~~~ Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ ~~~
~~~ Genesis 14:18-20 ~~~ Psalm 10 ~~~
~~~1 Corinthian 11:23-26 ~~~ Luke 9:11B-17 ~~~
Jesus had been preaching and teaching all day.
There were at least 5000 men in the crowd.
The people were getting hungry.
The twelve apostles want Jesus to call it a day...
to send the crowd on their way.
They were hungry and tired themselves.
Jesus surprises them...
He said to them, "Give them
some food yourselves.
They presented him with a problem
and he flips it into a challenge for them.
Clearly the apostles were not prepared
for the challenge to feed the huge crowd.
It seemed to them a ridiculous task
to feed so many with so little.
"Five loaves and two fish are all we have,
unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people."
The available food was meager
and they did not have the funds to feed so many.
They were not up to the challenge.
Was Jesus serious about them
buying enough food to feed the crowd?
Was Jesus toying with the apostles?
Was he taking advantage of a situation
to reveal his power to them.
Or was Jesus making a profound
statement by feeding
the crowd through his
divine partnership with the Father?
The crowd was fed out
of the great abundance of God.
When we are faced with seemingly
impossible challenges
we but need to rely on the great
love God has for you.
Jesus feeds us with his
own flesh and blood.
The mystery of the Eucharist
is much greater than the feeding of the crowd...
much greater than the changing of the water into wine.
Our body cannot live without food.
Our soul cannot live without the Eucharist.
Jesus was neither speaking in empty rhetoric
nor was he teasing the apostles.
He knew they did not have the power
within themselves to multiply the loaves and the fishes.
We are so blessed to have this miracle
of the Eucharist offered for us at every Mass.
Receive the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus
with the utmost care, respect, love, and reverence.
Blessed by the Eucharist.
~~~Peace~~~
