your sacrificial giving now, and especially bear in mind the Restoration Fund that now is in its first phase of restoring the roof. The Church is a tabernacle for the Altar of the Eucharist and each of us becomes a tabernacle for our Eucharistic Lord when we receive Him in communion. Our parish has never before been so abundant in talent and giving, but this is only a fraction of what we can and should do. Now let us repair and restore this beautiful church, as a sign of the beautiful works of charity the church supports, and as a house of God who will make our souls beautiful if we let Him.

Fr. George W. Rutler