Second Sunday after Pentecost—14 June AD 2020
Within the Octave of Corpus Christi
Ave Maria!
Mass Text Latin - Sunday within the Octave
Mass Text English - Sunday within the OctavehEnglish Mass Text - Corpus Christi
Latin Mass Text - Corpus Christi
On Frequent Mass Attendance
“In this we have known the love of God,
because He has laid down His life for us.”[1]Today is the Second Sunday after Pentecost. In some missals it is referred to as the “Sunday within the Octave of Corpus Christi.” It is placed in the liturgical calendar in such a way that it is always after the feast of Corpus Christi, and before the feasts of the Sacred Heart and the Precious Blood. These three feasts constitute a certain unity, in that they work together to demonstrate God's love for us under three different aspects.
Corpus Christi—literally: “The Body of Christ”—commemorated the institution of the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament. It did so in a way that emphasized primarily the hospitality and friendship of God. We celebrated the love of God, which induced Him to give us His very Body and Blood as our nourishment; which induced Him to personally remain with His people in all the tabernacles of the world; which induced Him to be available to us, to console us in time of trouble. Corpus Christi emphasized the fraternity of God who invites us to His Supper to break the Bread of Life with us.
The Feast of the Precious Blood will come on July 1st, and it also commemorates the God's love for us—but its emphasis is on the sacrificial nature of that love—how He literally poured out His Blood for us on the Cross—how His Blood washes us clean from our sins—and how we receive that saving Blood in Holy Communion—how it is mystically poured out in union with the Cross at every Mass.
And coming between these two extremes of God's love—this Friday—we celebrate the feast of the Sacred heart—a sort of symbolic representation of Jesus' love for us; which incorporates both the sacrificial aspect—we think of His Heart being pierced with a lance as He hung on the Cross; and which also incorporates the idea of personal friendship and consolation—we think of Jesus waiting patiently for us in the tabernacle, hoping that we will come to visit Him.
Again, all three of these feasts make one unity, the Love of God for His people joining the Last Supper with the sacrifice of the Cross.
In thinking about these three feasts, I am convinced that the Church has us read this particular Gospel today for a reason. It is intended to strike home—to confront us with the way we have treated God's love, and particularly His hospitality.
We are reminded what it is like to give a party, and then to have only a few of the invited guests show up. We have all had this happen to us. You plan a party—invite 30 or 40 people—prepare food and drink, and tables and chairs, music and what have you—and only eleven people show up. And half of the eleven are people that you invited “because you had to.” The friends you really wanted to spend time with all had something else they just “had to do.”
Its a feeling of rejection. Your attempt to share the fruits of your labors has been rejected. People who call themselves your friends don't want to break bread with you. You feel embarrassed—worried that the people who did show up will start asking questions about why so few came—“What's the matter—don't you have any friends—what's wrong with you anyway?”
Its probably worse when this happens to important people—heads of state and the like—when they make elaborate dinner plans and they get “stood up.” I remember, years ago, President George Bush having a press conference that none of the Networks bothered to attend.!
This parable that we hear today is intended to confront us with the fact that we often treat our Lord in exactly the same way. We attend Sunday Mass because we have to—simply to avoid committing a mortal sin—and we find excuses even to avoid Sunday Mass often enough. Even though they are just as important, we find even more excuses to miss Mass on Holy Days of Obligation.
“I've bought a farm ... married a wife ... had to get my hair done ... went to the senior prom ... had to go shopping ... had to go to a party." Some of the excuses are pretty valid, although others are less so. The point is that we work hard to justify staying away when we should be working even harder to find a way to come and attend our Lord's great festivity.
And not just on Sundays and Holy Days, but on the other feasts, and even just the simple saints' days. Our Lord probably feels just about as neglected when no one comes to Mass on Saint Swithin's day, as he does on Corpus Christi or the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
He is, after all, a famous person. Someone whom we should feel honored to receive an invitation from. He is—or should be—the “Universal Hero” —the “One who laid down His life for us”—the Savior of all mankind.
So please start to give more consideration to attending Mass as often as possible. Sundays, Holy Days, and great feasts, certainly—but also try to come once in a while when it is a day of no particular importance.
Come, once in a while, just to make a visit with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. After all, he has been waiting for you in a very small room for 2,000 years. Please, don't make Him feel as though He has been stood up.
That's very important, because there is something of a threat implied in the closing words of today's Gospel—don't make Him feel as though He has been stood up, lest you miss out on the eternal supper of our Lord, and hear Him say of you, that “none of these that were invited shall taste of my supper.”[2]
