Beloved in Christ,
 
"When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,  'This is truly the prophet, the one who is to come into the world.'" (Jn 6: 14). Jesus did many signs (miracles) revealing his identity as a divine person, the incarnate one, the God-man who came to save the world. The sign or miracle Jesus performed in the sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel points to the miracle of the Mass. Jesus' miraculous feeding of the crowd gathered around him across the sea of Galilee allows us to reflect at length in the next couple of weeks on the mystery of Mass, the theme of the recently concluded VBS. When we look back at events last week, in addition to the VBS, the National Eucharistic Congress also comes to mind. I have spent hours watching YouTube videos of the array of spiritual talks and liturgical celebrations offered at the Congress, and I am inspired to dwell more on the meaning and significance of the medley of mysteries that make up the celebration of the Eucharist. 
 
The significant spiritual bouquets presented at the National Eucharistic Congress demand our response. Our response will be a four-week liturgical and biblical walk through the mystery of Mass. We will look into the Introductory Rite this Sunday. We respond to the summon of the Lord by leaving our homes to come into his presence this Sunday. We begin with the Introductory Rites, which consist of an entrance chant, greetings, penitential act, Gloria, and the collect. What is the origin of these components of Mass? What is their significance in offering the right worship to God? How may we participate in them as the Church intends so that they impact our lives profitably? Let's dig into these sacred mysteries in the remainder of my homily. 
 
We shall resume our teachings on the mystery of the mass series two weeks from now because next week is mission Sunday. Fr. John Baptist Opargiw, MCCJ from Uganda, will preach a mission for the Comboni Missionaries. Hosting Fr. Opargiw is our parish participation in the Diocesan Missionary Cooperative Plan. I strongly encourage us to be welcoming and generous. I did something similar in the Archdiocese of Chicago two weeks ago, and the parishioners at St. Francis Xavier, La Grange, warmly welcomed me.
 
Looking further into this current week, we have attractive spiritual offerings. You will notice that each day of this week marks the celebration of a saint. In addition to celebrating the memory of a saint from Monday to Saturday, this Friday and Saturday are devotional days of First Fridays and First Saturdays, respectively.
 
I look forward to an increase in daily mass attendees this week. If God provides or frees up our time to attend mass daily, we should return God's favor by attending cheerfully.
 
Have a happy Word Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
 
In the Heart of Christ,
 
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
 

 Beloved in Christ,

“The blood of Christ” (Eph 2:13). In the pious and liturgical tradition of the Church, July is the month devoted to honoring the Precious Blood of the unblemished Lamb of God-the price of our redemption. I want to highlight this fundamental Catholic devotion this Sunday in July to ignite or renew its broad practice in our time. Promoting this devotion is in sync with the distribution of the Precious Blood at mass this Sunday and the celebration of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, which comes to a close this Sunday. The National Eucharistic Congress is designed to bring about revival and facilitate the life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ. Our emphasis on the Precious Blood this Sunday is also meant to bring to mind our recently concluded parish Vacation Bible School's theme, the Mystery of the Mass. 
In recognition of the most august sacrament highlighted by the conclusion of the National Eucharistic Congress, an occasion focused on Eucharistic revival, I want to invite and encourage you to commit to the devotion most intimately linked to the Holy Eucharist, the devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ. There are many things to be said about the precious blood of Christ, which is the source of our salvation and protection against evil. The only thing I will, however, do on this occasion is to direct you to a papal encyclical by Pope John XIII on the promotion of devotion to the Precious Blood ( I will share excerpts with you shortly) and encourage you to pray frequently the Litany of the Precious Blood approved by the Vatican for private and public recitation. Here’s an excerpt from the papal document on the promotion of devotion to the Mos Precious Blood of Jesus:
“As we now approach the feast and month devoted to honoring Christ’s Blood —- the price of our redemption, the pledge of salvation and life eternal — may Christians meditate on it more fervently, may they savor its fruits more frequently in sacramental communion. Let their meditations on the boundless power of the Blood be bathed in the light of sound biblical teaching and the doctrine of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. How truly precious is this Blood is voiced in the song which the Church sings with the Angelic Doctor (sentiments wisely seconded by our predecessor Clement VI [10] ) :

Blood that but one drop of has the world to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin…

The Blood of the new and eternal covenant especially deserves this worship of latria when it is elevated during the sacrifice of the Mass. But such worship achieves its normal fulfilment in sacramental communion with the same Blood, indissolubly united with Christ’s eucharistic Body. In intimate association with the celebrant the faithful can then truly make his sentiments at communion their own: “I will take the chalice of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. . . The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul for everlasting life. Amen.” Thus as often as they come worthily to this holy table they will receive more abundant fruits of the redemption and resurrection and eternal life won for all men by the Blood Christ shed “through the Holy Spirit.”[13] Nourished by his Body and Blood, sharing the divine strength that has sustained count less martyrs, they will stand up to the slings and arrows of each day’s fortunes — even if need be to martyrdom itself ffor the sake of Christian virtue and the kingdom of God. Theirs will be the experience of that burning love which made St. John Chrysostom cry out:
Let us, then, come back from that table like lions breathing out fire, thus becoming terrifying to the Devil, and remaining mindful of our Head and of the love he has shown for us. . . This Blood, when worthily received, drives away demons and puts them at a distance from us, and even summons to us angels and the Lord of angels. . . This Blood, poured out in abundance, has washed the whole world clean. . . This is the price of the world; by it Christ purchased the Church… This thought will check in us unruly passions. How long, in truth, shall we be attached to present things? How long shall we remain asleep? How long shall we not take thought for our own salvation? Let us remember what privileges God has bestowed on us, let us give thanks, let us glorify him, not only by faith, but also by our very works.”
Thank you for your devotion and participation. Have a blessed week.

