Most people, when they think of or refer to the "Catholic Church," are speaking of the Latin or Roman Church, but often forget that while the Latin Church is by far the largest one, there are actually 24 separate churches of the Catholic Church, The other 23 are referred to as the Eastern Catholic Churches, with the Latin Church being the sole Western Catholic Church.

For many Catholics, one of the most recognizable liturgical orations is the Collect for Corpus Christi, also used at the conclusion of Benediction: "O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament have left us a memorial of your Passion, grant us, we pray, so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood that we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of your redemption, Who live and reign ... " This prayer asks the Lord Jesus to allow us, members of the Church, to revere the Eucharist so that we may "always experience in ourselves the fruits of [his] redemption."

This weekend, our nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its establishment as an independent nation with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Though the writers of the Declaration were not Catholic, many of the ideas espoused in it of what a nation should be find their home in Catholic thought.

Pope Leo has asked the church to undertake a rereading of the documents of the Second Vatican Council to see them in a new light, and at his Wednesday General Audiences throughout 2026, his sermons are gradually making their way through the documents, teaching and interpreting the documents and how they can be applied today.

When one studies Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Church Fathers, one theme emerges with startling clarity: the relationship between God and His people is a divine romance. From Eden to the Cross, from the prophets to the heavenly vision of the New Jerusalem, we see a God who loves His people as a Bridegroom loves His Bride. This nuptial imagery reaches its fulfillment in the Church, the Bride of Christ, and finds its expression in the greatest mystery of the Mass.

The other week I had the opportunity to once again visit the small hilltop town of Orvieto, Italy, shortly before the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi, which we celebrated last Sunday. This feast was instituted for the Universal Church in 1264 by Pope Urban IV, who was at that time living in Orvieto.

In the Encyclical Mediator Dei, the Venerable Pius XII writes that "the Church is without question a living organism, and as an organism, in respect of the sacred liturgy also, she grows, matures, develops, adapts and accommodates herself to temporal needs and circumstances, provided only that the integrity of her doctrine be safeguarded" (no. 59).