Body of Christ Archives - TheCatholicSpirit.com

Hundreds of thousands march in Poland’s Corpus Christi processions

June 20, 2025

In Catholic Poland, Corpus Christi is more than a feast -- it's a nationwide act of faith.

The Church as Christ’s body

January 23, 2025

The Church is not a democracy. Our beliefs and our leaders, for instance, are not determined by popular vote. Yet there are many Catholics who seem to be as apathetic about their Church as millions of Americans are about politics. To such Catholics, the word “church” means either a building or the clergy.

Bridging Faith

Bringing Communion to the world

October 1, 2024

One of my main ministries at my parish is serving Communion. This ministry includes serving Communion at Mass, but it also extends to people in our parish community who are unable to join us because of age, infirmity or other obstacles. In these cases, I bring Communion to them.

Already/Not Yet

In Christ Jesus, there is neither Minnesotan nor Kenyan

June 4, 2024

Last month’s Eucharistic procession along Summit Avenue in St. Paul was one of the most beautiful communal Catholic devotions I’ve ever participated in.

Only Jesus

Silent retreats: Time with Jesus in the desert

March 7, 2024

“At once the Spirit drove (Jesus) out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him” (Mk 1:12-13, NAB Revised Edition).

Featured

National Eucharistic Revival gave rise to creative parish, diocesan efforts in 2023

December 27, 2023

Armed with art supplies, Sister Alicia Torres recently invited young adults attending a Catholic conference near Milwaukee to create a self-portrait on paper, drawn inside a circle. The circle, she explained, represented the Eucharist. Through the Eucharist, each person better understands himself or herself as made in the image and likeness of God, she told them.

Faith at Home

To feed the body of Christ: What could be more profound?

October 27, 2023

My husband and I have a stubborn, unresolved argument in our marriage: What would we do if we won the lottery?

Already/Not Yet

How not to save the Church

October 10, 2023

The gates of hell will never prevail against the Church — and yet the body of Christ can often seem to be on the brink of some kind of calamity or disaster. This can be experienced at the level of a local parish, diocese, or even at the level of the universal Church.

Featured

Overcoming Christian divisions would give world hope, pope tells patriarch

November 30, 2022

While formal dialogue about the theological and historical causes of the splits in Christianity are essential, so, too, is a recognition that "sinful actions and attitudes" have contributed and continue to contribute to divisions in the body of Christ, Pope Francis said.

Only Jesus

The recipe

October 28, 2022

I’m still unpacking boxes from a move over a year ago. Recently I came across a couple of recipe cards written in my mother’s excellent penmanship.

Ask Father Mike

Can my ashes be scattered in the Boundary Waters?

September 21, 2022

Q) I am hoping to be cremated when I die. I would also like my family to bring my ashes up to the Boundary Waters and scatter them there, since it is where I feel closest to God. Is that OK?

From the Pope

Pope: Present in the Eucharist, Jesus transforms those who receive him

March 21, 2018

Despite the chill and gusts of wind in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis welcomed the beginning of spring with an impromptu lesson about gardening and how to grow into being better Christians.

Body of Christ