June 7, 2026 Essay: We Walk Together as the Body of Christ…
Corpus Christi Sunday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is the feast dedicated to commemorating the presence of Jesus in both the bread and wine of our Eucharistic celebration.
We believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation, when during the consecration of the bread and wine, the bread becomes the body, and the wine becomes the blood of Jesus Christ. Every year the Church celebrates Corpus Christi Sunday to remember the sacrifice of Jesus and how his presence remains with us.
Jesus was love incarnate and gave his life for the salvation of humanity. And so, it is through his teachings on love- to love God and neighbor and to minister to each other- that we are reminded today to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. We are nourished by the presence of Jesus through the bread and wine that transubstantiate into his body and blood. The presence of Jesus is what transforms us every time we receive the Eucharist.
Through God’s grace and love, we are transformed spiritually by receiving the Eucharist, and therefore, we are called to spread God’s love and grace into our world. Together we can create a hope-filled future for humanity. Mother Theresa reminded us to go out and do small things with great love in acts of kindness, and that will foster change. How might you be able to be an ambassador of love and care to your neighbors? How might you respond to the global cry of the earth and the cry of poor? Where do you feel God stretching you?
Not all of us are stretched in the same way. God needs us to be in different places so we can become immersed with the spirit to inflame others in the love and peace of God. The sacrament of the Eucharist is imbedded in layers of meaning beginning with the Jewish Passover, Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples where he proclaimed the bread and wine to be his body and blood and for them to do the same in remembrance of him, his sacrificial death on a cross, and over 2,000 years of tradition and reflection.
Reflection on the life and teachings of Jesus brings each of us closer to our own spiritual journey of grace and inward transformation. Each time we receive the Eucharist we are transformed to receive the pure essence of Jesus Christ. Jesus walked with the marginalized of society and we also are called to follow where he led us to go. We believe the Lord is present with us in our ordinary, everyday lives. Now, we become the hands and feet of Jesus to go forth into our messy, chaotic world with love and peace to encounter God in every nook and cranny.
In solidarity for human dignity, this Corpus Christi Sunday, June 7, the Archdiocese of New York Catholics in Communion chapter, is hosting a procession. Many churches in our neighborhood have been invited to walk together. Those interested in joining the walk will gather at St. Ignatius Loyola right after 11 AM Solemn and Wallace Hall Masses on Park Avenue. There will be a few words from Fr. James Martin, S.J., and a Blessing/Sending prayer from Fr. Michael Hilbert, S.J., as we gather in front of the church.
The procession will walk north up Park Avenue over to Third Avenue to the Washington Houses in East Harlem at 102nd Street, where the group will pause for a prayer. Then we will walk south over to Lexington Avenue and the procession will conclude at St. Frances de Sales Church on 96 th Street with fellowship and a light lunch.
Please join us in this special Corpus Christi Procession as we Catholics who represent the body of Jesus Christ will stand in solidarity for the dignity of all humanity as we encounter God in every nook and cranny.
– Jean Santopatre, Pastoral Associate