111 First Street, Elkland, Pa 16920 111 First Street, Elkland, Pa 16920

Through the Eucharist, Jesus gives us the strength we need on our journey through life to heaven. Today we celebrate the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and honor Jesus as the Bread of Life. Just as God led Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt and through 40 years of hardship and danger in the desert, so Jesus gives us the strength we need as we follow him through the spiritual dangers of this life.

Liturgy of the Word

In Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the people of

how God brought them

out of Egypt and through 40 years in the desert. Saint Paul writes of our unity as Christians, for we all partake of the one loaf. Jesus tells the Jewish crowds that he is the living bread that same down from heaven so that eternal life may be found through him.

(THE SANCTUARY LIGHT AT ST. CATHERINE IS LIT IN HONOR OF JOHN LABOSKY.) (THE SANCTUARY LIGHT AT ST. THOMAS CHURCH IS LIT FOR ALL LVING AND DECEASED PARISHIONERS.)

Monday, June 15

(9:00AM)ST ROBERT McDONOUGH

by Julie & Wayne Crawford Saturday, June 20 (7PM)ST LENA HARKENRIDER

by Carol Harkenrider Sunday, June 21

(10:30AM)ST JOHN KOHUT by Family

Serving the Northern Catholic Communities of: Academy Corners, Cowanesque, Elkland, Harrison Valley, Knoxville, Lawrenceville, Little Marsh, Millerton,

Nelson, Osceola, Sabinsville and Westfield.

PASTOR: Rev. David Bechtel

PASTOR: Rev. David Bechtel

SECRETARY: Louise J. Wheaton Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. TELEPHONE: Rectory: 814-258-5121 Rectory Fax: 814-258-5122 E-MAIL: ststhomascatherine@stny.rr.com WEEKEND MASS Schedule: Saturday: 7 p.m. at St. Catherine Sunday: 10:30 a.m. at St. Thomas Holy Day Masses: Saint Thomas 7:00 (Eve)

Christmas: 7:00 (Eve) 8:30AM (Day) at St. Thomas

Mission Church: St. Catherine of Siena 146 Lincoln Street, Westfield, Pa 16950

The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ June 14, 2020

Please join us for a live stream of the Mass every Saturday at 5:00pm until we are able to celebrate together. You can watch on our Facebook page, St. Peter’s Church Wellsboro PA, from your personal Facebook page or through the link on our

website,www.stpeterswellsboro.org.

DID YOU KNOW ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH

HAS A WEB SITE???

http://stthomaselklandpa.com/index. Log in and check us out!!! If you have any questions or concerns, call Tom at 814-258-7386.

COLLECTION ENVELOPES

Your continued support of the parish during this time of shutdown is greatly appreciated. Weekly contribution envelopes or other donations can be mailed to 111 First Street, Elkland, PA 16920. For

on line giving, please contact the rectory.

Contact information ~ Father Dave Bechtel: Rectory: 570-724-3371 Emergency: 570-329-5762 (Pager) Saint Peter's email: Stpch@ptd.net Father Bechtel: Dbechtel00@yahoo.com

PRAY

For those who need special

prayers: For those serving

our country: Lord, hold our

troops in your loving

hands. Protect them as

they protect us. Bless them and their

families in our time of need. We ask this in

the name of Jesus our Lord and Saver.

Amen. For those who need special prayers:

Mike Asiello, Martin Beach, Martin Blaskowitz,

Chloe Button, Stephanie Rose Calicchia,

Carmen Blend, Payton Blend, Don Blovhic, Ava

Campbell, Lucas Charles & family, Joseph

Cochran, Kim Cochran & family, Daisy Casbeer,

Fran Davis, Jerome Derr, Elizabeta Erway, Mike

& Diane Fanean, Carol Fasick, Bentley Fish,

Kathy Gillbert, Mary Gilmour, Betty Howe, June

Kerrick, Linda Kitcline; Tom Labosky, Jr., Joe

Lewis, Taylor MacKenzie, Kathleen McKnight,

John Mosley, Craig Owlett, John Porter,

Waverly Emma Roney, Jacob Hunter Roney,

Cindy Sereno, Pat Siciliano, Sara Stanley, Penny

Succowich, Mary Ann Thomas, Roberta

Volante, Elbert Whalen, Esther Whalen, Robert

Whalen, Kathlyn Whitcomb. Special prayer for

healing for Dawn.

