Monday Message on Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Patrick Donovan

KNOW

We hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend. Because we are in prep mode for Saturday’s big event, we will NOT have a virtual check in today.

If you do not have tickets for the Mass of Thanksgiving on June 1st, you can visit this page.

The National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC) is a diverse group of young people that serves as a leadership model for integrating young people’s voices into all of the Church’s work and ministry. The council is comprised of up to 12 young people and a handful of adult mentors who accompany them during their term. Each young person also selects a local mentor to accompany them in implementing a local leadership project. The nomination process is now open and will close on July 1. To learn more about the council and nomination process, click here.

ICYMI

There are many parish leaders who have asked about an online version of the Annual Consent and Release form. I have good news. If you would like to use the form online, here is what we can do for you:

We create a version just for you and send you the link.
You put the link as part of your registration process.
Once a week while you are doing registration, we can send you a spreadsheet of those who have completed it (and all the information)
By September 1, 2024, we can give you access to the data so you can sort, download, etc. on your own. At that point, weekly downloads from us would stop.
All data would be permanently backed up by us.

If you would like to participate, please email Carmela.

Confirmation requests for Fall 2024 will be emailed out today. For a preview of that email, you can click this memo and form. Please note, you are no longer asked for dates that work. Instead, you are asked for the date of your retreat and three dates that do not work for your parish. If you have questions, email Carlos directly (not the bishop’s office).

We are in the midst of the Eucharistic Procession. Please check out this page and, if your parish is hosting the Eucharistic Miracles at any point, check out this page.

REFLECT

“Blood is thicker than water.” We recognize that family relationships imply family loyalty. Common history and common origins mean that we share a common bond. The readings for Sunday’s feast of Corpus Christi focus on the obligations and relationships formed because of a blood bond. To share a common history is to live a common life.

In the passage from Exodus, Moses returns from the mountain and reports God’s demands for a covenant relationship with the Chosen People. Moses obtains the people’s commitment and then symbolizes that bond linking Israel with Yahweh. He writes the terms of the relationship and erects an altar and twelve pillars. Only after reading the terms does Moses sprinkle the people with blood. The end result is the creation of a new family.

The only day on which the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem Temple was the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The high priest atoned for the sins of his household by using the blood of a bullock. He atoned for the sins of the people by sprinkling the blood of both the bullock and a goat in the Holy of Holies, thus keeping alive the bond between God and Israel. The author of Hebrews sees Good Friday as the Day of Atonement. Jesus’ own blood makes possible our entrance into the heavenly sanctuary.

Sunday’s gospel links Jesus’ death with Israel’s great feast of liberation, the Passover. At the first Passover, the blood on the doorpost prevented the death of the firstborn. The bread broken at the Last Supper symbolizes the disciples’ sharing in Jesus’ self-offering. Drinking from the cup of his blood creates a new and dynamic common bond.

The Eucharist is a precious experience. Its very nature implies a bond with God and with the community. Our destinies are intertwined. We cannot be loners, for blood is a common bond.

LAUGH

Annual Consent and Release

Confirmation Forms

Eucharistic Procession

Mass of Thanksgiving

NYAC

Monday Messenger Archive