Bread from heaven

June 13 marks the liturgical memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, a Franciscan preacher who was born in Lisbon (Portugal) but who is perhaps most famous in Italy.  Saint Anthony was a very gifted preacher and is still highly revered, especially for his great love for the poor.  In many places where his memory is evoked, people will bring bread as an expression of their devotion.  This bread is blessed and then distributed to the poor.  Perhaps it is also significant that on this weekend, when we remember and pray with this great saint, we also celebrate Jesus who is present among us in the form of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

The first reading for today's Mass, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, reminds us of the lives of our ancestors in faith who travelled with Moses in the desert.  For forty days and forty nights, the Lord led them in the wilderness, in order to humble them, testing them in order to know their hearts, whether or not they would keep his commandments (cf Deut 8: 2).  For more than three months now, our lives have been changed as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus.  Many aspects of our daily lives have not only been interrupted, but we have had to learn a new way of living.  For many of us, it has indeed seemed like a long journey through the wilderness.  Along the way, we have recognized a growing hunger for social and community events which have been so drastically changed, and most especially, our parish community.

Throughout this time, the Lord has not abandoned us.  For many of us, the inability to attend the weekly celebrations of the Eucharist in person have caused us to be increasingly aware of our hunger for the Eucharist.  Through the use of modern-day technology, we have tried to provide manna - the bread of heaven - to as many of you in a safe manner.  When this pandemic began, many of us were unacquainted with the power of technology.  Never before have we turned in such vast numbers to Facebook Live, to YouTube and to other means of technology in order to remain connected to our faith.  These new ways of celebrating will remain with us now, but even though we have been able to partake in this way, we still hunger for the Eucharist.

It is fitting that on this weekend, while we celebrate Jesus who is the living bread that came down from heaven (Jn 6: 51), I also have the great pleasure to confirm the announcement that was made by our diocesan Bishop that all Catholic churches in this Diocese will open our doors next weekend: in time for Fathers' Day.  We are still hard at work preparing to welcome you.  Our lives have already changed in many ways over these past few months, and you will also notice some changes that we have had to implement in order to keep us all safe.  There will still be three Masses celebrated each weekend, but the times will be slightly different: we will celebrate the Lord's day with Masses on Saturday at 4:00pm (English) and on Sunday at 9:30am (French) and at 11:30am (English) and at least for a little while, we will have to limit the number of people who can attend the Mass in person.  Because of the restrictions of social distancing, we will only be able to accommodate 50 people at each Mass.  In order to be fair, we will be contacting you to register your names for the Masses that you will attend, and you may not be able to be physically present from one week to another.  Fear not!  We will continue to live stream the Masses as we have been doing since this pandemic first arrived, so you will still be able to participate virtually, even if you need to stay home.  Please check our website (stebernadette.org) for more information about how we are preparing to welcome you.

Dear friends, the words of Saint Paul's letter to the Corinthians are just as true today as they ever have been: The cup of blessing that we bless is ... a sharing in the Blood of Christ ... and the bread that we break is ... a sharing in the body of Christ (1 Cor 10: 16).  Let us give thanks today for the great gift of the Eucharist, and let us look with hope to the day when we will gather once again around the Lord's table to receive this precious gift.