For those in Nursing Homes: Renee Kennedy,

Mary T. Miller, Colleen Pell, Shirley Porter, Kitty

Gaintomasi, Virginia Wynick.

Please call the office to add names of those who are in need of prayer due to sudden illness, upcoming surgery, hospital stay or those who are experiencing a hardship. PLEASE, let me know if someone needs to be taken off the list. 814-258-5121.

4

Altar flowers

are part

of our

Easter Flower

Collection.

ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH June 14, 2020

St. Thomas Church, Elkland Starting this weekend of June 13 & 14

Saturday ~ 7:00 PM ~ Sunday ~ 10:30 AM A 50 person limit

St. Thomas Church ~ Open Daily 8 am – 7 pm St. Catherine’s Church

Open Saturdays 6 pm – 8 pm

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

First Reading ~~~ Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14b-16a Moses tells the people to remember how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt.

Responsorial Psalm ~~~ Psalm 147:12-15,19-20 Praise God, Jerusalem!

Second Reading ~~~ 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 Though many, we are one body when we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Gospel Reading ~~~ John 6:51-58 Jesus says, “I am the living bread.”

Background on the Gospel Reading

This Sunday we celebrate a second solemnity during this period of Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar. Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. This day was once called Corpus Christi, which is Latin for “Body of Christ.” In the revised Lectionary the name for this day is expanded to reflect more completely our Eucharistic theology.

Today’s Gospel is taken from the Gospel according to John. The reading is part of a discourse between Jesus and a crowd of Jews. The discourse comes shortly after the miracle of Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fishes. In John’s Gospel, miracles such as this are identified as “signs” through which people come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. These signs are followed by dialogue, or discourse that interprets and explains the miracle. In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves is said to have occurred near Passover, thus linking it to the Exodus story and God’s saving action toward the Israelites.

Having seen Jesus multiply the loaves and fishes, the crowd pursues him, perhaps seeking more food but also looking for another sign. Jesus tells the crowd that he is the bread of life. He explains that just as God gave the Israelites manna to sustain them in the desert, so now God has sent new manna that will give eternal life. It is in this context that Jesus repeats those words in today’s Gospel and tells them again that he is the living bread that came down from heaven.

Jesus’ words are not well understood by the crowd; they argue that Jesus is not from heaven but born of Mary and Joseph. The crowd also has trouble understanding how Jesus could give them his flesh to eat. Jesus tells them that when they eat his flesh and drink his blood, they will remain forever connected to him. These are difficult words, but they are important because they seek to show us our intimate connection with Jesus.

This is the mystery that is at the heart of our Eucharistic theology. In the elements of bread and wine, Jesus’ Body and Blood are truly present. When we share in the Body and Blood of Christ, Jesus himself comes to dwell within us. This communion with the Lord makes us one body, brings us eternal life, and sends us forth to be Christ’s Body in the world.

The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ June 14, 2020

ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH June 14, 2020

That's the way it is, by: Father Bechtel

Now that public Mass has resumed, even with restrictions, I want to get back to articles that pertain to our Catholic Faith. For the past two months I have had to put those aside and address the Carona virus. I have had all I can take of the Carona virus. I am sick of hearing about it and I am done talking about it. We all know at this point what we need to do. I don't need to remind you. If you have questions, just call the rectory or send me an email. Yes, Mass will continue to be

live-streamed to Facebook.

This weekend is the Feast of Corpus Christi. It comes ev ery year, two weeks after the Feast of Pentecost. The Feast was established at the recommendation of Saint Thomas Aquinas to Pope Urban IV. Pope Urban established the feast in 1264. As an aside, Saint Thomas Aquinas in modern theological circles is mocked because his style of doing theology, namely, Scholastic, is seen as dated, old fashioned and just downright uncool. When I was in seminary in the early 2000's, the professors were extremely good at mocking the Scholastic Method and Aquinas. What they were not so good at doing was explaining what, exactly, was wrong with the method or Aquinas. I would argue that it is the Scholastic Method, in particular Aquinas's combination of Aristotelian metaphysical concepts with Catholic theological concepts that has enabled the Catholic Church to develop a language that allows for the expression of heady theological concepts with precision. Sadly, theologians, bishops and priests have all but dismissed this method as belonging to a bygone era when people were thought to be stupid and didn't know anything. Modern "Scientific discovery" is supposed to have refuted Aristotelian metaphysical concepts which by extension calls into question the theological insights of Aquinas. Truth is, anyone who has taken basic course in philosophy should easily be able to explain why modern Science has done nothing to refute Aristotelian metaphysical concepts, but, in fact, presupposes them!

