“Thus says the Lord: All you who are thirsty, come to the
water! You who have no money, come,
receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and
milk! Why spend your money for what is
not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall
delight in rich fare. I will renew with
you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.”
Second reading: Rom. 8: 35, 37-39
“Brothers and sisters: What will separate us from the love
of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer
overwhelmingly through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, not present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of
God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Gospel reading: Mt. 14: 13-21
“When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he
withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on
foot from their towns. When he
disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and
he cured their sick. When it was
evening, the disciples approached him and said, ‘This is a deserted place and
it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and
buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to
them, ‘There is no need for them to go away; give them some food
yourselves.’ But they said to him, ‘five
loaves and two fish are all we have here.’
Then he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’
And he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and
looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to
the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they
picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.”
Introductory theme summary:
Though there is no discourse on the “Bread of Life” these
readings all relate to the Eucharist. In
the first reading we have testimony as to the completeness of our satisfaction in
the Eucharist, foreshadowed in the gospel reading by them all being
satisfied. The second reading gives us
testimony as to the inseparable bond achieved through our reception of the
Eucharist. And finally, the gospel gives
us testimony as to the limitless abundance that comes to us through the
Eucharist.
Reflection:
The first issue that should be addressed is the fact of
differences in belief concerning the Eucharist.
There will be no attempt to address those differences. It should be stipulated in the onset that I
am Catholic and the views in this blog will reflect Catholic beliefs, which means
these views may not apply to those people who are not Catholic.
As the first reading expresses, “all” are invited to this
the banquet. Though it may not seem to
be the case, Catholicism invites everyone to our table. That invitation does require giving one’s assent
to the commonness of “unity in belief,” which is why some people feel
excluded. That, however, is their own
choice and not Catholicism’s fault. We believe
the apostles were entrusted with the primary responsibility of preserving the
authenticity of Jesus’ message, which has been passed down to their successors
forming what we call the apostolic succession.
All bishops, and only the bishops, participate in the apostolic
succession, and do so with full authority.
They are all assured of authenticity by “unity,” which is accomplished
by submitting to the supreme authority of the pope whose purpose is to unify. This is the order by which the unity of the faith
is preserved for the benefit of all by the direction of the Holy Spirit himself
at our Lord’s command.
We Catholics believe the Eucharist is the body and blood,
soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is a real presence that necessitates it as worthy, in itself, of being
worshipped. For us it is Jesus Christ himself. It becomes so by the perpetuation of our Lord’s
sacrifice that is accomplished by and through the priest’s recitation of the Eucharistic
prayer. Our unity within his body, forming
the Church as the body of Christ, depends on entering into that perpetuation of
His perfect sacrifice. We accomplish
that by forbearing the sufferings we incur from other peoples sins and
injustices committed against us, and then offering our sufferings to be joined
with his perpetual sacrifice for the salvation of the whole world.
Catholics alone believe that our Lord’s sacrifice is a
perpetual one!
To non-Catholics: It is only through the perpetuation
of His sacrifice that His body becomes our Eucharist; and it is also only
through that same perpetuation of His sacrifice that the opportunity for us to
share in the salvation of the world exists, by which we become full members of
his body.
To Catholics: We must contribute to the Catholic
mission of saving the world, through full participation in his Perfect and
perpetual sacrifice, to form the Church as the body of Christ.
To all: This means turning the other cheek instead of
fighting for your own rights, and doing so for your oppressor’s sake: By
offering your sufferings to be joined with the Lord’s perfect sacrifice by the
hope that your oppressor might obtain eternal life, not for the sake of your
own holiness; and do this with the commonality of “oneness in belief” as we
Catholics profess in the Eucharist. “Many
are invited, but few are chosen.” (Mt.
22:14)
Considering the condition for eternal life is to repent one’s
sins[1]
believing the divine nature and works of Jesus Christ,[2]
and become baptized,[3]
most people will be saved for eternal life.
Becoming “chosen” is not simply to eternal life, but to the privilege of
reigning with him in eternity.
Are you among the many who hope to be among the few, or are
you among the most? Is that where you
want to be?
[1] Mk.
1:15 “The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the gospel.”
[2] Jn.
3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that
whom so ever that believes in him might have eternal life.”
[3]
Jn. 3:6 “No one can
enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”
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