RCIA and Adult Faith Formation

Do You Know Someone Who Would Like to Become a Catholic?

Our door is open for anyone who is interested in joining the Catholic Church, Learning more about the Faith we practice and becoming a fully initiated Catholic for anyone who has not received First Communion or Confirmation. In order to qualify as a Godparent in Baptism the person must have received all the Sacraments of Initiation. They include Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion.

Sister Teresa can be contacted about our RCIA and other Adult Faith Formation programs at 516-627-0385, ext. 1010. Her office hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 10:00AM and 4:00PM and other times by appointment.

This Is My Body

The year ending June 30, 2023 has been designated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as the first of a three-year National Eucharistic Revival. Our pastor, Fr. Bob, asked me to write a series of articles on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. - Frank De Lucia

Citing the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Real Presence as follows: “In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.’”

(CCC 1374). In other words, in some mystical way a miracle is performed at every Mass. During the consecration by the Catholic priest, the substance of bread made without yeast and ordinary wine are converted into the actual Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Savior, while they only still appear as ordinary bread and wine.

The Real Presence is a dogmatic truth of the Catholic Church, a truth revealed by God Himself and binding on all Catholics. It was initially revealed in what has come to be known as the Bread of Life Discourse in the gospel of St. John, where Jesus said to His followers outside a temple in Capernaum, “’Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day’…As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” (John 6:53-54,66). Some many months later, and in answer to the question at Capernaum “How can this man give us [His] flesh to eat?” (John 6:52), Jesus instituted the Eucharist we celebrate today. During the Last Supper, a Passover Seder, Saint Luke records the following: “Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.’” (Luke 22:19-20) Note that Jesus did not say that the bread and wine were “like” His

Corinthians, written in the 50s A.D., St. Paul writes “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). Around 110 A.D., St. Ignatius of Antioch writes “I have no taste for corruptible food or for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ . . . and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible” (Letter to the Romans 7:3). Justin Martyr, in chapter 66 of his First Apology, written in 151 A.D., states, “For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these…the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him…is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.” And finally, St. Irenaeus in 189 A.D. wrote, “[Jesus] has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be his own blood, from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, he has established as his own body, from which he gives increase unto our bodies” (Against the Heresies).

Body and Blood, He said that it literally “was” (and still “is”) His Body and Blood.

Many Protestant denominations do not believe in the Real Presence, and interpret these Bible passages metaphorically rather than literally. However, there is ample evidence that the early Church did in fact believe in the Real Presence as declared by the Catholic Church today. In his First Letter to the inquiries, please call 526-627-0385 ext. 1033

The list of witnesses to belief in the Real Presence in the early Church is too voluminous to list here. However, our brothers in the Eastern, non-Catholic denominations, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, believe in the Real Presence, demonstrating that the belief goes back to a time when there was only one Church.

In a future bulletin, we will explore the times when God, through grace and charity to the faithful, removed the appearances of the bread and wine in the Eucharist, exposing the true substance of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood, the Soul and Divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The hours are after the 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, & 12:00 Noon Masses. It is located in the Parish Ministry Center below the church.

Children’s Liturgy of the Word Sundays at the 9:00 AM Mass

What Is It? After the Opening Prayer, children gather and are dismissed from the church with a blessing by the priest, proceed to the chapel for the Sunday Readings and a short reflection on the Gospel, all on a level that children can understand. They are returned to the church at the beginning of the Creed.

Get Involved! We are in need of a few more people who would like to break open the Gospel reading for the children. Please consider sitting in on Sunday to see what it’s about and/or email Jane at bulletin@ stmary.ws.

Celebrating our Senior Priests who

You are cordially invited to a special Mass and Brunch in celebration of our senior priests who reside at St. Pius X Residence