4th Sunday of Lent 31.3.19 The Eucharist
Today’s Gospel describes Our Lord’s multiplication of bread,
and this we take to indicate further the even greater miracle of turning bread
into His Body – which happens at every Mass.
His Body can still be referred to as ‘bread’ in a poetic
sense. It is the bread from Heaven, the bread of life. Those who eat of it will
never die (spiritually).
This special bread can be further multiplied to reach every
corner of the world, and every person potentially has the chance to receive it.
This is bread which meets our deepest needs. It does not
just take away hunger as ordinary bread does, but goes to our souls and feeds
the hunger there.
It makes us better people, stronger spiritually, happier;
more able to cope with life’s troubles; more motivated to help others and
overcome selfishness.
All this is free gift from God, who once rained bread from
the sky on His people, and now treats us even more generously.
We are enabled through this bread to commune with Almighty
God. We call it Holy Communion. We do not normally get to dine with famous
people, but we can dine with God Himself.
We might think God is remote from us. He is a long way away
certainly, with all those galaxies in between.
But He is also prepared to wash our feet; to forgive our
sins; to take an interest in our lives, no matter how lowly we may be.
He does this without losing any of His grandeur. He is the
highest possible being, yet He humbles Himself to share our lives and help us
along.
We could say that He treats us a great deal better than we
treat Him!
With so much going for us how do we not derive the full
benefits of the Eucharist, or more generally of God's willingness to take
notice of us?
He is offering; we may not be receiving. Many people have
only a hazy notion of God. They do not see Him as the distinct figure revealed
by Jesus Christ, but just as some sort of cosmic presence.
Many Catholics believe in the true God but they are confused
about His identity and nature.
They do not think they need to come closer to Him. They make
light of the Sacraments, neglecting them for long periods of time. If they do
receive Holy Communion it will often be sacrilegiously.
All the while God remains patient with His people; calling
them back to a proper understanding.
Any sin can be forgiven, including that of a disrespectful attitude
to the Eucharist.
We ask for His mercy, and the grace to present ourselves
properly before Him.
Great humility is required here, else we take the Eucharist just
on appearance and fail to value it.
God has made Himself visible for our benefit. It is a
disguised presence, but no less important.
What it does for us will depend on how much of ourselves we
bring along.
Be prepared to be surprised, as He can do all sorts of
things in and around us.
We need to expect, and want good things to happen.
As our own faith increases we are likely to see more good
fruits.
We can help each other with this. The more people take their
proper place before the Lord the better the whole Church can function. Everyone
must play his role and fit in with Our Lord. The Eucharist has a communal
dimension as well as individual.
Swords would become ploughshares (Is 2,4), if enough people
would take the Bread from Heaven in the way that God intends it.
Take and eat, but do not argue. Just receive it and let it
take effect.
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