Palm Island 100 years Mass2 250The Palm Island community marked the 100th anniversary of the first Mass on the island recently, in a joyful celebration of culture and faith.

Townsville Bishop Timothy Harris was chief celebrant at the anniversary Mass, celebrated on the Feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, and marking 100 years since the first Mass was said in a classroom by Dr Kelly, the Parish Priest of Ingham, North Queensland, in 1924.

The movie “Alive” which came out in 1993, featuring John Malcovich and Ethan Hawke, is about the Uruguayan Rugby Team whose plane crashed on the side of the Andes and a lot of their team mates died, together with the pilots and the flight attendants.

The mythical fountain of youth is an object that has inspired a lot of adventure stories of people who believe that they can live forever if they manage to find it and have a drink of its precious water.

In today’s Gospel passage, we indeed see the continuation of the discourse on the Bread of Life from last Sunday. Who is the Bread of Life? Jesus himself.

Not long ago, we celebrated Easter. During the Easter season, we reflected on the story of the Risen Christ appearing to his disciples.

Today we celebrate a feast that is central to our faith. We celebrate the real presence of Christ in the bread and the wine that we consume during Mass. We believe that after the priest says the words of consecration during Mass, the bread ceases to become bread and it becomes the body of Christ.

“After hearing Jesus (as he taught in the synagogue at Capernaum), many of his followers said, ‘This is intolerable language! How could anyone accept it?”. (John 6:60)

For the first thousand years of Christianity, bishops, priests, and all the faithful would talk about the Christian Community as the “real” body and blood of Christ.

God’s word to us in this Sunday's liturgy are words we really need to hear and to welcome warmly.

This Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In this celebration, we give thanks for the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood — we honour Jesus in His Body and Blood.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, the Society of the Divine Word, Australia Province, acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, sky, and community.

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