I am pleased to announce that this Fall, beginning on Sunday, September 15, we will inaugurate the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the founding of Corpus Christi Parish. How wonderful! For over three decades our parish has been spreading the Gospel – the Good News! Our church has been unceasingly the place and community where people are sanctified by sacraments, prayer, and meditation. It is the place where the faithful learn about the faith and share this faith, where children and youth grow in the knowledge and love of God, and where people share their own material goods with the less fortunate. American parishes are known for the dedication of their volunteers and a friendly attitude toward others, and at Corpus Christi these elements are especially recognizable by both parishioners and visitors. Even though our parish is not big by its numbers, it certainly has a very, very big heart.
Many people who were present at the creation of our parish are still with us, and many of them are still active in ministry. They have been maturing together with their children, along with our parish. Who can count the number of Mass celebrations, confessions, processions, bible studies, discussions, financial support, picnics and joys we have shared with each other for the past 35 years? Who can measure the goodness that has been radiating from our church to our neighbors and others? For all of this, we give God our sincere and profound gratitude. We know and we feel that our Lord has been with us all these years. We know for certain that he has been with us because the spiritual fruits and love spreading from our parishioners here cannot be explained without His presence. Everything that is good comes from His inspiration and His grace.
I personally have a special reason to give thanks to God and to you, my dear parishioners, during this anniversary year: next year will mark 10 years of my ministering at Corpus Christi. I became pastor here in the middle of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of our parish, taking the baton with the light of the Gospel from my predecessor, Fr. Robert Hoffenkamp. He, in turn, received the same baton from the first pastor of Corpus Christi, the late Fr. Charles Gemskie. All of us parishioners, and I personally, are thankful for their dedication in leading the faithful on the path to the Lord.
On Sunday, September 15, we will officially begin the celebration of our 35th Anniversary with a festive Mass and a joyful Fall Parish Picnic. The celebration of our anniversary will conclude on the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi, on Sunday, June 22, 2025. During this feast, we will have, as always, a Eucharistic procession and a special joyful picnic in our parish gardens.
Our parish’s 35th anniversary will happily overlap with the Vatican’s Jubilee Year 2025 and its theme: “Pilgrims of Hope.” Our anniversary will create for us an additional opportunity to grow in wisdom, faith, and grace this coming year. We are called to double our energy and joy these months to more deeply discover the Gospel and the intensity of God’s love towards us. We are also called to appreciate and cherish God’s beauty that is manifested in this world, especially in our brothers and sisters.
May God bless our parish and all of us.
Fr. Mark Jurzyk