Bible Study Recap: Food, Glorious Food...and Humilty and Unity

+JMJ+
Saint James the Greater
50th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae
 
Howdy,

And a happy Name Day to all the Jameses!

FOOD is, ostensibly, the theme of this Sunday's Readings. Elisha feeds a hundred guys with the first fruits of barley. And there were leftovers.

Jesus multiplies the loaves and feeds thousands…and there were leftovers.

See a theme here? We did.

We talked about the Eucharist.

"Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them…"

And fed thousands. Pretty much the words in the synoptics to describe Christ's institution of the Sacrament of His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

"Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted…"

This led us to reflect on the fragments left over after the distribution of the Blessed Sacrament. Now, most of us — and this is a good thing — are too deeply in union with Christ after receiving His Body and Blood to pay much attention to what the priest is doing. But what he's doing is "purifying the sacred vessels." (Lay people are NOT allowed to do this, by the way. That indult was rescinded by Pope Benedict back in 2006. Please tell your pastor and friends.) The Ordinary Ministers carefully make sure that not one scrap of the species remains in the ciboria and chalice(s).

Also…the remainder of the Sacred Hosts?

Unlike some of our separated brethren, Catholics know that once consecrated, the bread and wine remain, always and forever, Jesus Christ. That's why the Sacrament is reserved in the tabernacle! The remaining Precious Blood is consumed before the chalices are cleansed.

Speaking of "our separated brethren"…pray for Christian Unity!

After Frank beautifully read this Sunday's Epistle, I asked him how many times Paul used the word "one" in this passage alone. At least eight times! Clearly, the Apostle to the Gentiles is urging what we should all strive for…ONE in Christ Jesus!

Paul also speaks of humility (Ephesians 4:2)

Now, as in Paul's time on earth, "humility isn't and wasn't exactly a prized virtue…or a virtue at all! We speak of "humble beginnings," our "humble abodes," and so on. The Greeks eschewed humbleness. Grandeur, then as now, is the goal. Yet, as Nick pointed out, Jesus — by His own example! -- raised this self-effacing service to others to the dignity of a virtue.

Which brings me to this prayer: The Litany of Humility

About five years ago, we prayed this litany, composed by Cardinal Raphael Merry Del Val. At first? It's not an easy prayer. But I promise you…if you stick to it, it can — and will — change your life for the better. Here it is. If you have a smart phone, do what I did (she said, humbly) ;-) and use the Reader's Version for handy reference.

Thanks be to God for a wonderful session tonight. And may God continue to bless you!

Your humble scribe,

Kelly <---scott br="" hahn="" speaks="">
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Points to Ponder, by Doctor Scott Hahn

Bread Left Over

Today’s liturgy brings together several strands of Old Testament expectation to reveal Jesus as Israel’s promised Messiah and king, the Lord who comes to feed His people.

Notice the parallels between today’s Gospel and First Reading. Both Elisha and Jesus face a crowd of hungry people with only a few “barley” loaves. We hear similar words about how impossible it will be to feed the crowd with so little. And in both the miraculous multiplication of bread satisfies the hungry and leaves food left over.

The Elisha story looks back to Moses, the prophet who fed God’s people in the wilderness (see Exodus 16). Moses prophesied that God would send a prophet like him (see Deuteronomy 18:15-19). The crowd in today’s Gospel, witnessing His miracle, identifies Jesus as that prophet.

The Gospel today again shows Jesus to be the Lord, the good shepherd, who makes His people lie down on green grass and spreads a table before them (see Psalm 23:1,5).

The miraculous feeding is a sign that God has begun to fulfill His promise, which we sing of in today’s Psalm - to give His people food in due season and satisfy their desire (see Psalm 81:17).

But Jesus points to the final fulfillment of that promise in the Eucharist. He does the same things He does at the Last Supper - He takes the loaves, pronounces a blessing of thanksgiving (literally, “eucharist”), and gives the bread to the people (see Matthew 26:26). Notice, too, that 12 baskets of bread are left over, one for each of the apostles.

These are signs that should point us to the Eucharist - in which the Church founded on the apostles continues to feed us with the living bread of His body.

In this Eucharist, we are made one body with the Lord, as we hear in today’s Epistle. Let us resolve again, then, to live lives worthy of such a great calling.