June 20, 2019, marks the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi, which translates from Latin to “Body of Christ.” This feast celebrates the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, a central mystery of the Catholic Faith. 

Practically every day, I look out the windows of the rectory and see mothers dropping off their children for school or picking them up in the afternoon. To be fair, there are also fathers, grandparents, and other relatives who do the same, but I’d like to focus on the mothers since they are the majority who do so. I never cease to be amazed at the special skills these mothers possess that enable them to take special care of their children. There is no doubt in my mind about how influential they are and how these mothers are an indispensable gift to their children.

During my time in seminary with the SOLT community in Rome, we would alternate where we would celebrate the Easter Vigil. One year we would attend the Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica with Pope Saint John Paul II presiding. The next year, in order to have some firsthand experience of organizing, preparing and serving the Easter Vigil, we would celebrate in our humble basement chapel which was within a huge complex belonging to the Christian Brothers of St. John the Baptist de La Salle, from whom we used to rent out a block of rooms. While of course, the papal celebrations were unforgettable in their grandeur, solemnity and beauty, sometimes, the subtle symbolic significance of very profound liturgical gestures would become more apparent while celebrating the Easter Vigil in our basement chapel. There are two such moments that I would like to share with you here.

At the beginning of the Lenten season, I invited myself and all of us in the Diocese of Corpus Christi to embark on a journey that has the potential to transform us and bring us closer to God.  I spoke of bringing to prayer the people who hurt us, those who might not be our friends and pray for them by name. I have experienced in my life that true conversation has its roots in prayer.