7 June 2026 #CatholicMassMenu
What, you ask? Another Solemnity after last week’s fete? Another day to live the faith out loud with friends and family in friendship and fun? Yes, the Church wants us to keep celebrating, this time pondering the Eucharist… the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus.
I admit this Solemnity is a stickling point for many of our non-Catholic brothers and sisters. For those of us with boots-on-the-ground, we hear the most quiet of grumblings over the implications of this great mystery at funeral masses. Generally speaking, just before the distribution of Eucharist, the priest says the traditional ‘feel free to come forward for a blessing if you are not spiritually disposed to receive as a Catholic or are a non-Catholic’ line, and it rubs folks the wrong way. Hold that thought.
My husband and I once embarked vacation to Canada, sans our 5 kiddos. We flew to Montreal, rode a country-side train to Quebec to explore the city, then returned home the way we came. As you might know, Quebec is a French-speaking city, but because my Spanish is not-too-bad I can discern some French. After one long day of sight-seeing, my husband and I spotted a delightful little window table with open seats in a quaint neighborhood restaurant. I was smitten by the décor and the cute flowery sign with its name Petit Poissons. I knew petit meant small but wasn’t sure about poisson. I was thinking Spanish tapas, meaning ‘small servings’ as the place looked the part. We received the window table and the French/English menu. I was suddenly aghast. For you French-speakers, you know that poisson means fish. I did not each fish.
I asked the waiter, “Do you have a main course that isn’t fish?” He laughed and in perfect English replied, “This is a fish restaurant on a fishing river. We serve only fish,” and walked away shaking his head. I indignantly said to my Beloved, “They really ought to serve something I can eat!”
You see where I am headed here, yes?
Jesus clearly says today: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven… the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." He then doubles down amid credulity and says, “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life... For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” He again reiterates this Truth, in case we missed it the first two times: “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
Jesus is very clear here, like that word poisson on my restaurant sign. It’s just that sometimes our non-Catholic friends think it translates differently, don’t understand John’s words, or want something that isn’t on the Mass menu.
Back at the restaurant, I ended up ordering a savory bread-and-butter appetizer with an onion consommé soup. Once I moved past the reality that there was no main-course option for me, the dinner was a delight. Candles on the table, beautiful linens, excellent conversation, and a joyful hum-and-vibe made for a memorable evening.
If our fallen-away or non-Catholic friends would take this approach when attending our Eucharistic feast, imagine what they could receive: grace, peace, and friendship. It might make for a memorable experience. And like me, perhaps, someday their appetites might change. #CatholicMassmenu