Corpus Christi Blog

Five Years as Your Pastor -- Looking Back and Looking Forward

06-30-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. Chad King

I can hardly believe that as of July 1, it has been five years since I began at Corpus Christi as your pastor! As I like to say, time flies when you’re having fun! It truly has been a fun and blessed five years. This parish has been a community for about 30 years. Some of you have been here from the beginning and others have come more recently. It has been great to see such a strong community of faith already formed by the two previous pastors – Fr. Sigmund and Fr. Hoorman – and to see it flourish even more over the years. I am excited to lead us as we grow and thrive still more in the years to come.

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Thank You!

06-23-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. Rafael L. Bercasio

To the beloved parishioners of Corpus Christi Parish,

On behalf of my parishioners of the Mission Sagrada Corazon, I would like to convey my most sincere gratitude to you.

I have been out of the parish for almost 5 years now, yet it feels like yesterday and that you have never forgotten me. Your generous support for my appeal for the building of the Mission Church of Sagrada Corazon is a testimony of how you still remember me in spite that I am long gone. Your remembrance will leave a lasting impression on my priestly life as I continue to serve Him.

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Corpus Christi Feast Day

06-23-2019HomiliesFr. Chad King

Happy Feast day everyone. Today, we the celebrate Feast of Corpus Christi- the Body of Christ. The belief that the Bread and Wine is transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ and given to us to consume so that Jesus can dwell in us and us in Him- and that we, as His members, can become the Body of Christ. Indeed, for us as a parish, our names sake, the Eucharist, the Body of Christ is the source of our growth into the Corpus Christi we are meant to be.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the Eucharist the “Source and Summit of the Christian life”. The Eucharist, which is Jesus, is the source and summit of the Christian life. The Eucharist is not a thing, not just a belief that we as Catholics have, no, the Eucharist is a Person, it is the Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ- it is the life and love of Jesus given to us.

Notice also that the Church doesn’t says the Eucharist is the source of the Catholic life, but of the Christian life. The Catholic belief of the Real Presence the Eucharist is a revealed truth by Jesus in the Scriptures and handed on through the Apostles. This truth was believed by every Christian from the beginning of the Church to around year 1517 and the Protestant Reformation.

And today 502 years later, there are many Christians, including some Catholics, who believe that one Christian denomination is as good as the other, and it doesn’t matter which one goes to as long as they believe in Jesus Christ. But that can’t be true, because Jesus gave Himself in the Eucharist to His One Church, and all that Jesus said is either true or He and all His teachings are a lie.

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Help Rescue Vocations!

06-16-2019What's Your Story?Jeff Pooley

Dear Parishioners of Corpus Christi,

I first want to thank all of you for so warmly welcoming me into your parish; it has been a great joy to be here. So many people approach me and tell me what a great joy it is to see me here, but I know that the blessings are coming abundantly more from you, rather than the other way around!

I recently had the great joy of being present at the ordination masses of the transitional deacons as well as for our newest priests! This is a special time for the whole diocese, but in a unique way for the priests and the seminarians. Our Lord speaks in profound ways to us in these masses; he graces us in a way that is so difficult to explain! By God’s grace that could be me in 6-7 years!

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Father’s Day - Knowing the generosity of God

