Matthew 13:24-43
A man recently told me he was losing patience with the Church. “It’s supposed to be God’s Kingdom on earth,” he said, “but it’s full of contradictions and hypocrisy. Why can’t the Church just be better?” That last word landed with a judgmental thud. It hurt. Because at times the Church can look painfully ordinary, even disappointing.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings of joy and peace to you and your families,

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites us: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Meet Michael, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Assumption in Turlock, credits his home parish's strong community with helping him encounter our Risen Lord more deeply.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Every Sunday and Solemnity, after listening to the Word of God, we stand and profess our faith together: I believe in one God, the Father almighty … I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God … I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.”

This excerpt from Matthew’s Gospel has become a catchphrase in the modern Church. We give ourselves vertigo with the amount of head-shaking we do over the much-lamented “decline in numbers.”

This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ-Corpus Christi, as it was once known.

From the gospel of John, which we hear this weekend, Jesus tells us: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven...Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day."