Transubstantiation is one of those heady theological concepts that was coined to explain the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The word does not appear in the Bible, nor does the word appear in the writings of the Early Church Fathers. To oversimplify and when I say "oversimplify" I mean egregiously so: the Scriptures establish that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. The Early Church Fathers teach that Christ is present in the Eucharist. Transubstantiation answers a specific question: "What is the precise nature of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist?" This question did not start to get asked and debated in any substantive way until around 800AD. I believe that the Scriptures when correctly understood and the Early Church Fathers when correctly understood teach the concept. But explaining that is outside the scope of this article. All Christians, Protestants and Catholics agree that Christ is present in some way in the Eucharist. Where Christians are divided is on the specific question I raised: what is the precise nature of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist? Catholics and Protestants answer that question differently, and even the Protestant sects are divided on that issue.

It is beyond the scope of this article to explain the different beliefs that exist in the Protestant churches as to the nature of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. What is key to note is that whatever Protestants believe about the nature of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, they do not believe what Catholics believe. Protestants are divided on the question of the nature of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but, all Protestants deny that there is a substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Put another way: all Protestants believe that even after the prayers of consecration or blessing are said over the species of bread and wine, bread and wine still remain; they are not in any way changed. You had bread and wine before the prayers and blessing and you have bread and wine after the prayers of blessing. Whatever answer Protestants give to the question as to the nature of the presence of Christ,

The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ June 14, 2020

the answer never involves there being a fundamental change that takes place in the species of bread and wine themselves.

What is my point? Corpus Christi weekend is a celebration, a feast that highlights who and what we are about as Catholics. We believe that when we eat this bread and drink of this cup, we are eating and drinking the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are not eating and drinking bread and wine. The Blessed Sacrament is what makes Catholics, Catholic. If you take away the Blessed Sacrament, we become little more than just another Christian sect among the hundreds if not thousands of Christian sects that exist. Certain teachings are unique to Catholicism and this is one of them. It is also on this point that we are unfortunately divided with our Protestant brothers and sisters. This is why we do not have open communion. We believe that the Eucharist is not simply a liturgical ceremony and commemoration of the Last Supper, we believe it is the source and summit of our lives. We believe that it is the source and sacrament of unity within the Catholic Church. Most importantly of all, we believe it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, such that while we perceive bread and wine, our senses deceive us and we recognize the presence of Christ by Faith. In order to receive communion, one must believe and assent to that truth.

Many of you have rightly been missing the celebration of Mass and the Blessed Sacrament. This weekend, after two months, we finally begin to celebrate Mass. While we are still under restrictions, restrictions that are many and tedious, we thank God that we can once again begin the worship of God as a community. While we can't all gather together at the same time, nevertheless, everyone who desires to attend Mass will get that chance about once a month until the pandemic is over. As I said, I will not forbid or stop those in high risk categories from attending Mass, but I would recommend they attend during the week, rather than the weekend if they are going to go to Mass. None of this is ideal, but it is better than it was! There is light at the end of the tunnel!

That's the way it is,

The Reverend David W. Bechtel Pastor

FATHER’S DAY ENVELOPS Special Father’s Day intention envelopes can be found in your packets to remember

living and deceased fathers. The envelopes will be placed on the altar during the

month of June. Please place your envelope in the collection basket.

My Jesus, I believe that You Are in the Blessed Sacrament.

I love You above all things, And I long for You in my soul.

Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least

spiritually into my heart. As though You have already

come, I embrace You and unite myself entirely to You: never permit me to be

separated from You. Amen.

Act of Spiritual Communion The office will be

CLOSED

on Wednesday,

June 17.

FINANCE COMMITTEE

Meeting this Monday, June 15 at 6 pm

in the rectory. .