"For thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'" 2 Kings 4:43
At Mass this past weekend, we heard John’s account of The Feeding of the Five Thousand. This is one of the few accounts that is in each of the four Gospels. During Mass Sunday, thanks to a little Ignatian Spirituality, I pictured myself in the scene and saw Philip’s deer in the headlights look when Jesus asked, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
This Gospel passage from John begins the Bread of Life Discourse, which we will continue to hear at Mass for the next several weeks. This whole discourse is probably my favorite part of the whole Bible. In it, Christ draws parallels between His one Body and Blood, which we consume at every Mass, and the manna that rained down on the Israelites while they were wandering 40 years in the desert.
Although Christ clearly states He is the Bread of Life in the sixth chapter of John, there are still doubts and disbelief about His true presence even today. One recent movie, Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist, aimed to deal with those doubts and disbelief.
Earlier this summer, I went on a parish outing with others from Sacred Heart to watch the movie in Lafayette. Riding with me was Fr. Tom Voorhies. If you want to get to know a person, ride in a car with that person for about an hour and a half. It was good to get to know each other better.
Anyway, back to the movie, it was very well done. It traced the “origins” of the Eucharist back to Melchizedek and back to the manna in the desert. It also chronicled all the Eucharistic miracles that have taken place over the millennia where the host started bleeding. Scientific studies on some of these hosts revealed the tissue was heart tissue taken from the left ventricle. The studies have also shown the heart tissue underwent great trauma. In my humble opinion, the movie cleared up any doubts a person could have regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
But, still, this Bread of Life is mocked, ridiculed, insulted, and rejected. So many sacrilegious acts take place all across the world. One took place during the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics where Leonardo DaVinci’s painting of The Last Supper was mocked during a drag show.
There are those who say the depiction was actually that of the Feast of Dionysus from Greek mythology, but the optics of the thing is what matters.
Organizers of the Olympics have apologized for the performance that has been denounced by civil and church leaders.
Fr. Tom, in his homily Sunday, said the power went out in Paris during the opening ceremonies because of all the rain during the day. The only light came from The Basilica of the Sacred Heart on top of the Mount of the Martyrs. To me, this once again shows the Light does overcome the darkness. I guess Jesus should win a gold medal for that.
If you are lost, go to that Light, even if others around you do not. If you are hungry and thirsty, go to that Bread of Life, even if others reject it.
Spoiler alert... In two weeks, we will hear at Mass, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 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.” John 6:48-51.
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