Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A. reflects on the Gospel for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (June 23, 2019)
Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A. is the Prior of the Augustinian Monastery and Director of the Marylake Shrine in King City, Ontario, Canada. He is also a parish mission and retreat director in the US and Canada. Fr. Tom was named a Papal Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis in 2018.
I remember wearing a white suit with short pants. I remember getting some cards with dollar bills. I don’t remember an encounter with Jesus Christ or even receiving communion for the first time. I remember the rehearsal where Sister showed us how to hold our hands and reminded us not to chew the host. In those days, however, the hosts were so small and thin there was nothing to chew. Fr. Tom must be a much younger man.
On Sunday I’ll be talking about the consecration, especially of those who come forward to affirm and receive the Body and Blood of Christ. It is after all the very reason that bread and wine step aside so that we can recognize the presence of Christ in these sacred sacramental signs. I’ll say nothing about the priest bringing Christ down upon the altar in a miraculous exercise of an office which sets him above the merely baptized. My part in the sacred Liturgy does not exalt but humbles me. May God ever be given the glory!
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