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Today is the Feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord or Corpus Christi. The commemoration was established in 1246 in Belgium when St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon had mystical apparitions which led the official Church to establish a celebration specifically asserting our belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, offering the spiritual benefits that derive from such belief, praying for those who ridicule our Creed, and proclaiming the Real Presence not only in our own Churches, but throughout the places where we live. Therefore, the Eucharistic Procession quickly became a part of the Feast Day. Time-out for Benediction – a blessing with the Blessed Sacrament itself over those who participate – became a usual part of the procession. It was in the era of the Feast’s institution that St. Thomas Aquinas wrote the Divine Office prayers, including the classic hymn Pange Lingua. At one time observed on a post-Easter Season Thursday to mirror the Last Supper of Holy Thursday, the Feast was moved by the bishops of our country and most of the world to the Sunday following Trinity Sunday. On a Sunday when we are supposed to gather anyway, all Catholics are invited to appreciate and honor the great gift we have – the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood. Cardinal George will lead our hour-long Corpus Christi procession beginning at 1:30pm, immediately after Sunday’s 12:30pm Mass, to Quigley Seminary’s Chapel (Rush & Pearson) for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Please, join us. About 108 adult Catholics will be Confirmed on Monday evening at 7:00 in the Cathedral by Francis Cardinal George and Bishop Francis Kane. Everyone is welcome to attend. Although most of the candidates were prepared during a six-week training series here at the Cathedral, many others have come to us from all over Bishop Kane’s Vicariate and even from around the Archdiocese. Maybe it has something to do with the mobility of the modern family; maybe it is because of poor models of catechesis that fortunately have begun to disappear; maybe it can be accounted in the declining enrollment in Catholic schools. Whatever the reason or reasons, it seems that a large number of Catholic people have missed Confirmation at the customary time of its celebration, in the early teen years. I am very happy that each of Monday’s confirmandi has decided to complete the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism-Confirmation-Eucharist) at this time. We were honored to help. Now that the virtues baptized in their souls have been shined up by the Chrism of Confirmation, I hope to see them often at our altar where they can feed those Spirit-given virtues with the perfect food for them, the Eucharist. We are pleased to announce that the Robert McLaughlin Faith Foundation has awarded two Holy Name Cathedral programs with grants totaling $6,000. The Cathedral’s Young Adult Ministries Office was awarded $5,000 to aid those who already have participated in the Young Adult Ministry at Holy Name with an opportunity to deepen their theological understanding and to better serve the Church. Those funds will be used for tuition assistance at Catholic Theological Union and at Loyola University. The grant will be administered locally by Holy Name Cathedral’s Pastoral Associate Kristin Schwarz. In addition, the McLaughlin Foundation granted $1,000 – twice the requested amount – for financial assistance for students at Camp Cantate, a children’s summer music camp offered for the first time this coming season by the Cathedral’s Music Department and directed by Children’s Choir Conductor Tamara Schupman. The Foundation doubled the music program grant “because the board felt that Bob’s love for children and music is an important part of the future of the Church.” Father Bob McLaughlin was my immediate predecessor, the pastor of Holy Name Cathedral from 1990-2002 and, from 1966-1974, an associate/resident here. He died suddenly early in 2005. The grants will be awarded Monday night at a Ridgemoor Country Club banquet following a golf outing that will continue to fund the foundation. Tamara Schupman and Kristin Schwarz will accept the awards in the name of our parish. We thank the McLaughlin Faith Foundation. We received a grateful letter last week from The Women’s Center, the agency that provides services to women in crisis pregnancies and promotes the gift of life. The Women’s Center sold $2,111 worth of Mothers Day flowers at the Cathedral for the support of their work…We also received a $13,406 check from the Cardinal along with his thanks for our support of the Annual Catholic Appeal. Our rebate check represented the amount of money contributed over our quota. We sure can use that cash with some big bills (especially the relocation of our boilers) due soon. Best of all, that check was the rebate for the 2005 Annual Appeal. Next year’s check promises to be even bigger because of the tremendous support our parishioners give to the Appeal which funds ministries, services, and offices that serve all Chicago’s Catholic people. Thank you to all who took part in the annual Catholic Appeal Father Robert Oldershaw will retire from his work as pastor of St. Nicholas Church in Evanston on July 1. Fr. Oldershaw lived at Holy Name Cathedral in the 1960s and 1970s while assigned to the Sacred Music Commission and later to the Office for Divine Worship. He also coordinated the liturgy for the Mass offered by Pope John Paul II in Grant Park in 1979. In fact, he also chaired the committee that brought Music Director Matt Walsh to Holy Name. Father Oldershaw has invited all his friends from the Cathedral to a Mass at St. Nicholas, 806 Ridge Avenue in Evanston, at 4:00pm next Saturday, June 24, followed by an Open House in their school cafeteria from 6:00-9:00pm. For more information, contact Joan at the St. Nicholas parish office (847-864-1185); or e-mail Joan at stnicks@nickchurch.org . This Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day. If you are fortunate enough to have your dad nearby, be sure to see him today. If you cannot get to him, call. If your father has passed away, remember to pray for his soul at Mass on Sunday. Let’s all pray for those about to become dads. We also pray for men who have failed to handle their noble vocation; God have mercy on them. Most of all, pray for your father. I plan to see my dad on both Saturday (his youngest grandson and my nephew has a grade school graduation party) and Sunday (his day) this weekend. If you, too, fit the part, Happy Father’s Day to you! Fr. Dan Mayall |
