Kenneth will receive a copy of Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics, a $20.95 value.

As the title suggests, Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics highlights what happens throughout salvation history between God and humanity. God breaks through and connects with human history, thereby establishing a relationship with humanity.
Using the Good News translation, Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics was created for young people leaving childhood and entering adolescence. Its ten special features were created to help make the Bible easier for young people to read and understand.

They will learn about the great people of the Bible, and will see how God has been breaking through in human history and connecting with humanity for thousands of years. Most important, they will discover, in the Bible, how God's messages to key people of faith have meaning for life today.

Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics
ISBN: 978-0-88489-862-7, paper, 1,968 pages

I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay

Watchin’ the tide roll away

I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay

Wastin’ time . . . .

Has anyone heard prayer defined as "wasting time with the Lord"? It seems that Otis Redding (writer and singer of the above song) had the right idea, especially during warmer weather! Speaking for myself, I seem to have no trouble wasting time. I watch TV (and not just PBS, either). I take the long way back from the drugstore so I can walk through a neighborhood I like. I linger over breakfast with a newspaper. Yet, why do I resist wasting time with the Lord?

This year, the Vatican has come up with a novel way of encouraging all of us to waste time with the Lord, all at the same hour of the same day, all around the world! On the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Sunday, June 2, the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization is sponsoring a worldwide hour of Solemn Eucharistic Adoration. This hour will take place at 5 p.m. Rome time. This translates to the following times for the rest of us on that same Sunday:

11 a.m. Eastern Time

10 a.m. Central Time

9 a.m. Mountain Time

8 a.m. Pacific Time

7 a.m. in Alaska and 5 a.m. in Hawaii

The April, 2013, Newsletter of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship (available online: see below) admitted that this special hour of adoration poses a challenge to the normal Sunday Mass schedule. So the U.S. bishops, in the spirit of this announcement, encourage that this special hour of adoration be observed on the same day, but perhaps on Sunday afternoon. Check to see what your parish or diocese is planning for this day. How wonderful it would be if the whole parish turned out to pray together in the presence of Christ—at whatever time—on this great feast day!

This might also be a good occasion to steal a few moments to talk with your teens about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, with the help of the history and the hymns of this feast. The history of this feast can be traced to the thirteenth century. Saint Juliana of Liège, Belgium, had long worked and prayed for such a feast, and her wish was granted, after her death in 1258, by Pope Urban IV in 1264. By the fourteenth century, this feast was celebrated universally in the Western Church. Today some Anglican parishes also observe this feast. (Learn more about Saint Juliana in today’s Saint Spotlight.)

Two hymns are particularly associated with this feast, and they are traditionally attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas. (Some scholars dispute this.) The two hymns are the "Lauda Sion" and the "Pange Lingua." English translations can be found on the Internet. These hymns recount the origins of the institution of the Eucharist. See this Web site for links to Corpus Christi information: http://www.churchyear.net/corpuschristi.html.

The above hymns may also be found in current hymnals. The translations are rather formal, so the translations will need "translating" into plainer English. What are these hymns really saying? This may be something that would be helpful for you and your teens to discuss together. If possible, you may want to involve them in the traditional Corpus Christi procession, if your parish still has one. Or, this may be an activity you can sponsor during the summer. The end point of the procession or pilgrimage could be a place (a local parish or shrine) where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. (See the Make It Happen in this newsletter for ideas.)

From the sublime to the mundane: The Servant Leader is going on vacation, in a minimal way. The next Servant Leaders will be coming to you on June 17, July 8, and August 19. On September 9 we will resume our every-two-week schedule. Happy summer, everybody!

Blessings on your ministry!

Peace and joy,

Joanna

A note on the Year of Faith: The special Eucharistic Adoration scheduled for the Feast of Corpus Christi was motivated by the Year of Faith, so spending an hour before the Blessed Sacrament is a very good way to observe the Year of Faith on June 2. When you pray in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, be sure to remember your colleagues in mission, including us here at Saint Mary’s Press!

The Newsletter of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship is available in print by subscription. It is also posted three months after first publication for free online viewing. See http://www.usccb.org/about/divine-worship/newsletter/. This newsletter offers a valuable heads-up for upcoming liturgical news (such as the Corpus Christi prayer event) and other changes.

Overview
This strategy invites the young people to pray with their feet. That is, they walk the path of a simulated journey through life and look at the sacraments as sources of strength along the way. It is an ideal activity to complement a course on sacraments or to make part of a catechetical retreat.

