As the Easter Season comes to an end, the Church calendar proposes three Sundays – before returning to Ordinary Time – three wonderful truths of our Catholic faith! The feast of Pentecost or the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles; the feast of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – our belief in one God who has revealed Himself as Father – Son – and Holy Spirit; and finally the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ – Corpus Christi – which reminds us of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine at every Mass that is celebrated in our Catholic Church.
As we have just concluded the celebrations, it might be helpful to look back at these treasures of our faith and reflect on the gracious love of our God in each of these three gifts. Pentecost is celebrated fifty days after Easter – Yes, the Easter Season lasts for 50 days, and Lent, which precedes it, is celebrated for 40 days! Pentecost is actually the birthday of the Catholic Church. It is the day when the frightened and bewildered apostles became fully equipped to begin the preaching and teaching for which Christ had prepared them. Empowered by God the Holy Spirit – the third person of the Blessed Trinity, often the forgotten person of the Blessed Trinity – these hand-picked apostles of Jesus began the daunting task of spreading the Good News that Jesus was alive, He rose from the dead, and was now sending them His Holy Spirit – and telling them to move forward with their work – fearful no longer but ready to begin.
The Feast of the Holy Trinity is one that puzzles the faithful because for so long we have been trying to figure out what this mind-boggling mystery is all about! But since it is truly a mystery about which theologians have been writing and teaching for centuries, perhaps the only thing we can do is to stop, look, and stand in awe and wonder at the goodness of our God. He comes as a Loving Father, a Redeeming Son, and a powerful sanctifying presence into our lives! Yes, the Trinity means one God who has chosen to make Himself known and available in three distinct persons. You can’t ever truly explain it, so just sit back and begin to enjoy it – enjoy their love, their presence in our lives, and this desire to be with us at all times. Baptized into the trinitarian mystery, Christians are adopted as sons and daughters of God!
Finally, the Body and Blood of Christ; this third feast day is commonly called Corpus Christi! The institution of the Holy Eucharist is celebrated on Holy Thursday, just before Easter, but Corpus Christi is a solemn feast that celebrates the splendor and majesty of our God who becomes present to us at each Mass. What looks like bread and wine is no longer bread and wine! Because of the words of consecration and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus. It was Jesus Himself who told us at the Last Supper to do this in His memory! And so, we Catholics adore Christ present in the Eucharist, and we thank him for remaining with His Church in such a loving way.
We are now ready to resume the “Sundays of Ordinary Time” as they are called in our Church calendar. Nothing is ever “ordinary” in presenting the message of Jesus Christ to God’s people. The phrase simply refers to the fact that no special season is being celebrated at this particular time.
Bishop Ray's Blog 
Leave a comment