FrBread for Life

 

Today’s Gospel gives a glimpse of the kindness and compassion of God.  In and through Jesus, the God who fed the people with manna on their journey to the Promised Land still feeds his people.  The miracle of the feeding of the multitudes not only speaks to us about Christ and who he is.  He is the Good Shepherd who leads his people to green pastures and refreshes our souls. (Psalm 23)  The people Jesus fed in the desert were physically hungry.  Jesus saw a deeper need in the hearts of the people who followed him.  They were “like sheep without a shepherd.”  (Mark 6:34)  Jesus understood that deeper need for spiritual nourishment and guidance, expressed so well by Saint Augustine:  “Our hearts are made for you O God, and they shall never rest until they rest in you.”  While the people sought bodily nourishment, Jesus would remind them that he would be their spiritual nourishment.  While the food to sustain our physical lives is very important, Jesus would offer a life and a food that would last forever.  The food that Jesus would offer would be the food of everlasting life.  On the night before he died, Jesus fulfilled that promise:  “Take and eat; this is my body which will be given up for you.  Take and drink; this is the cup of my blood – the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.  It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.  Do this in memory of me.” (Mark 14:22-26)  This is what we do in every Mass.  The Body and Blood of Christ is our Sacrifice of Worship, and our Nourishment in Holy Communion.  This is the way God nourishes his people o their journey through the deserts of life.

 

Today’s Gospel stresses the little amount of food available for so many.  The hosts and wine we bring at every Mass are so small, yet when taken Blessed, Broken and Shared they become the food of eternal life.  The message for us in the Gospel today and in every Mass is that no matter how small our gift, or how insignificant, God can do great things with it.  Sometimes I think we hide our gifts even from ourselves…  Who?  Me?  The Bible makes it clear that every believer has at least one “gift” from the Holy Spirit.  That tiny fish or piece of bread may not be food or money, but a talent or an ability God gave us, to do ‘something beautiful’ for God!  Like the young boy in the Gospel, we may have to trust all our resources to God, and say: “Here is what I have Lord; use it.”  He will take it, bless it, and multiply it beyond our expectations!  When we give what we have to God and we ask him to bless it, the miracle happens.  When we trust God enough with ‘all that we have, and all that we are’ no matter how small that might be, God will bless and multiply it.  God can do great things through us when we offer what little we have.  So often we wonder if the little we have to share will make any difference in the light of the enormous problems in our world.  As Mother Teresa said: “It may not change the world, but it sure will mean the world to the person we help.”  Our boats may be small, and the waves may be powerful, but when we trust God enough to walk into the waters, then we will experience the power of God at work in and through us.

 

See full size image“Lord, help us to give and not to count the cost!  Teach us to serve and not seek a reward, except to know that we are doing your will.”

- St. Ignatius Loyola

 

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kate Russell, who has recently resigned her position as Senior Youth Minister. We are grateful for all the good work that Kate did while guiding our youth here at Precious Blood.

 

As Kate accepts her new position and undergoes her new endeavors, on behalf of the entire parish I wish her well and many blessings.  Details of a parish reception for Kate will follow.