June: Solemnity Month 2025

 As I was looking through the readings for the month it struck me that the month of June 2025 abounds with solemnities. Solemnities are what we might call "enhanced" feast days. Depending on the diocese you may belong to, every Sunday in June (if Ascension is celebrated on the Sunday it moves from May to June) is marked by a solemnity. The abundance of Sunday solemnities is partly due to the timing of Easter this year as well as the fact that the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29) falls on a Sunday. A quick look at the USCCB calendar (USCCB.org) shows seven solemnities (counting Pentecost).

The solemnities this month include Ascension (if moved to Sunday), Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity, Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, Nativity of John the Baptist, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Saints Peter and Paul.

From the Catholic Dictionary: “The word solemnity is here used to denote the amount of intrinsic or extrinsic pomp with which a feast is celebrated.” So a solemnity is like a special feast day. Easter is considered the “Solemnity of Solemnities.”

Here is a quick overview of the various solemnities this month:

Ascension: Celebrates the return of Jesus to the Father. This is the event that triggers the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Here Jesus tells the disciples to remain in Jerusalem “until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) Jesus told them several times that He was going to the Father and mentioned His Ascension to Mary Magdala as she stood outside the empty tomb on Easter (John 20:17).

Pentecost: The descent of the Holy Spirit. This is the fulfillment of Jesus’ words at His Ascension, filling them with power from on high. It marks the massive change from meek followers of Jesus to powerful missionaries spreading the gospel to the rest of the world. Recall that when the Holy Spirit came upon them they were in the upper room, a place where they spent a lot of time “for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19).

Most Holy Trinity: The Trinity is a difficult concept to grasp, the idea of three persons in one God. That is partly because it is intrinsic to God who is infinitely superior to mankind and our humanity tends to shape our ideas. Nevertheless, the Three in One make their appearance throughout Scripture, beginning with Genesis 1:1-3 (God, the “Mighty Wind,” and the Word). Jesus was even more explicit in His teachings on the Spirit as well as telling the disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19) Cf. Romans 11:33.

Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ: Corpus Christi is more than a city in Texas. Jesus feeds us in so many ways. In chapter six of the gospel of St. John He explains the necessity to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood. At the Last Supper He commissioned His Apostles so that they might give us His Body and Blood to complete this command. Often lovers tell each other, “I love you so much, I could eat you up.” That is what Jesus wants from us, to love Him so much that we can’t wait to eat Him upto make Him a part of us.

Nativity of John the Baptist: No other saint has his nativity celebrated, not even our Blessed Mother (she does have the feast of the Immaculate Conception, also a solemnity). John the Baptist is the last prophet and is seen as the coming of Elijah, an event necessarily preceding the coming of the Messiah (Matthew 17:12-13). Jesus said of His cousin, John the Baptist, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.” The heart is the core of one’s being. It is for this reason that Scripture says God sees into your heart, thus He knows you better than you do. “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) As Jesus is infinite goodness, we celebrate His merciful heart. June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and should be celebrated as such.

Saints Peter and Paul: The two most significant founders and leaders of the Church are Saints Peter and Paul. Peter, the rock on which Christ established His Church and Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, who helped spread the Church throughout the world. Both were flawed. Peter was rash, impulsive, sometimes speaking before thinking. Yet he loved Jesus and, despite having denied Him three times during His passion, was willing to die for Him, asking to be crucified upside down due to his unworthiness. Paul had been a persecutor of the Church, probably responsible for many deaths, and was a collaborator in the martyrdom of St. Stephen. Yet, Jesus used these flawed men to lead the Church and spread His teaching throughout the world. Like most saints, they suffered in their efforts but accepted it as it united them more closely to Christ. In so doing they set an example for all Christians.

“In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 16-7)