Today, on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we celebrate the astonishing truth of God’s intimacy with his sons and daughters, as he becomes our food in the most Holy Eucharist.
In the first reading from Genesis, we hear how the priest Melchizedek brings forth bread and wine, blesses Abram, and then offers praise and thanksgiving to God for Abram’s victory. In the second reading, Paul hands on what he himself received from Jesus, that, “(O)n the night he was handed over, (Jesus) took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus multiplies five loaves of bread and two fish, feeding five thousand. This miracle prefigures what Christ does every day, at every Mass around the world: He feeds the multitude, but this food isn’t just for those who are blessed to receive him at Mass. Just as Jesus told the disciples when they saw the hungry thousands, he also tells us, “Give them some food yourselves” (Luke 9:13).
Reflection: When the priest or deacon sends the multitude out after every Mass saying, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” we are sent to feed the hungry multitude with the same nourishment we have just received. Relying on Jesus, we give in faith our humble offering so that we become Christ’s body and blood for the world. What are your five loaves and two fish today?
