A Word from the Pastor



June 20, 2025

The feast that the Church celebrates this Sunday offers us the opportunity to reflect more deeply on the meaning of the mystery of the Eucharist, the Bread of Life. Like every mystery in our life of faith, there are so many dimensions we could consider. We can never exhaust the full meaning of this great mystery.

Last year on this feast day, Pope Francis chose to reflect on three dimensions of this inexhaustible mystery. He began his homily by saying:

“He took bread and blessed it (Mk 14:22). In this way, Saint Mark’s Gospel begins the account of the institution of the Eucharist. Starting, then, from this gesture of Jesus blessing bread, we can reflect on three aspects of the mystery we are celebrating: thanksgiving, remembrance and presence.”

The Holy Father began with the word thanksgiving:

“Indeed, the word Eucharist means thanks: giving thanks to God for his gifts. Thus, the sign of bread is important, for it is the food of daily life, and with it we bring to the altar all that we are and all that we have: our lives, work, successes, and failures too. This is symbolized in some cultures by the beautiful custom of picking up and kissing bread if it falls to the ground, in order to remind us that it is too precious to be thrown away, even after it has fallen. The Eucharist, then, teaches us always to bless, welcome and cherish God’s gifts as an act of thanksgiving; not only in celebration, but also in daily life.”

The second aspect of this mystery that Pope Francis mentioned is remembrance:

“…to bless bread” means to remember. What do we remember? For ancient Israel, this meant recalling the liberation from slavery in Egypt and the beginning of the exodus to the Promised Land. For us, it means remembering Christ’s Passover, his Passion and Resurrection, by which he freed us from sin and death. It means remembering our lives, successes, mistakes, the outstretched hand of the Lord who always helps us get back on our feet, the Lord’s presence in our lives.”

The Holy Father speaks about the implications of our belief in the real presence:

“Finally, the Eucharistic bread is the real presence. This speaks to us of a God who is not distant, who is not jealous, but close and in solidarity with humanity; a God who does not abandon us but always seeks, waits for, and accompanies us, even to the point of placing himself, helpless, into our hands. And his real presence also invites us to be close to our brothers and sisters wherever love calls us.”

As I said at the beginning, these aspects do not exhaust the full meaning of the Eucharist we celebrate, but they invite us to explore the many ways our celebration of the Mass is both a communal as well as personal experience. In each celebration, by Word and Sacrament, the Lord nourishes us for the mission with which each baptized person has been entrusted.

In one Heart,

Fr. Ron 

 rmbagley@yahoo.com

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart

of Jesus

On Friday, June 27, the Church celebrates a feast in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As you may know, St. John Eudes was the first to compose a Mass and celebrate a liturgical feast in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At his canonization, he was proclaimed to be “the Father, Apostle and Doctor of the liturgical devotion to the Heart of Jesus and Mary.”

On this feast day, at both of our parish Masses, we will use the Mass of St. John Eudes with the readings he chose and prayers he composed. Come and celebrate this great feast.

Missionary Appeal Next Week

Next weekend, June 28-29, we welcome Father Tom Lucas who will speak on behalf of Casa de los Pobres. This is our annual opportunity to support the missionary activity of the Church through the Annual Cooperative Missionary Appeal. Casa de los Pobres is a comprehensive social services center in neighboring Tijuana.

For more than 60 years the Casa, the House of the Poor directed by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Peace, has provided food, clothing, medical services, counselling and catechetical ministries to all who come to their door. Each year they provide more than 300,000 meals, and each month many people visit their outpatient medical clinic and social services office. The current situation of migrants becomes more difficult with each passing day, and our help is needed more than ever to provide for our neediest brothers and sisters who live 50 miles and a world away from here. 

Fr. Tom Lucas will speak at all of our Masses on June 28 and 29. There will be a second collection in support of this ministry. Envelopes are available at the doors of the church. Thank you for your generous support in this vital work.

Pange Lingua

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote the lyrics to this traditional Eucharistic hymn. The original, of course, is in Latin. This recording also provides an English translation. The last two verses are the Benediction hymn Tantum Ergo.

Receiving Holy Communion

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord, it is a good time to remind ourselves of the importance of reverence and respect as we receive Holy Communion. Our participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is very important. Singing, responding to the prayers, and attentive listening are just a few ways we are invited to actively participate. The fullest and ultimate way of participating in the Eucharist is to receive Holy Communion. In doing so, we are welcoming the risen Christ into our hearts. It should be a joyful and reverent experience. 

Whether we receive the consecrated bread or wine, we are receiving the whole Christ, not a part of him. At some Masses, the cup is offered as a sign of our response the Jesus’ invitation “to take and eat, take and drink.” But it doesn’t gain us “more Jesus.” If we had more Eucharistic ministers, we could offer the cup at more Masses.

In receiving the Body of Christ, you can choose to receive on the tongue or in the hand, one is not more reverent than the other. The choice is yours. 

When the priest or minister says, “The Body of Christ,” we should respond with a clear and meaningful “Amen.” If receiving on the tongue, be sure to open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue. If receiving in your hand, you will make a "throne" for the host (as St. Hippolytus said) by placing one hand under the other, and the priest or minister will place the host in your hand. We “receive” Christ, not grab. Then, you should consume the host immediately. Do not walk back to your seat with it.

In approaching Communion, we are in a procession, moving forward together to the altar of God to be nourished on the Eucharist. When it is our turn, we show some sign of reverence as the consecrated host or wine is presented to us. In the United States, the bishops have decided that the sign of respect is to bow before receiving Communion. It is unnecessary to genuflect. The posture for receiving Communion is standing (not kneeling). 

Singing a hymn during the distribution of Holy Communion is a way to express our union not only with Christ but “in Christ,” as we are his body. St. Paul asserts that the community is sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ —sharing in the one loaf—this makes us one body as he writes in 1 Corinthians 10:17. We rejoice to receive the Body of Christ as we strive to be his Body in the world.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter Experience

Spend quality time with the

person you vowed to love for a lifetime

The next Worldwide Marriage Encounter Experience is

June 28 –29 at St. John’s in Encinitas.

Early registration is highly recommended. For more

information visit our website at www.wwme.org

Or call 888-574-5653

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Catholic Trivia

"Catholic Trivia”... not because they are trivial but because these might be things that not everyone knows. Test your knowledge by reading the five questions, remember your answers (or jot them down), then click the link below to find the answers.



1. The word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek word eucharistia. What does that word mean?
2. What does “transubstantiation” mean?
3. During what part of the Mass does the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ?
4. Where in the Bibles does Jesus say “I am the Bread of Life”?
5. Who wrote the words to the traditional Eucharistic hymn Pange Lingua (and its well-known final verses Tantum Ergo?

Feel free to email Fr. Ron with ideas for future Catholic Trivia questions rmbagley@yahoo.com