Ragamuffin Ministries

06/07/2026

Is America facing blessing or judgment? Examine the spiritual principles that shape a nation's destiny and how to pray for restoration.

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

In a world that often feels impersonal, Christ's love is deeply personal.

He knows us. He sees us. He calls us by name. 🤍

“The Good Shepherd” by Greg Olsen

06/07/2026

The Blessing of the Wheat in Artois,
Painted by Jules Breton (1827-1906),
Painted in 1857,
Oil on canvas
© Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

John 6:51-58

Scroll down to read the Gospel & Art Reflection or click this link to read on the Christian.art website

🔗 https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-6-51-58-2026/

At that time: Jesus said to the Jews, ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’

So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.’

Reflection on the painting

Today the Church celebrates Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, traditionally known as Corpus Christi (Latin for “the Body of Christ"). On this feast, we celebrate one of the deepest mysteries of our faith: that in the Eucharist, Christ is truly and really present: His actual Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. The Eucharist is not merely a symbol or a reminder of Jesus, but Christ Himself truly present among us under the appearances of bread and wine. Through the consecration, the body and bread becomes His real presence among us.

The feast itself emerged in the 13th century at a time of growing Eucharistic devotion within the Church. Saint Thomas Aquinas played an important role in shaping the celebration after Pope Pope Urban IV established the feast for the universal Church in 1264. Aquinas composed some of the most beautiful Eucharistic hymns ever written for this occasion, including Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, and Panis Angelicus. Corpus Christi soon became associated with great public processions in which the Blessed Sacrament is carried through streets, towns, and countryside in a monstrance. These processions are a public act of faith: Christ does not remain hidden within the walls of the church, but is carried out into the world, blessing homes, people, fields, workplaces, and daily life itself.

Our painting by Jules Breton beautifully captures such a procession moving through the wheat fields of Artois in northern France. The golden fields stretch across the canvas, glowing with summer light, while villagers gather in deep reverence as the Blessed Sacrament passes among them. Some kneel in prayer; others genuflect in adoration. Children carry the four-poled baldacchino beneath which the priest walks holding the monstrance aloft. Village officials and farmers stand side by side in devotion. The procession through the fields was not merely symbolic. In rural communities, people genuinely believed Christ’s presence would bless the land and protect future harvests. Farmers wanted the procession to pass by their fields, and would ask the priests to pass by. Painted in 1857 and exhibited at the Paris Salon alongside works such as The Gleaners, Breton’s monumental canvas (318 cm; 10.4 ft wide) brought dignity and spiritual beauty to ordinary rural life. It earned him major recognition and was purchased by the French state for the Musée du Luxembourg.

In the centuries following the Reformation, Corpus Christi also became a powerful affirmation of Catholic belief in the Real Presence. The Council of Trent in 1551 described the feast as a triumph over heresy because it publicly proclaimed the Church’s faith in transubstantiation: that the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ during Mass. The heart of Corpus Christi remains profoundly simple and beautiful: God chooses to stay close to His people, every day!

06/07/2026

The odd thing was that before God closed in on me, I was in fact offered what now appears a moment of wholly free choice. In a sense. I was going up Headington Hill on the top of a bus. Without words (I think) almost without images, a fact about myself was somehow presented to me. I became aware that I was holding something at bay, or shutting something out. Or, if you like, that I was wearing some stiff clothing, like corsets, or even a suit of armour, as if I were a lobster. I felt myself being, there and then, given a free choice. I could open the door or keep it shut; I could unbuckle the armour or keep it on. Neither choice was presented as a duty; no threat or promise was attached to either, though I knew that to open the door or to take off the corslet meant the incalculable. The choice appeared to be momentous but it was also strangely unemotional. I was moved by no desires or fears. In a sense I was not moved by anything. I chose to open, unbuckle, to loosen the rein. I say, ‘I chose’, yet it did not really seem possible to do the opposite.

From Surprised by Joy
Compiled in Preparing for Easter

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life. Copyright © 1955 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C. S. Lewis. Copyright © 2017 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

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06/07/2026

In a world where negativity, criticism, and gossip are everywhere, choosing kindness is a powerful act of faith.

A Godly woman understands that her words carry weight. She knows that what comes out of her mouth has the power to encourage or discourage, heal or hurt, inspire or tear down.

That doesn’t mean she’s perfect. It means she’s intentional. She seeks wisdom before speaking, grace before reacting, and kindness before judging.

May we be women whose words bring life, whose hearts reflect Christ, and whose presence leaves people feeling encouraged, loved, and seen.

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” — Proverbs 31:26

06/06/2026