June 21-22, 2025
Dear parishioners,
On this solemnity of Corpus Christi, we celebrate the tremendous gift of Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist. In a special way today, we give thanks to Christ that, at the Last Supper, he transformed the bread into his own body, and the wine into his own blood, and even gave the apostles the command to “do this” in commemoration of him (Lk. 22:19). You can easily find the history of this great feast with a simple Google search. It began with the Eucharistic miracle that took place in Bolsena, Italy in 1263. After the miracle was confirmed, St. Thomas Aquinas penned a few Eucharistic hymns that are still well known today (O Salutaris, Tantum Ergo, Adoro Te Devote), and wrote a few works dedicated to the Eucharist.
In a lesser-known passage from St. Thomas’ commentary on the Gospel of John, he provides his readers with an important teaching that is still pertinent for our own time, as it pertains to something that many Catholics today seem to be confused about. In his commentary on chapter 6 (the Bread of Life discourse), St. Thomas makes the following observation:
We should note that this sacrament [(the Eucharist)] is different from the others: for the other sacraments have individual effects: as in baptism, only the one baptized receives this grace. But in the immolation of this sacrament, the effect is universal: because it affects not just the priest, but also those for whom he prays, as well as the entire Church, of the living and of the dead. The reason for this is that it contains the universal cause of all the sacraments, Christ. Nevertheless, when a lay person receives this sacrament it does not benefit others by its own power insofar as it is considered as a receiving. However, due to the intention of the person who is acting and receiving [(the priest)], it can be communicated to all those to whom he directs his intention.
It is clear from this that lay persons are mistaken when they receive the Eucharist for those in purgatory.
In the text above, St. Thomas is making the distinction between two separate realities that occur when the Mass is celebrated. On one hand, he is making it clear that the sacrifice of the Mass itself, offered on the altar by the priest, can be offered for anyone, living or dead. This is why every Mass celebrated in our parish has an intention for whom the sacrifice is being offered. That is, because the Mass is the very sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, the celebration of Mass is actually the applying of Christ’s sacrifice to the particular intention of that Mass.
On the other hand, Aquinas is also stating above that there is a difference between the action of the priest at the altar, and the action of receiving the Eucharist in Communion. While the sacrifice on the altar can be applied to others’ needs, including those in purgatory, our individual reception of Communion cannot be applied to others. As he states above, this is true for all of the sacraments; the one who receives a sacrament is the one who receives the grace of that sacrament.
It should also be noted that the above realities are distinct from yet another truth. When we come to Mass, it is a good practice to bring prayer intentions with us. Spiritually, the priest gathers all of these intentions at the altar and lifts them up as he prays the prayers there. Additionally, it is also a good practice to prepare for the reception of Communion by making a prayer as we come forward to receive- perhaps a prayer that helps us enter more deeply into the reality of the Eucharist, or perhaps a petition to Jesus for any particular grace that we might personally need.
Hopefully this information is spiritually beneficial in some way, especially as we continue to move through the National Eucharistic Revival.
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