06-16-2019HomiliesFr. Chad King

What a special day today is, not only is it the Lord’s Day, but today we also celebrate Father’s Day, and this year it happens to fall on Trinity Sunday. If someone would ask you who God is? Perhaps you might think of the Blessed Trinity- and remember what you learned years ago that God is 3 Persons in 1 Divine Nature- so a Communion of Persons. Which is right, but beyond the mystery of that mathematical equation, we can understand the 1 Divine Nature of God as what He is- what makes God- God, compared to the nature of a stone for example. So, God’s divine nature means that God is infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing, love, goodness, and generosity- just to name a few attributes. Knowing that is God’s nature, He could do nothing but, what is good and loving. The 3 Persons of the Trinity is who God is- who is the being acting from the Divine Nature- so that God is, what God does, is loving, and generous, and good first and foremost within themselves from all eternity (as obviously 1 person can’t give of themselves- to themselves-so there must be more than 1 Person in God. God has revealed Himself as 3 united but distinct Persons, the Church Fathers have called the Father the Lover, the Son as the Beloved, and the Holy Spirit as the Love constantly given and received between them. That is what Jesus means when He says in our Gospel today, “Everything that the Father has is mine; the Spirit will take from what is mine and declare it to you” The 3 Persons of the Trinity has given and received the fullness of each other from eternity. But now, in God’s generosity, God has made human beings to have a special share in His Divine Nature- somebody else who the Persons of the Trinity want to give of themselves to, and other beings who has the attributes of knowing, loving and being good and generous, and who can and hopefully will grow to share fully in God’s Divine Nature. How amazing and generous our God is. Now that we have an understanding of the Blessed Trinity only somewhat in our minds, let me try and relate what that truth means for us. Let me try and do justice to this important and special day, and tie Father’s Day and Trinity Sunday together, because really, they are always connected. After all, the Trinity reveals a Fatherhood, and together with the Son and Holy Spirit, a Communion of 3 Persons whom we are called to share in. Some of us are called to share specifically in the Fatherhood of God, but all of us are called to share in God’s divine nature and live in this Communion of Persons for all eternity. To help us as fathers and families to share more perfectly in the nature and family of God, let me begin in a poignant and straightforward way.

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Being set on fire, not lukewarm

06-09-2019HomiliesFr. Chad King

Friends, in prayerful preparation for this homily on this feast of Pentecost, my heart rested on the image described in one of the first verses from our 1st reading from Acts: that of the Holy Spirit, in the image of fire, descending upon Mary and the Disciples gathered in the upper room. Reflecting on the image of Fire, I thought about the story of Moses and the Burning Bush- the burning bush represented the presence of God through which God spoke to Moses, the bush was on fire, but it was not being consumed. I thought about other places in Scripture that the Lord is portrayed as a ‘purifying fire’. And I thought of the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which always has a flame coming from it. Indeed, the Heart of God is burning with love for us, always wanting to ignite us.

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Being set on fire, not lukewarm

06-09-2019HomiliesFr. Chad King

Friends, in prayerful preparation for this homily on this feast of Pentecost, my heart rested on the image described in one of the first verses from our 1st reading from Acts: that of the Holy Spirit, in the image of fire, descending upon Mary and the Disciples gathered in the upper room. Reflecting on the image of Fire, I thought about the story of Moses and the Burning Bush- the burning bush represented the presence of God through which God spoke to Moses, the bush was on fire, but it was not being consumed. I thought about other places in Scripture that the Lord is portrayed as a ‘purifying fire’. And I thought of the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which always has a flame coming from it. Indeed, the Heart of God is burning with love for us, always wanting to ignite us.

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A Letter from Sr. Lori

06-09-2019Weekly ReflectionSr. Lori Fusak

Dear Parishioners of Corpus Christi,

Words cannot describe how wonderful my two-week home visit was. It was such a delight to be back at Corpus Christi, my home away from home. Thank you for such a warm welcome.

I had an absolutely beautiful experience being home with my family and friends, but I do look forward to returning to my new home with the Missionaries of Charity in Chicago. There is peace in my heart to continue discerning with the sisters of St. Teresa of Calcutta's order.

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Suffering in Marriage

06-02-2019Weekly ReflectionJen Arnold

Recently, I was listening to St. Joseph's Workshop on Relevant Radio, as I often do during my afternoon trips to the ballet studio. Fr. Matthew Spencer was reflecting on how difficult the vocation of marriage is. He said that people often ask him if he thought things would be so much better if priests could get married. He said that he responds, "Are you kidding?? I hear the confessions of married people! NO WAY!!" He said he was kidding, but I think he was only half-kidding because, let's face it, marriage is hard!

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