Michele Bays

“I have not stopped giving thanks for you in my prayer.” – Ephesians 1:16

Although today, in many ways, is a very sad day, yet it is a day to rejoice in the Lord; a day to thank and praise God for the countless ways He has blessed the people of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston through the ministry of the many Capuchin Friars who have served here for over a hundred years, as well as a day for us Capuchin Friars to thank God for the many people that we were privileged to serve, to form friendships with, and to preach the Gospel to here.

Pleased be assured of our continued prayers for you. Pray for us. Together let us give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His Love endures forever!

I thank all of you in this parish for the kindness and generosity you have shown toward me these past four years. I leave here with many fond memories. I will miss you all. Let us not stop giving thanks for one another in our prayers to our good and gracious God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother and our Queen pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Today we celebrate the Feast of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). It is a feast on which we give thanks to God for the gift of the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; … he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life … abides in me, and I in him.” –John 6:51,54,56

St. John Vianney (1786-1859), the patron saint of priests said this about the Holy Eucharist: “God would have given us something greater if he had had something greater than himself.” Yes the Holy Eucharist is Jesus, His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. It is God’s gift of Himself to us. The Holy Eucharist shows us how much God loves us.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant’s union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.”