Suggested Time
This strategy takes a minimum of 2 hours, but it depends on where and how far apart you set up the stations.

Group Size
This strategy works best with groups of fewer than twenty participants. If your group is larger than twenty, assign the young people to small groups, each with its own adult leader.

Materials Needed
extra notebooks or journals (optional)
extra pens or pencils (optional)
a backpack or something similar
a first aid kit

Procedure
Preparation. Find a place that is conducive to a quiet walk. Choose a hiking trail at a nearby state park or a hike on the grounds of a local retreat center. Walk the trail and choose the seven spots where you will stop to reflect, discuss, and pray about each sacrament. Be sure to space the reflection spots far enough apart so that the teens have the feeling of a pilgrimage, but not so far apart that you have to rush to complete the activity in the amount of time you have.

Send a note to the young people before the event. Explain that they will be doing a lot of walking and that they should wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately. Also, tell them to bring along a bottle of water, a journal or notebook and something to write with. You may want to bring along extra notebooks and pens or pencils in case someone forgets.

1. When the young people gather, briefly introduce the concept of pilgrimage as part of our Catholic heritage. Make the following points in your own words:

The purpose of a pilgrimage is to enter into a special kind of prayer in a setting that has spiritual or religious significance.

Pilgrimages were especially popular in the days when transportation was quite primitive. People made pilgrimages by walking to sites that were important in the early history of the church. They prayed along the way.

Even today people make pilgrimages to holy places. Even though they do not walk the entire journey, pilgrims frequent places like the Holy Land, Rome, and Assisi. Pilgrimages are a special time of prayer, reflection, and worship.

Answer any questions the group may have about pilgrimages, then continue your presentation by focusing on the theme of the group’s pilgrimage.

One of the ways we can begin to understand the seven sacraments is by viewing them as sources of strength throughout our life journey. We receive some sacraments only once, but they continue to guide us throughout life. For example, we are baptized only once, but we are called to live out our baptismal promises to serve God and others every day. We are privileged to receive some sacraments—such as the Eucharist or Reconciliation—more often.

As we journey on foot, we will stop along the way to look at each of the sacraments and how each plays an important role in our life journey.

2. Invite the young people to walk the journey prayerfully, if not silently. At each sacrament stop, give a brief synopsis of the sacrament and answer any questions they may have. Form the teens into small groups of three or four people, and ask them to discuss the following questions:

What is this sacrament all about?

What challenge does it have for you in your life?

How can it be a source of strength in your everyday life?

3. Before leaving the sacrament stop, ask the teens to pause for some quiet time. Invite them to write a prayer inspired by the sacrament in their journal. If some teens are comfortable doing so, invite them to share their prayer before moving on to the next stop.

Ask each person to choose one of the seven prayers they wrote on their walk. Collect the prayers and compile them into a small booklet of sacrament prayers to share with the entire group. You could also publish all the prayers that the teens wrote, grouping them by sacrament. With the teens’ permission, give a copy to each person in the group, the parish staff, families of children and teenagers in sacramental preparation programs, and so forth.

Part of the appeal of this activity is that it puts the young people in a quiet, natural environment that is conducive to prayer and reflection. However, with careful planning, it can also be done on the parish grounds and the nearby area. Include appropriate symbolic items, such as water, a stole, rings, oils, and choose appropriate sites for each stop, such as these:

• Baptism. Baptismal font, gathering space, or vestibule
• Reconciliation. In or in front of the Reconciliation room
• The Eucharist. Altar, gathering space, kitchen
• Confirmation. Baptismal font, local food pantry or soup kitchen, around the cabinet where the holy oils are kept
• Holy Orders. Rectory, sacristy

• Marriage. The home of a parish family
• Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. Sacristy (around the chrismatorium), on the grounds of a local hospital or nursing home
• Create a small journal specifically for this activity. Use scriptural quotes that can be associated with each sacrament, sacramental prayers from the book of rites, and symbols of each sacrament. Designate a page for the sacramental prayer in each section and leave room for other reflections.

The Most Holy Trinity
May 26, 2013
John 16:12-15

Opening Prayer
Jesus, send us your Holy Spirit to be among us as we share our reflections from the Gospel of John. We know that your Holy Spirit is with us always. Please help us be aware of the Spirit's presence in a special way as we spend time together focusing on your word. Amen

Context Connection
This passage in the Gospel of John tells of the time shortly before Jesus is arrested. Jesus is instructing his disciples to pay close attention to the Holy Spirit whome he will send, who will be the Spirit of truth. Jesus, knowing he is going to die, tells his disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (16:12). Jesus knows, however, that he will not be able to reveal everything in the short time he has left with the disciples, nor would they comprehend everything. Therefore, Jesus promises to send the Spirit as a source of ongoing revelation: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (16:13).

