June in the church

In the Catholic church, June is the month that is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

After all of the Easter festivities, I love the month of June and thinking of creative ways to make Ordinary Time unique. In addition to celebrating three very unique feast days within the Church in June, which is a month dedicated to The Sacred Heart of Jesus, The feast of Corpus Christi is observed first on June 16th(2022), then that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 24th( 2022), and finally that of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on June 25th!(2022) The Blessed Sacrament is a particularly great way for us to reflect on God’s love for each of us at this time.

Finding enjoyable activities and suggestions to help each of us grow closer to Jesus as the month begins is crucial. First, we might teach our children about these key feast days.

The Feast of Corpus Christi

The Feast of Corpus Christi, held on June 16th(2022), commemorates Jesus’ establishment of the Holy Eucharist. The tradition of a Corpus Christi Procession began with this feast day in the 14th century. June: The Month Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (catholicmom.com)

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is another name for the Feast of Corpus Christi (Ecclesiastical Latin: Dies Sanctissimi Corporis et Sanguinis Domini Iesu Christi, “Day of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ the Lord”).

Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, recommended the feast of Corpus Christi to Pope Urban IV in order to create a feast focused exclusively on the Holy Eucharist, accentuating the pleasure of the Sacrament being the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Acknowledging the validity of the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena in 1264, on the advice of Aquinas, the pontiff, then living in Orvieto, declared Corpus Christi a Solemnity and extended it to the entire Roman Catholic Church. Feast of Corpus Christi – Wikipedia

Miracle of Bolsena

In 1263, a German priest named Peter of Prague stopped in Bolsena on his way to Rome. He was attending Mass at the Basilica of Bolsena and when the moment of Consecration arrived the Host was changed into True Flesh. This miracle bolstered the priest’s shaky faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena, Italy – 1264 – Part 1 (therealpresence.org)

Sacred Heart of Jesus

“In 1672, Christ appeared to a French Visitation nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Over a series of visits, Our Lord revealed to St. Margaret Mary the importance of devotion to His Sacred Heart. He asked that His heart, wounded on the cross and continually wounded by ingratitude of men for his sacrifice for them, be venerated and adored as an embodiment of His Divine mercy and love.” We can help show our love and dedication to Jesus by frequently receiving the sacraments of Holy Communion and Confession.

http://www.catholiccompany.com/blog/12-promises-sacred-heart-of-jesus – webpage now extinct

Immaculate Heart of Mary

The Immaculate Heart of Mary expresses, first and foremost, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s heart’s profound purity and love for God. This purity is reflected in her “Yes” to the Father at the Incarnation, and also her love for and cooperation with the Incarnate Son in His redemptive mission, and her submission to the Holy Spirit, which enabled her to live her life free of the stain of personal sin. As a result, Mary’s Immaculate Heart guides us to her profound interior life. Thus, despite going through both joys and sorrows, she remained faithful, as we are all obligated to.

On June 25 of 2022, we  observed the Remembrance of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.