Daily Mass is celebrated:
Monday through Saturday at 8 a.m.
The Sunday Mass schedule is:
Saturday at 5 p.m. in English
Sunday at 7:30 a.m. in English
Sunday at 9 a.m. in English
Sunday at 11 a.m. in English
Sunday at 1 p.m. in Spanish
Please contact the parish office at
949-494-9701 to schedule.
We commit ourselves to: being a welcoming sanctuary and a place of prayer and worship.
Saint Anthony's daily calendar🙏
Our greetings from the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua.
Peace and all good❤
𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒚.
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✝️ WHY IS THE EUCHARISTIC HOST ROUND? IS THERE A THEOLOGY BEHIND IT? 😳
______________________
Someone once asked:
👉 “Father, why is the Holy Communion round?
👉 Is it just practical… or is there a deeper meaning?”
At first, it may seem like a simple detail.
Just a wafer.
Just a shape.
But in the Church…
👉 nothing at the altar is accidental.
And the roundness of the Host…
👉 carries a quiet but powerful theology.
✝️ 1. IT IS NOT ONLY PRACTICAL… BUT IT IS ALSO SYMBOLIC
Yes, there is a practical reason:
👉 a round host is easy to handle
👉 easy to distribute
👉 less likely to break unevenly
But the Church did not stop at practicality.
👉 The shape itself speaks.
✝️ 2. THE CIRCLE HAS NO BEGINNING… AND NO END
A circle is unique.
no starting point
no ending point
no corners
This points to something divine:
👉 eternity.
God has no beginning.
God has no end.
So the round Host quietly proclaims:
👉 “The One you receive is eternal.”
✝️ 3. IT SPEAKS OF UNITY… ONE BODY, ONE CHRIST
From one bread…
many receive.
Yet it remains:
👉 one Christ.
The roundness suggests:
👉 wholeness
👉 completeness
👉 unity without division
Even when broken…
👉 Christ is fully present in every part.
✝️ 4. IT ECHOES THE SUN… THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
The early Christians often saw in the Eucharist:
👉 a reflection of the sun.
Not as a replacement…
👉 but as a symbol.
The sun gives light.
The sun gives life.
And Christ said:
👉 “I am the Light of the world.” (John 8:12)
So the radiant, round Host reminds us:
👉 He is the Light who feeds us.
✝️ 5. BUT DO NOT MISS THE MAIN POINT
Here is the most important truth:
👉 The power of the Eucharist is not in its shape.
Not in being round.
Not in appearance.
👉 But in Who is present.
Because after consecration:
👉 it is no longer bread.
👉 It is Christ Himself.
✝️ 6. THE HARD TRUTH
Many look at the Host…
👉 and see only a wafer.
White. Thin. Simple.
And miss:
👉 the infinite reality hidden within.
👉 The Host is round… but what it contains is eternal.
✝️ SO NEXT TIME YOU SEE THE HOST…
Don’t just notice the shape.
Look deeper and say:
👉 “My Lord and my God.”
Because what appears small and simple…
👉 is the full presence of Christ.
#catholicsonlineclass ✝️
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✝️ A PRIEST STANDS AT THE ALTAR… BUT NOT IN HIS OWN NAME 😳
________________________
Every Mass, a priest walks to the altar.
He speaks.
He prays.
He lifts bread and wine.
And to many, it looks simple:
👉 “He is leading the Mass.”
But that is not the full truth.
Because at the altar…
👉 the priest is not acting in his own name.
✝️ 1. HE DOES NOT SPEAK FOR HIMSELF
Listen carefully during Mass.
The priest does not say:
👉 “This is Christ’s Body”
He says:
👉 “This is My Body.”
Not “His.”
👉 “My.”
Why?
Because at that moment…
👉 Christ Himself is speaking.
✝️ 2. “IN PERSONA CHRISTI”, A REALITY, NOT A SYMBOL
The Church teaches:
👉 the priest acts in persona Christi
👉 in the person of Christ
This means:
Christ uses his voice
Christ uses his hands
Christ offers the sacrifice
So what you see is a man…
👉 but what is happening is divine.
✝️ 3. THE ALTAR IS NOT A STAGE… IT IS CALVARY
At the altar:
👉 we are not watching something new
👉 we are entering the same sacrifice of the Cross
The priest is not performing.
👉 He is offering.
And the One offering…
👉 is Christ.
✝️ 4. THIS IS WHY THE PRIEST DISAPPEARS
If you truly understand the Mass…
👉 you stop focusing on the personality of the priest.
Because the deeper truth is:
👉 He must decrease… Christ must act.
Whether:
his voice is strong or weak
his style is simple or solemn
The power of the Mass does not depend on him.
👉 It depends on Christ.
✝️ 5. THE HARD TRUTH
Many attend Mass and say:
👉 “I like this priest”
👉 “I don’t like that priest”
But this misses everything.
Because the Mass is not about:
👉 preference
👉 style
👉 personality
👉 It is about Christ’s sacrifice made present.
👉 At the altar, the priest is visible…
👉 but Christ is the One acting.
✝️ SO NEXT TIME YOU SEE A PRIEST AT MASS…
Do not see only a man.
See:
👉 Christ teaching (in the readings)
👉 Christ offering (in the Eucharist)
👉 Christ feeding His people
Because the priest stands there…
👉 not in his own name… but in the Name of Christ.
#catholicsonlineclass ✝️
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