We continue to hear about Jesus’ public ministry in this week’s Gospel when He asks the apostles who people say that He is. He then continues to tell Peter that he (Peter) is the rock upon which He (Jesus) will build His church.
Our song at Communion, “I Am the Bread of Life” by Suzanne Toolan, reminds of Christ’s words in which He tells us once again who He is:
I am the Bread of life. You who come to me shall not hunger; and who believe in me shall not thirst.
Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink of his blood, you shall not have life within you.
I am the Resurrection, I am the life. If you believe in me, even though you die, you shall live forever.
You are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world.
On a totally different note, we are starting to do a service outside this weekend at 10:15AM every Sunday in the North parking lot. It’s the Rite for Distributing Holy Communion Outside of Mass. This rite, normally done by a deacon or lay minister in the absence of a priest, is a short prayer service followed by Communion, using hosts (the Body of Christ) that were consecrated earlier during a Mass by a priest. This prayer service begins with a greeting and penitential rite, the proclamation of the Gospel for that Sunday, universal prayers, and then the Rite of Communion with an Our Father, Lamb of God and reception of Communion. The deacons will take the Eucharist to people either standing outside their cars, or people can remain seat-ed in their car if needed. The Rite ends with a prayer, blessing and sending forth.
This will be an opportunity for those who are not able to attend Mass in church to receive the Eucharist in a sacred and respectful manner, all while being safe with social distancing. It is envisioned that all who participate in this Rite will also have watched a Mass on TV or our live-streamed Mass at 9AM on our Facebook page. It is expected that everyone is keeping the Lord’s Day holy in other ways also, such as having family prayer time or other spiritual activities throughout the day. We hope that people will take advantage of this opportunity to receive our Lord in the Eucharist on Sundays.