Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 14, 2026

Last Sunday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, often known as Corpus Christi. And this Sunday at Saint John's we host Father Luke's Mass of Thanksgiving for his priestly ordination which was celebrated last week in Pittsburgh. The ministry of a priest includes many things-preaching, baptizing, teaching, anointing the sick and pastoring a faith community. However, the most basic service, the one wanted by Catholic people every day and especially on Sundays, is celebrating the Eucharist.

At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and said, "This is my body", and he took a chalice of wine and said "This is my blood". He commanded his disciples to offer bread and wine, his body and blood, until the end of time. It is by the ministry of priests that we can receive Christ's body and blood, always remembering the love of Jesus that caused him to die for us.

Through the Eucharist, we have an intimate experience of Jesus. When we "take and eat", as Jesus commanded us, Jesus enters into us, becomes one with us and loves us. Jesus comes in such a simple form-bread and wine-that it is possible to miss the majesty of what is happening. We mere humans actually take into ourselves the real presence of Jesus, who is God incarnate.

Saint John's has a long reputation as a place of Eucharistic Adoration. Not only do we celebrate many Masses, more than most parishes, we also have the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance for prayer and adoration Monday through Saturday from 12:30 PM to 5 PM. People come into the lower church to be with Jesus in the Eucharist.

I remember as a boy that my father would sometimes stop at a Catholic Church for a few minutes to "make a visit", meaning a visit to Jesus. Many Catholics also make a "holy hour", spending a longer time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Many people go to the lower church each day to pray, to adore, to go to confession or to light candles for their needs and intentions. Do you spend time with Jesus in our lower church?

I have a concern that at times the Blessed Sacrament, exposed in the monstrance, is left alone in the Church. That should NEVER happen. We have paid security personnel on duty to assure that the Blessed Sacrament is always attended by at least one person when it is exposed for adoration in the monstrance. However, there are times when the security person has to step away for a few moments.

I encourage our parishioners to spend time in our lower church in quiet prayer. I also wish we could have individuals who would commit to prayer in the lower church while the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. From 1-3 PM is the time when it is more likely that the church would be empty. If you are willing to commit to a holy hour each week on an afternoon from Monday to Saturday, please email me at pastor@stjohnsphilly.com. Even if you can't commit, be deliberate about making visits or holy hours regularly in our lower church.

I once knew a young man who started to stop by a church for adoration on his way home from work. He would simply go into the church and sit in silence for a few minutes. Slowly he began to spend more than a few minutes each time. Gradually God began to change him. He moved from a mild interest in faith to a desire to serve God. He is a priest today, serving in Papua New Guinea as a Capuchin missionary. It came about because he spent time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Guaranteed: if you spend time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, God will change you. You will find peace and happiness that you had not known before.

Secular Franciscan Anniversary: Saint Francis founded three Orders. The Order of Friars Minor is composed of priests and brothers. The Capuchin friars who staff Saint John's belong to this First Order. The Second Order is for contemplative Sisters. Saint Francis also founded a Third Order for lay men and women. Third Order members, Secular Franciscans, are true Franciscans, following Saint Francis through family life, their parish commitments and career and jobs. We are blessed to have an active Secular Franciscan fraternity at Saint John's and in 2026, our local fraternity is celebrating its 90th anniversary at Saint John's. Quite a milestone! We will have a Mass to mark this milestone on Sunday, June 28 at 10:30. Join us for this celebration and ask yourself whether God is calling you to follow in the footsteps of Saint Francis, perhaps as a Secular Franciscan.

Magnifica Humanitas

To the surprise of many, Pope Leo’s first encyclical is on artificial intelligence. Just as Pope Leo XVIV’s predecessor and namesake Pope Leo XIII’s groundbreaking encyclical Rerum Novarum considered the industrial revolution and its effect on human rights, our current Pope believes that a discussion of human rights in light of artificial intelligence is needed today. Pope Leo’s encyclical on artificial intelligence has been much discussed in the media.

Saint John’s will sponsor a three session presentation and discussion on the new encyclical. It will be by zoom with the possibility of watching the recording later. The sessions will be at 7 PM:

June 29, John-Paul Spiro, Teaching Professor of Humanities, Villanova University
July 6, Father Tom Betz, OFM Cap, Pastor, Saint John the Evangelist Church
July 13, Father John McCloskey, OFM Cap, Parochial Vicar, Saint John the Evangelist Church

Please email Father Tom if you wish to receive zoom invitations and links to the recordings.

stjohnsphilly.org