Today we see probably one of the most
amazing and most powerful miracles to have ever occurred. Jesus and His
disciples, after healing the sick, go up on a high mountain and there they see
all the people following them.
Yet, instead of panicking, Jesus simply tests them, He tests their faith, because, at heart they know that they cannot feed everyone, that even a fragment would not be enough, they know they don’t have enough money, enough bread or enough fish. But, they trust because they listen when Jesus tells them to have the people to sit down.
And, despite all odds, despite the seeming impossibility, Jesus takes five barley loaves and two fish, He gives thanks, which transliterated from the Greek is “eucharisteō,” distributed them, and there was not just enough, there was too much, so much so, twelve wicker baskets were fill with fragments.
It is the perfect foreshadowing of what He will do at the Last Supper, the perfect shadowing of the Manna in the desert, the perfect shadowing of what He will leave us in the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist, a food that will not just be enough but will be more than enough, to sustain us and give us strength for our spiritual journey.
What’s more is that when Jesus performed this miracle of the loaves and fishes the people came to understand and to see who Jesus truly was, which is why they wanted to make Him a king.
Yet, the same is true with what the loaves and fishes came to symbolize, the Most Holy Eucharist. Because, it is only when we truly understand what and who the Eucharist is that we come to understand the reason for our faith, that we come to understand who Jesus is and what He wants for all of us. For, it was more than enough that He came and died, it was more than enough that He rose and destroyed death, but even so, He left us the very gift of Himself, in abundance, in that Most Holy Eucharist.
In fact, the Eucharist is what defines us as Catholics, the Eucharist is what gives us the strength, the perseverance and the understanding of who we are and what we are called to be. Because, nowhere else can we find the Eucharist, nowhere else can we find a piece of bread become the Body and Blood of Christ, which, even today, is multiplied repeatedly, like those in our Gospel.
It allows us to have our fill because what we receive is more than a meal for a day, it is a meal for a lifetime, its power is more than mere bread, its power gets to our very being, in our spiritual lives, no other food can do that, which is why the more we receive it worthily, the more it changes us and allows us the grow in holiness.
The Most Holy Eucharist is the greatest food we can eat because the Most Holy Eucharist is God Himself, and it is God Himself who feeds us because He does not want to let any of His children, no matter who they are, go hungry.
And, since this food is unlike anything we have ever eaten, while those in our Gospel simply collected fragments which, for them, were merely little pieces of what once used to be whole, for us, they are little pieces of what is still whole, because Christ’s presence is there.
St. Thomas Aquinas, a great saint of the Church explained it in this way, he said: “when you break a mirror and there are many tiny fragments of that mirror, if you were to look into even one of those fragments, you could see your entire image.” The Eucharist is like that mirror but also even more, because the Eucharist is not just an image of Christ, it is truly Christ, this is why from the largest host to the smallest crumb, to the littlest drop, it is still Jesus.
In fact, if you ever watched the priest cleansing and purifying the vessels after communion, and thought to yourself, why are they being so meticulous or wondered why we have that little square cover on the chalice, now you know.
Because, if it was just bread and wine, it wouldn’t make a difference, but because we believe that the bread and wine is consecrated when the priest “gives thanks” everything changes, and there is more awareness, reverence and meticulousness that follows.
When Jesus had His disciples: “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted,” we also do something similar when, after communion, we put what’s left in the tabernacle. Yet, because we believe it is Jesus, we bow, genuflect and pray before that tabernacle as well.
In a few moments everyone here will have the opportunity to receive this same Heavenly food, to receive Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We will have the opportunity to be given the same strength as those in our Gospel, to eat and drink and truly have our fill. And, by that reception we will also become as many saints have put it, living tabernacles, because that same Christ will also, literally, dwell within us. That is the beautiful mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist. It is, indeed, what makes us Catholic, it is what gives us strength, and it is food for our spiritual journey, the everlasting food that brings us here today.
Yet, instead of panicking, Jesus simply tests them, He tests their faith, because, at heart they know that they cannot feed everyone, that even a fragment would not be enough, they know they don’t have enough money, enough bread or enough fish. But, they trust because they listen when Jesus tells them to have the people to sit down.
And, despite all odds, despite the seeming impossibility, Jesus takes five barley loaves and two fish, He gives thanks, which transliterated from the Greek is “eucharisteō,” distributed them, and there was not just enough, there was too much, so much so, twelve wicker baskets were fill with fragments.
It is the perfect foreshadowing of what He will do at the Last Supper, the perfect shadowing of the Manna in the desert, the perfect shadowing of what He will leave us in the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist, a food that will not just be enough but will be more than enough, to sustain us and give us strength for our spiritual journey.
What’s more is that when Jesus performed this miracle of the loaves and fishes the people came to understand and to see who Jesus truly was, which is why they wanted to make Him a king.
Yet, the same is true with what the loaves and fishes came to symbolize, the Most Holy Eucharist. Because, it is only when we truly understand what and who the Eucharist is that we come to understand the reason for our faith, that we come to understand who Jesus is and what He wants for all of us. For, it was more than enough that He came and died, it was more than enough that He rose and destroyed death, but even so, He left us the very gift of Himself, in abundance, in that Most Holy Eucharist.
In fact, the Eucharist is what defines us as Catholics, the Eucharist is what gives us the strength, the perseverance and the understanding of who we are and what we are called to be. Because, nowhere else can we find the Eucharist, nowhere else can we find a piece of bread become the Body and Blood of Christ, which, even today, is multiplied repeatedly, like those in our Gospel.
It allows us to have our fill because what we receive is more than a meal for a day, it is a meal for a lifetime, its power is more than mere bread, its power gets to our very being, in our spiritual lives, no other food can do that, which is why the more we receive it worthily, the more it changes us and allows us the grow in holiness.
The Most Holy Eucharist is the greatest food we can eat because the Most Holy Eucharist is God Himself, and it is God Himself who feeds us because He does not want to let any of His children, no matter who they are, go hungry.
And, since this food is unlike anything we have ever eaten, while those in our Gospel simply collected fragments which, for them, were merely little pieces of what once used to be whole, for us, they are little pieces of what is still whole, because Christ’s presence is there.
St. Thomas Aquinas, a great saint of the Church explained it in this way, he said: “when you break a mirror and there are many tiny fragments of that mirror, if you were to look into even one of those fragments, you could see your entire image.” The Eucharist is like that mirror but also even more, because the Eucharist is not just an image of Christ, it is truly Christ, this is why from the largest host to the smallest crumb, to the littlest drop, it is still Jesus.
In fact, if you ever watched the priest cleansing and purifying the vessels after communion, and thought to yourself, why are they being so meticulous or wondered why we have that little square cover on the chalice, now you know.
Because, if it was just bread and wine, it wouldn’t make a difference, but because we believe that the bread and wine is consecrated when the priest “gives thanks” everything changes, and there is more awareness, reverence and meticulousness that follows.
When Jesus had His disciples: “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted,” we also do something similar when, after communion, we put what’s left in the tabernacle. Yet, because we believe it is Jesus, we bow, genuflect and pray before that tabernacle as well.
In a few moments everyone here will have the opportunity to receive this same Heavenly food, to receive Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We will have the opportunity to be given the same strength as those in our Gospel, to eat and drink and truly have our fill. And, by that reception we will also become as many saints have put it, living tabernacles, because that same Christ will also, literally, dwell within us. That is the beautiful mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist. It is, indeed, what makes us Catholic, it is what gives us strength, and it is food for our spiritual journey, the everlasting food that brings us here today.
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