Our Lady ​of Mount Virgin Parish

Roman Catholic Church

Garfield, NJ

My Friends,

The Gospel for this feast reminds me of what my aunt used to tell us when we would visit her and share a meal. She always fixed more than enough for everyone and her favorite saying was, "If you don't get enough to eat, it's your own fault." Perhaps Jesus would say the same as He feeds us with his Body and Blood.

Some say that the multiplication of loaves was not done by breaking the laws of physics. Instead, they say that Jesus, when He began to share the little bread that He had, touched the hearts of all those who had brought food with them. They followed His example by sharing their food also, so much that there were twelve baskets left over. While I don't doubt that Jesus could have multiplied the loaves He had, it reminds me of the temptation in the desert, when the devil told Him to make bread out of rocks. If He rejected that temptation, why would He do almost the same thing now?

No, Jesus came to change people's hearts, to show them God's love and how to love one another. The miracle of the loaves shows us that Jesus can feed millions with His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The miracle of changing bread and wine into His Body and Blood is not just so we can feel good about having Jesus so near to us. It is meant to strengthen us to do our best as His disciples. As food and drink help us to keep on working, His Body and Blood help us to keep on loving. Look around as the Communion procession goes by and think about how many are united with Jesus.

When the disciples told Jesus about the hungry crowd, He told them, "Give them some food yourselves.” And one day they would. When they celebrated the Eucharist after Jesus' resurrection, they gave that spiritual food to the new followers of Christ. We continue that today. With Jesus' strength we can teach all people about the Father's love for them and how they can love each other.

Loving you always,

Fr. Peter