I believe the heart of our faith is forgiveness. Even when receiving the Eucharist we are reminded that on the cross, in His great agony, Jesus forgave.

Divisions destroy the Church, and the devil seeks to attack the root of unity: the celebration of the Eucharist. That was the message of Pope Francis on Monday morning at the daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, on the feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

MARKHAM, ONT. – The Holy Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. This is the great mystery upon which the Catholic Church is built. But when there are more than 170 verified eucharistic miracles around the world, one may wonder if it is as mysterious as it first seems. 

ROME – A Corpus Christi procession should honor Christ's gift of himself in the Eucharist, but also should be a pledge to share bread and faith with the people of the cities and towns where the processions take place, Pope Francis said.

Body and Blood of Christ (Year C) May 29 (Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 10; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 9:11b-17)

God has always been at work in the most unlikely places and individuals. The strange story of Abram (Abraham before his name change) receiving a blessing from King Melchizedek of Salem stirs up a lot of questions.

SAO PAULO – Due to the swine flu outbreak in several parts of Brazil, parishes all over the country have adopted changes in liturgical practices. These changes include suspending hand-held prayers by the congregation and the traditional sign of peace and placing the Eucharist in the parishioners' hands instead of in their mouths during Communion. 

DETROIT - When Fr. Benjamin Kosnac decided to start offering confessions 30 minutes before every Mass, he wasn't sure anyone would come. 

CEBU, Philippines - Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron said popular culture's message of individuals being "infinitely right" is "repugnant to (Catholics') eucharistic faith." But he also said Christianity is "running on fumes" as it tries to counter the trend of people leaving the church or staying away from the Eucharist.

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia - The Eucharist is a missionary sacrament; it calls people to give all they are and have to God, seek His blessing and then take His love to the world, Pope Francis said at the opening Mass for Bolivia's national eucharistic congress.

Christian de Cherge, the Trappist Abbott who was martyred in Algeria in 1996, tells this story of his first communion. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family in France and on the day of his first communion he said to his mother: “I don’t understand what I’m doing.” She answered simply: “It’s okay, you don’t have to understand it now, later you will understand.”

On the solemn feast of Corpus Christi a counterintuitive thought occurs: Are too many people receiving Holy Communion too often?

Body and Blood of Christ (Year B) June 7 (Exodus 24:3-8; Psalm 116; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26)

When we want to stress the seriousness and solemnity of an agreement or contract, we say that it is “written in blood.”

The Nova Scotia weather turns from rain to sunshine and even to a short flurry of hail on a lazy late-May afternoon. 
The dreary weather lends itself perfectly to an exchange of texts with a good friend.

TORONTO - It is most fitting that the Archdiocese of Toronto welcomed its two newest priests during the celebration of the Eucharist, said Cardinal Thomas Collins.

MILAN - The Holy See's official pavilion at the Milan Expo 2015, the newest edition of the every-five-years world's fair, will be a public space of relaxation and learning.