The Multiplication of Bread

   

  The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

19 June 2022 

 

First Reading: Gn 14:18-20

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4

Second Reading: 1 Cor 11:23-26

Gospel: Lk 9:11b-17

 

Reflection

By: Fely Santiago

 

"Give them some food yourselves."

I just so love this Sunday on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. He is truly the living bread that came down from heaven and as He promised, whoever eats this bread will live forever and will never be hungry.

This is what keeps me in the Catholic faith. I have nothing against the other faiths or denominations. This is my personal experience and conviction. I have been to their Sunday celebrations and also been tried to be converted but I continue to hold on to our Catholic faith because of the Eucharist. There is nothing that can be compared with the consecration of the body and blood of Jesus Christ at mass. It's a feast! It completes our Sunday celebration. A celebration is not complete without food! And for us Filipinos we love food that's why we have grand celebrations during Feast of the Saints in our provinces. And Jesus loves to eat with His disciples because this is our basic need every day. That's why in the Our Father God teaches us to pray for our daily bread because that's what He wants to provide for us every day. And in the Gospel today in the multiplication of bread, we can again see how God cares for our basic need which is food. And He did not allow the disciples to send the people away, instead, He make do with what is available from the generosity of those who can give five loaves and two fish, and perform His miracle to feed the five thousand, not counting women and children. And what's even more amazing, everyone was fed to their satisfaction and yet, there were still leftovers that filled twelve wicker baskets! This is really a lesson on sharing and generosity. When we share the little that we have, God cannot be outdone in generosity and gives us even more!

And it's very consoling that finally after more than two years of pandemic, we can finally celebrate with our loved ones and families over sumptuous food! We are able to celebrate with the family again even if we are still in the pandemic because at least the Covid cases has gone down. We can celebrate birthdays, weddings, baptisms, graduations, and anything that calls for a celebration, and celebrations will never be complete without food! And let's not just forget to share our blessings especially those who have no food at their table.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, You can never be outdone in generosity. Thank You for always providing for our daily bread and all our needs. Thank You for the gift of the Eucharist in our Masses to fill our spiritual hunger. We ask for the grace to be generous to the needs of others. Make us instrument of Your love and generosity. All these we pray in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Daily Bread

Eighteenth Sunday in

Ordinary Time

01 August 2021 

 

First Reading: EX 16:2-4, 12-15

Responsorial Psalm: PS 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54

Second Reading: EPH 4:17, 20-24

Gospel: JN 6:24-35

 

Reflection

By: Pietro Albano

 

"Sir, give us this bread always."

Such plea runs parallel to the words Jesus taught us to say to the Father. "Give us this day our daily bread". Jesus knew very well the hunger of the world for Him that He willed to take the humble form of bread. We are so blessed that this bread is available for us to receive in the Mass. Just like ordinary food that must be shared, Our Lord - in the form of bread - must be shared with others, especially the poor, the outcast, and those who do not know Him yet. It is unfortunate to note how some Church leaders have used Holy Communion as a wall that divides the saints and sinners in our community. Such action, for me, defeats the very words of Christ: "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." Indeed, as Pope Francis once said: "The Eucharist is essential for us: it is Christ who wishes to enter our lives and fills us with His grace. The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, it is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak."

• What is Holy Communion for you?
• What can you do to satisfy the world's hunger for Jesus?
• How can you encourage more people to receive Jesus in the Eucharist? 

Prayer

 

Lord Jesus, thank You for your Word today. Give us this day Yourself, our daily bread. Amen.

 

 

The Hunger that Satisfies

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

29 July 2018

First reading                                                                     2 Kings 4:42-44
A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack.
Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.'” He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Second reading                                                     Ephesians 4:1-6

I, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Gospel                                                                     John 6:1-15

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?”

Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Reflection

By Ma. Rosalina S. Flores

Who among us is not familiar with the Gospel’s story for today? Jesus fed the multitude in the mountain using the five loaves and two fish of a young boy. And after everyone had eaten, the disciples has gathered twelve baskets of fragments left over. This incident is one of Jesus' great miracles as He also testified in the succeeding chapters that He is the Living Bread that satisfies.

