Corpus Christi: The feast of Corpus Christi, which is the body and blood of Christ calls to mind God’s abiding presence among us in sacramental signs. As the catechism defines, the Eucharist is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ together with his soul and divinity under the appearance of bread and wine.
Through the action of the priest in the process of trans-substantiation the bread becomes the true body of Christ and the wine the true blood of Christ. This singular belief in the real presence distinguishes the Church’s theology of the Eucharist from other Christian Churches who teach that their Eucharist is only a symbol or sign of Christ.
So when we gather on the day of the Lord it is to remember and celebrate and to give thanks because Jesus is truly present in our midst. Today we thank God for the gift of his presence in the Eucharist but also in the church, family and one another. Christ is present to us a Church and as individuals and we ought to always celebrate our unity in the body of Christ and give thanks for his blessings, “for the blessing cup that we bless is our communion in the blood of Christ” (1 Cor 10:16).
As we remember and give thanks today, we also remember those whom God has used to build the body of Christ which is our community. We are certainly very grateful Fr. Daniel Nascimento for his selfless, dedicate, honest and humble service to our Parish in the last five years. His gentle smile, warm, kind, and caring heart has built us into a real loving and caring community, a true body.
Fr. Dan, we will miss you here as you move on to St. Anne’s parish on July 1st. We entrust you to the power of the Holy Spirit to grant you the enablement to do even greater things in you new assignment. You are “Bonus pastor”.
Meanwhile, I like to remind you that after the 9:30 and the 11:30 masses on Sunday June 29th we shall have a farewell celebration for Fr. Dan. I would like to encourage all of us to say a “good bye” to him while we will pray for him at all masses.
I thank all of you my dear parishioners, sister and brothers, for your help and support over the last ten months since I came here. You have created a home and family for me among you. You have been overwhelmingly warm and kind to me and have helped me to settle in well. I therefore offer eternal thanks to you but also ask for one more thing: please extend this same kindness and support to our new pastor Fr. Ted Magpayo. He needs your kindness, love and support especially during the transition time, given the fact that I will be away on vacation to visit my mother from July 7th.
I have heard only good things about Fr. Ted so let us pray for him and show him our love for which St. Brendan is known.
For those who are travelling for summer, our prayers are with you. Sr. Angela has arrived home to be with her family in Italy and has sent warm regards to all of you.
Peace be with you,
Fr. Theo