Jesus clarifies that the Spirit will speak on behalf of God the Father and himself: "For [the Spirit] will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears" (16:13). Jesus assures the disciples that the Spirit will be with them always as a source of God's revelation: "[The Spirit] will take what is mine and declare it to you" (16:14). What the Spirit makes known, in essence, is the will of Jesus. Because Jesus does not have enough time on earth to tell the disciples all that he wants to tell them, he utilizes the Spirit of truth to convey his will.

Jesus then tells his disciples that what the Spirit declares is not only his will but also the will of the Father, because the two are one and the same: "All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that [the Spirit] will take what is mine and declare it to you" (16:15). John makes it clear that the Spirit given by Jesus will guide the disciples to the very heart of all truth, who is God. This was true in a dynamic way for the disciples and the early Church and it is also true for the Church today. The Spirit of truth continues to make known the will of God: "[The Spirit] will declare to you the things that are to come" (16:13).

Tradition Connection
This Sunday we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. It is, perhaps, a mystery we will never fully grasp. The reality that has been revealed to us is that the Trinity is a community of three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--that exists eternally in a relationship of mutual coequality. In other words, it is a community of love.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 234) states: "The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the 'hierarchy of the truths of faith.'"¹

In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus promises to send the Spirit of truth to always be with his followers and the Church. In doing so, Jesus makes known the Third Person of the Trinity--the Holy Spirit--who has always been one with God the Father and Jesus the Son. Jesus makes it clear to his followers that the role of the Holy Spirit will be to guide everyone to the source of truth, who is God:

The eternal origin of the Holy Spirit is revealed in his mission in time. The Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once he had returned to the Father.² The sending of the person of the Spirit after Jesus’ glorification³ reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy Trinity." (Catechism, paragraph 244)

Each Sunday, in the Nicene Creed, we proclaim: "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets." Just as the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets, we believe the Holy Spirit continues to reveal the truth in our present day.

Wisdom Connection
In the Gospel for this Sunday, John shares some important insights about the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that he would send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to be with the community of believers throughout history. The Spirit would be the source of God's revelation, making God's will known at all times, because it was not possible for Jesus to instruct the disciples in all things. This Spirit is a Spirit of truth, guiding believers to God--the source of real truth. The Spirit of truth guided the disciples and inspired their preaching, writing, and evangelizing. The dynamism of the Spirit in the early church was critical for its growth. That same dynamism is present in our Church today as we continue to be led into the heart of truth.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes cited in quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
1. General Catechetical Directory, paragraph 43.
2. Cf. John 14:26; 15:26; 16:14.
3. Cf. John 7:39.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
June 2, 2013
Luke 9:11b-17

Opening Prayer
God, we give you thanks for your abundance in our lives. You bless us each day with your grace and love. May we continue to show our gratitude for your abundance by living lives faithful to the Gospel of Jesus. Help us to continue to develop grateful hearts through the frequent reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus. Amen.

Context Connection
In the first part of chapter 9 of Luke's Gospel, Jesus sends the twelve Apostles--with his authority--to preach and heal in the surrounding towns and villages. Upon their return, Jesus invites them to withdraw with him to Bethsaida, an out-of-the-way place. Bethsaida is known as the hometown of Philip, Andrew, and Peter (see John 1:44). When the crowds find out that Jesus and the Apostles are at this location, they come to Jesus. In Sunday's Gospel passage crowds come to this deserted place, where Jesus welcomed them and "spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured" (Luke 9:11). Luke informs us that the crowds remain there until evening. As evening approaches, the twelve come to Jesus and say, "Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place" (9:12). Jesus’s response, "You give them something to eat" (9:13), raises concern for the Apostles.

