Eucharistic Pilgrims Nourished by Living Bread

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world...

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him."

• John 6:51, 55-56.

As we anticipate the opening of our Eucharistic Adoration Chapel in a few months, I have been asked to help our parish prepare for this spiritual challenge and opportunity to meet Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Let us begin our preparations on this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (in Latin, Corpus Christi) by taking a closer look at Matthew Kelly's book 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory.

Eucharistic Pilgrims

In his beautiful reflection on the Holy Eucharist, Kelly writes, "Life is a pilgrimage, but sometimes we need a pilgrimage to rediscover life." Kelly then poses this question: "Are you going to be a pilgrim or a tourist?" (p. 19). "Tourists go sightseeing..., [pilgrims] look for signs" (p. 21). Tourists can be preoccupied with a fixed plan, resistant to change.

Pilgrims, on the other hand, tend to be ready for what is before them, open to change. The posture of a pilgrim is marked by patience and flexibility, to rediscover what might have been missed and to discover what there is to behold. A pilgrim is ready for change; ready to be changed by Jesus in the Eucharist.

Eucharistic Metanoia

After Jesus was baptized by John, driven into the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan, he arrived in Galilee to proclaim, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news" (Mk 1:15). The word "repent" is translated from the Greek metanoia, meaning beyond (meta) the mind or spirit (nous). Jesus is calling his listeners to see things in a new way. The meaning of metanoia points to far more than what we understand today when a person changes his/her mind. Metanoia is a fundamental change in one's seeing, perceiving at the depth of the soul. This new "grasp of reality" of mind and heart is a "soul transformation" (Robert Barron, The Gospels, p. 185). Once a soul sees, perceives, and grasps the kingdom of God in this way, it is forever changed at the most fundamental level. This metanoia is a soul conversion. A pilgrim is on a journey of the soul and expects the unexpected. A pilgrim has the spiritual courage to embrace the unknown and to navigate gracefully the change to which they are being called.

Today, Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 2:00pm, during the Mass for Corpus Christi at St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Archbishop Alexander Sample will consecrate the Archdiocese of Portland to the Sacred Heart of Jesus before the Eucharistic Procession that will follow Mass. In this act, he will entrust the Mission Renewal of the Archdiocese of Portland to the loving Heart of Christ. He asks us to join him if able. The Procession is scheduled from 3:30pm to 4:15pm and will conclude with Benediction at the steps of the Cathedral. It has been suggested that all who plan to "pilgrim" in the Procession arrive at the Cathedral at 3:00pm to find parking. They are anticipating approximately 5000 pilgrims. Please see the full schedule of events at: archdpdx.org/corpus-christi/

As Christian pilgrims, let us set out to follow Jesus who shows us the way to his Father. The Eucharist is the center point and end of all Christian liturgy. When we wholeheartedly receive the Holy Eucharist, we are changed. Let us pray for each other, in thanksgiving to God, for this incredible grace.

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us. Amen.

-Lynda Olsen, Pastoral Assistant