By Rose Brennan
STRATFORD— “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf,” reads an excerpt from 1 Corinthians 10. And it was one body in Christ which gathered for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ on June 11, in which representatives from all five of Stratford’s parishes attended Mass, a Eucharistic procession and Benediction at St. James Parish on Main Street.
The principal celebrant of the Mass was Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, who was joined by the pastors of the five Stratford parishes: Father Peter Adamski of St. James, Father Albert Pinciaro of Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Monsignor Martin Ryan of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Father Peter Towsley of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Lordship, and Father Birenda Soreng of St. Mark Parish.
The Mass was a unique opportunity to celebrate the body of Christ among the Catholic faithful in Stratford. However, the fire of the Holy Spirit among them might have been a bit too strong, as before Bishop Caggiano could finish the Sign of the Cross to begin Mass, the fire alarm sounded. Luckily, it was due to the presence of incense while the windows were closed, and the parishioners didn’t need to evacuate.
“Well, at least we know the fire system works,” the bishop quipped to a laughing congregation.
In his homily, Bishop Caggiano pondered the question of why a solemnity like Corpus Christi existed. The feast honors the True Presence of Christ—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity—in the Blessed Sacrament. But, as the bishop noted, that mystery of faith is celebrated nearly every day in the Church when Mass is said, with the exceptions of Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
“Familiarity breeds mindlessness, comfort, taking something for granted—in this case, one of the great gifts the Lord has given us,” the bishop said. “We often can take it for granted, as we do so many other things in life. And so, in part, it is good and worthy and just that we spend one day in this year focusing and reminding ourselves of what it is and who it is that the Eucharist is.”
The bishop reminded those present of the great miracle that the Solemnity of Corpus Christi celebrates, not only as a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, but also his institution of the ultimate meal in which believers could partake.
“We come here to the altar because the fathers of the Church taught that heaven and earth kiss on this altar,” he said. “And what is bread and wine becomes, as the Lord said in the Gospel, the bread of everlasting life, so that those who receive it worthily will receive the grace that was won in Christ’s death and resurrection.”
Following Mass, the bishop and the Stratford pastors led a procession in Stratford’s historical district, which served as a public display of the Catholic faith, as well as the display of the cornerstone of one of its most important institutions: the Eucharist.
As the faithful followed in the Eucharistic procession, they were led in praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. Once they arrived back at St. James from the half-mile procession, the bishop led those gathered in Eucharistic Benediction.
Bishop Caggiano was particularly enthused by the cooperation of the five Stratford parishes, lauding them as an example of the parish collaboration he liked to see. However, it wasn’t the first time they came together to see how they could best serve the Catholic faithful in the town. Previously, the pastors developed a new Sunday Mass schedule, making it so nearly every half hour beginning at 7:30 am, another Mass would begin at one of the five Catholic parishes.
But this time, they came together to celebrate the Mass, on a day that commemorated the Eucharist that stands at its center. And for that, the bishop couldn’t have been prouder.
“St. Augustine once said we receive the Body of Christ to become the body of Christ, so that what unites us in grace is greater than what could ever divide us,” Bishop Caggiano said. “You are making a Eucharistic statement: that in this moment in the life of the Church, while we are all different communities with our own strengths, our own histories, our own gifts and ministries, we are also one Church. We are one body in communion with one Lord.”