The Twelve wonder how they will feed 5,000 people with only five loaves and two fish. Ignoring their concerns, Jesus asks the Apostles to invite the crowd to sit down in groupings of about 50. After the people are seated, Jesus, "taking the five loaves and two fish. . ., looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd" (9:16). Everyone eats and is satisfied. The leftovers fill 12 baskets. Jesus’ actions in verse 16--taking, blessing, breaking, and giving--are precursors to his actions at the Last Supper, the institution of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the ultimate source of God's superabundance for those who believe. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1335, states that "the miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique bread of his Eucharist."1

In the story, Jesus has the Apostles distribute the food by setting it before the crowds--clearly defining the role of discipleship as one of service to others. For the early Church, the feeding of the 5,000 meant that leaders had a responsibility to feed the faithful--particularly through preaching and the Eucharist but also by tending to their human needs (see Acts of the Apostles 4:35 and 6:1-2). From the earliest record in the Acts of the Apostles, care of those who are poor has been directly connected with the Eucharist. Luke closely connects table service--caring for the needs of all members of the community--with the apostolic authority to preach. The Eucharist is a sacrament that demands a response of social justice. At the dismissal during Mass, the priest is given three options. One of the options bids us to go in peace and reminds us that this peace comes through loving and serving the Lord. How do we love and serve the Lord? By loving and serving others.

Tradition Connection
In the Eucharist--the Sacred Body and Precious Blood of Christ--we encounter the Real Presence of Christ, fully and wholly. The bread and the wine, the work of human hands given as an offering to God, is transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus and is then given back to us by God as a gift for our spiritual nourishment.

The Catholic Church places special emphasis on the sacrament of the Eucharist at the feast of The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. We participate in this sacrament often, but on this Sunday's feast day the Church hopes our elevated awareness of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist will bring about a deepening of our love for and commitment to celebrating the sacrament of the Eucharist weekly, if not more often.

In the Eucharist, we as a faith community recall the events of Jesus’ Last Supper as we say the Eucharistic Prayer. What the priest says at Mass is very similar to what is recorded in Matthew's Gospel. Of the bread, the priest says: "Take, eat; this is my body" (26:26). Of the wine, he says: "Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (26:27-28). The Catechism points out that "in the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he 'poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins'"2 (paragraph 1365). As Catholics, we believe that the bread and the wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ. The Catechism also says: "The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as 'the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend.' 3 In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist 'the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained'"4 (paragraph 1374). We also believe that "the Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ"5 (paragraph 1377).

Because Jesus loved his friends deeply, and loves us as profoundly, it is fitting that he would find a way to remain uniquely present to us. It is "in his Eucharistic presence [that Jesus] remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us, 6 and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love" (Catechism, paragraph 1380).

Wisdom Connection
Luke's story about the feeding of the 5,000 reflects God's abundance. After everyone eats and is satisfied, 12 baskets of leftovers are collected. When God blesses our lives, it is always more than we anticipate or feel we deserve. God is the gracious host who plans well to meet, and then goes beyond, the needs of a guest. What a wonderful experience when we encounter such a human host. But Luke tells us that we are in a relationship with a God who can outdo the most wonderful of hosts. In this story of the feeding of the crowd, we see a foreshadowing of the Last Supper and the sacrament of the Eucharist, which we continue to share today because of God's abundance. The Eucharist, in turn, is a foreshadowing of the anticipated heavenly banquet we will receive when we make our eternal home with God. It is like the story of the woman who requested that she be buried with a fork in her hand. When asked why, she responded: "At all the church dinners, whenever I would collect the dishes after a wonderful meal, our pastor would always keep his fork in anticipation of the fabulous dessert. The pastor would always say to me, "I am keeping my fork because the best is yet to come." We believe that the best is yet to come in the heavenly banquet.

Luke points out that abundance is not found in the ability to purchase food with money but rather in the power of Jesus. Those who give receive back even more extravagantly because God knows how to give in abundance only.

A connection to the Old Testament is evident. Just as God fed the Israelites in the desert with abundant manna, Jesus feeds the crowd in a deserted place with an abundance of bread and fish. However, Jesus continues to feed us abundantly with the Eucharist.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes cited in quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Cf. Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39.
Matthew 26:28.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III, 73, 3c.
Council of Trent (1551): Denzinger-Schönmetzer 1651.
Cf. Council of Trent: Denzinger-Schönmetzer 1641.
Cf. Galatians 2:20.

Saint Juliana (c.1192–1258), also known as Saint Juliana of Mount-Cornillon (after her monastery), was an Augustinian nun with a special appreciation of the mystery of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. All throughout her life, she advocated devotion to the Holy Eucharist, and, together with sympathetic companions, worked and prayed for the establishment of a liturgical feast to honor the Blessed Sacrament.

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI recounted her story in a general audience. See http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20101117_en.html.