“…Take it; this is my body.”

…”While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi – the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. It powerfully reminds us of the depth of Christ’s sacrificial love for us and the privilege that is ours to gather at His table and share in this feast. Every time we come to this table we respond to Jesus’ invitation and command to “Do this in memory of me.” May we use this Feast to renew our commitment to live as Eucharistic people – living, loving, giving and sharing in the spirit and generosity of Christ.

…As you often hear and read from me, there are a thousand ways I see so many of our members living, loving, giving and serving in the spirit of Christ. The Spirit of God is alive and strong in our community as we work together to build up the Body of Christ. For all the ways you help, give and support our parish community, I pray that you may know the blessings of God in your life.

…This weekend’s bulletin contains a Report to Our Community which summarizes this phase of our Generations of Faith Appeal to repair and renew our Church. God bless so many of our members who have made an extraordinary commitment to this special appeal. Together we have raised and pledged over $4,300,000 towards his most important effort for our community. I am humbled by the breadth and depth of goodness in our community. So many others also pledged to pray and increase their weekly offering and use the monthly building fund envelopes in the packet. This is a great milestone for this effort….for which I am so grateful to God and to you. As you have been reading, the budget for the project is $4,600,000. We still need your help and support.

…The Summer Festival is rapidly approaching. This is such a special celebration for our community. Over and again, when I register new members, they often talk about ‘coming to the festival’ as their first experience of the warmth and welcome of our community. We need lots of helpers to create four great days for our community (June 21-24). We also need help setting up earlier in the week. We have GREAT entertainment…homemade food….Incredible people….fun games….something for everyone. Invite everyone you know to join us.

…As you can imagine, with the Church Appeal going on, the Festival Raffle is ‘down’ by about $10,000. All the proceeds from the raffle and festival will help renovate the chapel that is used daily as a place of prayer and peace for our community. Your support for the raffle gives you the chance to win great prizes and directly helps our parish. God bless our friends at Brunswick AutoMart, Universal Windows Direct, Encompass the World Travel, Marc’s and NEO Landscaping. We are so blessed. Your support is greatly appreciated.

…One of our members last week expressed ‘dismay’ over the Brunswick Summer Celebration moving to the same weekend as our parish festival. While I have no control over their decision, I know that what we offer at Saint Ambrose and our festival is YOU…the most amazing and good people who are warm, welcoming, caring, and passionately committed to the Lord and His work. So please invite everyone you know to join us at the Saint Ambrose Summer Festival. They will have a GREAT time and meet the best people – just like YOU.

…Congratulations to the Saint Ambrose School Graduating Class of 2018. Their graduation is this coming Tuesday night. They are a talented, bright and spirited class. Last week as they were ‘passing on the light’ to the seventh graders, it was heart-warming to see them wrap arms around each other singing the School Alma Mater with the entire school community and then to end the prayer service enthusiastically singing “Building Up the Body of Christ.” May God bless all of our graduates. Special thanks to Mrs. Cinadr, Mrs. Mitchell, Mr. Dziedzicki, and our entire faculty and staff for an amazing school year. Our school and preschool are STEAMing forward to an amazing future…..as are the graduates of the Class of 2018.

…Our parish is blessed to offer a wide-array of opportunities for our young people over the course of the summer – Vacation Bible School, Summer volleyball, Service opportunities, along with fun and friendship. Check out all the details on our website at: www.stambroseu.us/summer-events. There’s something for every child of God this summer at Saint Ambrose.

…Have you met Joe Ertle yet?? Joe is going to be a sophomore at Holy Cross College and is spending his summer interning at Saint Ambrose especially in the area of our Care and Compassion Ministries. Welcome Joe!

…The FEST team is also ramping up for FEST 2018 on Sunday, August 5. TobyMac just won the Male Artist of The Year at the K-LOVE Fan awards and is our headliner this year. Watch for more details. All are welcome.

…Next Sunday is our Annual Golf Outing to raise funds for our Students in Need Scholarship Fund. Many thanks to our member, Chris Houdek and Bedford Mazda for sponsoring this event for our community. The planning team has put together a great event. They are still a few openings for golfers. Don’t’ miss out on a great event for a most important cause. Bob Downs shared with our Finance Council this past week that the number of requests for financial assistance for Saint Ambrose School is actually UP this year with greater need. Help us keep our Catholic School strong and open to all those who truly want a Catholic education. To register to golf, contact Bob Cebula at BobCebula961@gmail.com.

…The first of two mission teams leaves for a week of service this coming Friday. Please keep them in your prayers as they journey, in the name of the Lord and our community, to care for the poorest of the poor and bring the hope and comfort of the Lord to those in need in the Dominican Republic. If it was hot here at home….it’s hotter and more humid in the mission!!! We will finish five homes and start five more along with a number of other projects.

…I could write ten more pages of the GREAT good that goes on in our parish community each week and every day. WE are a Eucharistic People in what we say and do. God bless you for your goodness. Today’s first reading talks about building an Altar and 12 pillars for the Lord. When our Church is renovated, we will have a strong, enduring Altar and 12 stone pillars in our Church. They will serve as an expression of – simply and sincerely – doing what the Lord asks…to be a Eucharistic people in all we say and do. Have a blessed week.