June 19.  WMFO Novena Day 7.  Focus on widows and widowers.                  Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.  Fathers’ Day.  Peter was delighted to be invited to the 1st Communion Mass. “It’s my 29th,”he told his daughter Rose. “Five children and fifteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Each little one feels so close to Jesus at that moment. But what happens down the line?  Do they forget his love, the nourishment for their souls, or don’t they any longer experience the sense of communion, the life he brings to them?  For me, this day is the first such occasion since my beloved wife Joyce died, but I know that she is with us on this special day and I do entrust all our family to her prayers and continuing love. It is all I can do.  I’m sad even as I feel really close to her and to Jesus. I ask her every night to help our grandchildren remain close to him too.  Rose squeezed his hand and whispered, “Thanks Dad, I understand.” 

Reflect, share and act.  Scripture.  Jesus, taking up the five loaves and two fish looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.  And all ate and were satisfied.” From Luke 9:11-17  Pope Francis:  Jesus knocks on the door of families to share in the Eucharistic supper.  It is the sacrament of the new covenant where Christ’s redemptive work is carried out. The close bond between married life and the Eucharist becomes all the more clear.  AL318. Ordinarily the grieving process takes a fair amount of time and is filled with questions.  It consoles us to know that those who die do not completely pass away. “Although the certainty of death saddens us, we are consoled by the promise of future immortality.  For the life, of those who believe in you, Lord, is not ended but changed.” From Liturgy of the Dead. One way of maintaining fellowship with our loved ones it to pray for them.  Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also making their intercession for us effective.  AL 255-257