This coming Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of Corpus Christi. In yesterday’s post we find the apostles hesitating and falling back on the ways of the world when faced with the enormity of feeding more than 5,000 people.

The feeding of the five thousand had a meaning for the early church in the responsibility of the leaders to feed the flock, particularly with preaching and the Eucharist. This is the one miracle, apart from the resurrection, recounted in all four Gospels. Luke shares the story with the other gospel writers, but does not include Mark’s mention of the compassion of Jesus for the people or the messianic allusion (Mark 6:34). However, the abundance of good stands as a two-fold lesson to the Twelve: abundance is found not in the power to purchase with money, but in the power of the Lord; and, those who give receive back even more extravagantly. Both lessons reinforce what they have learned on their own journey. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of Corpus Christi. In yesterday’s post we find the apostles hesitating and falling back on the ways of the world. When faced with the enormity of feeding more than 5,000 they fall back on sensible courses of action. 13 He said to them, ‘Give them some food yourselves.’ They replied, ‘Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.’ Continue reading →

This coming Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of Corpus Christi. In yesterday’s post we catch a glimpse of a moment of respite for the apostles after their mission that gives way to crowds of people

12 As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, ‘Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.’ 13 He said to them, ‘Give them some food yourselves.’ They replied, ‘Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.’ 14 Now the men there numbered about five thousand.

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This coming Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of Corpus Christi. In yesterday’s post we set the stage for a transition from the very public ministry of Jesus establishing his identity and mission to Israel – to one in which the disciples will more deeply explore Jesus’ identity in order to discover their part in his divine mission. We pick up the account as the apostles return from their first mission. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, popularly known by its truncated Latin name of Corpus Christi. Each year on this solemnity the gospel is taken from one of the miraculous feeding of the multitudes. This year the reading is from the Gospel of Luke 9:10-17 when five loaves and two fish become the starting point for feeding more than 5,000 people. Continue reading →