Our present world experiences different types of hunger: material and spiritual. We hunger for food, for power, for education, for fame, for love and attention, and even for peace. We are busy acquiring material things and achieving goals that give temporary happiness. But today's Gospel reading invites us to reflect and prioritize spiritual hunger that most of us is setting aside. This is the extreme hunger that if addressed will give abundant blessings in our life.

The scenario in today's Gospel is not only about Jesus feeding the 5,000 people with the multiplication of bread and fish. Instead, it is more of satisfying their hunger for a shepherd who will lead them to verdant pasture. They followed Jesus up to the mountain because they acknowledged their spiritual burden and lifted it all up to Jesus' saving hands. Will you allow God to feed you? Will you go and follow Him up to the mountain, too?

Another thing to ponder is our bread and fish to be offered to God. The young boy in the Gospel gave Jesus his five loaves and two fish to be used for common good.  He never thought of keeping the loaves and fish for himself and his family only. He has allowed it to be shared to others who are also in need like him. Are we willing to offer our five loaves and two fish to Jesus to help others? Or will we just save these for ourselves for rainy days?

Sometimes, we tend to look after our own sake only. We forget love and compassion towards others. Because we live in a cruel world and we strive for survival, it is easy to become selfish. “I will think of myself first before others. How can I share if I don’t have enough? Yes, I will give but please wait until I have more.”

Christ's invitation to us is to become Christians in spite of difficult circumstances. We are called to give ourselves completely similar to what Jesus did on the cross. He gave himself for our salvation. So as believers, we must act like Christ, emulate His deeds, and follow His teachings.

As we continue to reflect on today’s Gospel, may we allow God to enter and use our lives to give life to others. Our little bread will surely come a long way. Selfless giving is our calling.

Prayer

Lord, we offer You our brokenness to be shared for others. Our little offering from the heart is enough to do great miracles. Use us as Your instruments to make others feel loved and comforted. We can do nothing by ourselves, but with You, we can do everything. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your So, we pray.  Amen.

Complete Nourishment

The Body and Blood of Christ
26 June 2011


Come, let us worship Christ, the bread of life.


First reading Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14-16 3
Moses said to the people: ‘Remember how the Lord your God led you for forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, to test you and know your inmost heart – whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you, he made you feel hunger, he fed you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to make you understand that man does not live on bread alone but that man lives on everything that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
‘Do not become proud of heart. Do not forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery: who guided you through this vast and dreadful wilderness, a land of fiery serpents, scorpions, thirst; who in this waterless place brought you water from the hardest rock; who in this wilderness fed you with manna that your fathers had not known.’

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 147:12-15,19-20

Second reading 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf.

Gospel John 6:51-58
Jesus said to the Jews:
‘I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give is my flesh,
for the life of the world.’
Then the Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’

Reflection
By Benj Santiago

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven”

One of my favorite family activities is going on an “eat-out”. We love to check out what’s new and good in a place, be it local or outside the country. We have not found anything yet that can sustain us for several days. We always end up eating our five (5) meals a day. The Israelites during the 40 years they were in the desert, did not have the same luxury as we now experience. They cannot order their pack lunch, nor do they have the luxury of planting, harvesting, and growing what they need for their daily sustenance. At one point, they complained to Moses that they want to return to Egypt and be slaves rather than be free and die of hunger. They asked for food to sustain them. Moses admonished them by saying “that not by bread alone does man lives, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Dt 8:3). Now, what really sustain us? What food do we crave for? The Pharisees were completely baffled when they heard Jesus say that “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats this bread will live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (Jn 6: 51). In the last supper before Jesus offered His life on the cross, Jesus left us a wonderful celebration in which we can eat the food that sustain our souls. This is the Holy Eucharist which is continuously celebrated everyday in all churches around the world. And we love to partake in this Holy Meal, where we fully believe that we do receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the form of the bread and wine. We are completely nourished, body, heart, and soul. Truly, Jesus was the Word made flesh. And do understand that it is not just by believing in Him and living what He preached and commanded to all of usshall we inherit eternal life. It is also by eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

Lord, transform me to be more like You through Your Holy Eucharist, so that like You, I may be able to transform other people’s lives. In Jesus' name. Amen

Celebrate the Holy Eucharist constantly!