 In the Most Precious Blood,        

​ Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
 

Beloved in Christ,

"Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two" (Mk 6: 7). With the calling and sending of the Twelve by Jesus, he established the pattern of evangelization: the calling and sending of Christians to proclaim the Good News to the world. The Second Vatican Council says that Christ established the Church to evangelize, and evangelization is not restricted to priests and religious but to all the baptized. In the first reading for this Sunday's mass, Amos, a Judean from Tekoa, is rejected because he is not from a prophetic family. Still, he insisted that he was compelled to preach conversion to northern Israel by a commission from God (Amos 7:12-15). All baptized Christians are likewise sent on missions to the world. According to our state of life, we are all missionary disciples called to share in the call to engage and evangelize our culture.

A couple of Sundays ago, we had a missionary group here at St. Peter to share their missionary efforts and seek our support. Thanks for your generous contributions. In two weeks, we shall host another missionary group, the Comboni Missionaries. Thanks for your anticipated generous donations in support of this mission of evangelization. Our generous contributions will go a long way in supporting the proclamation of the Gospel to places and people who need to be evangelized. You are participants in the mission of evangelization through your prayers and monetary contributions. Participation in the mission appeal is a response to Jesus' call to spread the Gospel of salvation to all parts of the world. As a Dominican and a preacher of grace, I share the obligation to promote the Gospel by preaching mission appeals wherever I am invited or sent. This weekend, I am at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, La Grange, Illinois, to preach on a mission for the Dominican Province of Nigeria and Ghana.

As a priest of the Order of Preachers, I am fulfilling the mission of evangelization established by Jesus by preaching a mission appeal in the Chicago Archdiocese this weekend. But remember, you don't have to be a priest to participate in this crucial ecclesial task. You can evangelize with all the gifts you have received from God wherever you find yourself. All Christians are called and sent by Christ to evangelize. The world urgently needs a church that bears witness to the Gospel. Our world is spiritually and morally broken in many regards; only the light of the Gospel can bring it to order. You and I, irrespective of our state in life, are called and sent to shine the light of the Gospel on our world, which desperately needs it.

Vacation Bible Study kicks off this Sunday. I see this church program as an evangelization tool to inspire the Eucharistic faith of your children and their parents. I praise the efforts of our CRE, Georgann Azzalina, and her team in bringing this evangelization task to birth. I encourage parents to be actively involved where necessary. I especially ask that parents participate with their children in a teaching-based Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday at 6 p.m. and the mass, which follows at 7 p.m.

Continue to have a beautiful summer of sunshine.

In Christ,

Fr. Alayode Bernard, OP
 

Beloved in Christ,

Please, Lord, grant me a living faith. My supplication comes from a deep place of discovery after a sincere introspection and interrogation of my practical faith in Jesus and his promises. A scripture verse from this Sunday's Gospel reading accounts for my honest search for where I stand in the personal exercise of faith. In Mark 6:6, Jesus laments the "lack of faith" in him by his people. Among his kin and in his native place, there is a lack of response to Jesus' message because they could only see in him the son of the carpenter and Mary, a common and familiar person with no distinguishing pedigree or status. Their lack of faith and rejection of Jesus and his message echo the stubbornness and rebelliousness of the Jewish people to the divine message brought to them by Ezekiel (Ez 2: 2-5). In the last two Sunday mass gospel readings, we saw contrasting responses to faith in Jesus. Two Sundays ago, we heard of the disciples' insufficiency of faith in Jesus while in a boat assailed by storms, and last Sunday, we heard of the living faith displayed by the woman with an issue of blood and Jairus' father. Jesus expects and demands deep faith from us whenever we approach him in prayers and worship. Do we always approach Jesus with the expected faith, or do we lack adequate faith in Him? What do we need to have the required faith that summons mighty deeds from God? What do we need to grow and exercise a living faith when we pray? I liken efforts at growing faith or healing a lack of trust in Divine Promise to the taking of supplements daily to increase my low potassium level. I religiously take some prescribed medications and eat specific fruits to increase my potassium level, and I have seen an improvement. In like manner, we can go on a spiritual diet to nourish our faith. What are the essential nourishments needed to increase and deepen our faith? I want to prescribe spiritual food to strengthen or increase our faith. A constant intellectual (mind) and spiritual (heart) reading of the Sacred Scripture is mandatory to see our faith mature to the level needed to live an abundant spiritual life. The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible and will encourage us to live in faith when we study it daily. The second element in our spiritual diet that brings about the kind of faith Jesus demands of us is a devout prayer life. Prayers are the oxygen of life of faith. We must invest in intense conversation in the Spirit to increase our faith. When I refer to daily prayer, it includes daily mass attendance and a deliberate invocation of the Holy Spirit to spur us into spontaneous prayer. Our prayer regime, of course, must consist of a structured daily prayer that includes meditation on the Holy Rosary and Divine Office- the official prayer of the Church. I recommend additional spiritual diets for a stronger faith. Still, the two suggested in this message suffice for now to avoid slipping into a lack of faith in our relationship with Jesus. In conclusion, I invite you to join me in raising hands in supplication to God; Lord, please grant me a living faith.

​With Living Faith, Fr. Alayode Bernard, OP