Corpus Christi Blog

As we continue our sensory journey through Lent, we come to the fourth Sunday, where we will meditate on what Jesus may have experienced from the Upper Room to Calvary through his sense of smell. Various scents, fragrances, and aromas often evoke and connect us to memory, emotion, and presence. Whether good or bad, how often does a wafting scent instantly transport you to a particular time and place? Tune out the rest of your senses as best as possible as we focus on the scents Jesus may have encountered on his harrowing journey to the cross.

This Lent, we have been reflecting on how Jesus may have experienced his Passion through each of his five senses. He is both human and divine, so, even though he is God, when he humbled himself to share in our humanity, he was able to experience the senses in his body and suffered in them just as we do. So far, we have covered sight and hearing. This week, we'll explore how Jesus may have experienced taste, which is probably not something we think about often, especially in terms of His Passion, so take this opportunity to tune out the other senses and meditate on what he may have tasted in his final hours.

After exploring Jesus’ passion and death through the sense of sight last week, we’ll move on to how he might have experienced those same events through his sense of hearing. As you read through this week’s reflection, try to tune out your other senses as much as possible and focus on the intensity of the sounds involved in Jesus’ redemptive work.

For this year's Lenten reflection series, we will contemplate what Jesus might have experienced during his Passion, from the Last Supper through his crucifixion, focusing on each of his five senses — sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.

Prior to the Incarnation, God did not have a physical body with which to experience the senses in a way that's unique to humans. Our senses help to inform us of our surroundings, provide information, and help us to make decisions. Through each of our senses, we experience the pleasures and comforts God's creation offers us. Additionally, unlike animals, who respond to stimuli based on instinct, our senses can often be a source of temptation and sin when we let them overpower our reason and will. Further, each of our senses can be a source of suffering for us if they are aggravated or irritated. When one of our senses is compromised, others are heightened to compensate for the loss.

We have now reached the fifth and final week of this Marian series. We covered the four Marian dogmas and will now conclude with the one doctrine the Church teaches regarding our Blessed Mother. If you remember from the first week, doctrine is to be held as true and a matter of our Faith to be believed, but it has not yet been elevated to the level of dogma, which could be for any number of reasons. This doctrine defines Mary's spiritual motherhood over the Body of Christ through her three-fold role of co-redemptrix, mediatrix, and advocate.

We have now reached the fourth Marian Dogma as defined and taught by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church — the Assumption of Mary. In a sense, the Assumption is the natural culmination of the previous three dogmas. If you accept, as the Church teaches, that Mary is the Mother of God, that her virginal purity and integrity were kept intact, and that she is the Immaculate Conception, the dogma on the Assumption is nothing less than fitting.

We have reached the third week of our Marian series. Today, we will have another in-depth look at the Church’s teachings about Mary as we examine the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

It is not uncommon for people to think the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Jesus Christ in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit. That was certainly a miraculous conception, but it is not what we mean by the Immaculate Conception. Using the Magisterium as our first source of authority, on December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX gave us a very succinct yet meaty definition of the Immaculate Conception in his apostolic constitution entitled Ineffabilis Deus, which reads:

This week, we'll take a closer look at the second Marian Dogma declared by the Magisterium, which is Mary's perpetual virginity, also called her "three-fold" virginity. This dogma was confirmed at the Second Council of Constantinople in AD 553 and later pronounced by Pope Martin I at the First Lateran Council in AD 640. The term "three-fold virginity" means that Mary was a virgin before the birth of Jesus, during the birth of Jesus, and after the birth of Jesus. Let's look at what each of these terms means in more detail, as well as clarify some common questions about its teaching.

Today, the Church celebrates the Presentation of the Lord. According to the Jewish custom of the time, the Law of Moses required the mother to undergo ritual purification for 40 days after giving birth, completed with the sacrifice of a lamb, along with a pigeon or turtledove (cf. Lev 12). For those parents who were too poor to afford a lamb, as in Mary and Joseph’s case, an allowance was made for the sacrifice of two pigeons or two turtledoves instead. Further, all firstborn children were to be consecrated to God in a special way (Exodus 13:2). From the Presentation story, we see that Mary and Joseph cooperated in God's plan for Jesus from the beginning.  In this moment, the prophet Simeon addresses Mary directly, highlighting her unique role in her Son’s life and ministry as he prophesies that a sword will pierce her soul.

On September 30, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI issued an Apostolic Exhortation entitled, Verbum Domini: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, to serve as a deep study on how Sacred Scripture is at the heart of the Church’s life and mission. The exhortation is quite an extensive document and a thorough analysis of various aspects of Scripture, such as how it reveals each of the three persons of the Trinity, how it should be interpreted and studied, its role in the life of the Church, its use for proper evangelization and catechesis, and so on. For my purposes here, I will focus on the pope’s explanation of the relationship between Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Liturgy.

The Nicene Creed, which we recite at Mass every Sunday, contains a concise summary of what we believe as Catholics. Within that summary, we affirm our faith in the Church, which is defined as “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.” These four
adjectives — one, holy, catholic, and apostolic — are known as the “Four Marks of the Church.” They describe the essential qualities of the Church as it was established by Christ and as it continues to exist today. Understanding these marks can help us Catholics appreciate the nature of the Church and our place within it.

Today, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, which concludes the Christmas season and transitions us into Ordinary Time. The Baptism of Jesus is one of the most significant events in the life of Christ, marking the beginning of his public ministry and providing insight into God's plan for salvation. St. John the Baptist is also a significant figure in this event, as God chose him to prepare the way for his Son's ministry and to baptize him. St. John is not simply a person who facilitates a historical event, but also a theological symbol pointing to deeper truths about repentance, salvation, and the Holy Trinity. Let's take a deeper look at the Baptism of the Lord.

A couple of days ago, on January 3, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, and the entire month of January is dedicated to it. The name of Jesus is not simply a name; rather, it is deeply significant in the life of the Catholic Church with theological and spiritual implications. Let's take a deeper look at the significance of the Holy Name of Jesus and why it is a source of salvation, reverence, and prayer.