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The Bread of Heaven and our Hunger
We live in a world that is obsessed with consumerism. Swimming in the current, we might even be unconscious of its impact. We invest time, energy, and money on our gadgets, fancy food, and drink, clothes, home decor, etc. We chase wealth, fame, and the admiration or notice of others. So why do so many people seem dissatisfied? This is indicative of the fact that we are made for a higher reality. Our deepest desire is to love. So why do we try to fill up with consumerism? Unfortunately, when we turn away from God, we tend to try to fill the emptiness with worldly things. And while most of these things are not bad in moderation, when we use them as substitutes for God’s love, we become addicted to them. They can truly become “idols”, substitutes for God. Of course, we still need to eat and drink and have clothes and tech gadgets. But we should not desire these more than union with God. St Ignatius of Loyola discovered that the things of the world give only temporary pleasure, but the things of God truly satisfy our desires. He introduced in his Spiritual Exercises the daily “Examen of Conscience”. This is a daily check on what material things we consume and how much we invest in spiritual practices. This will help us to be more deliberate in consuming less and just letting God into your life. So instead of going on a shopping spree, we try going outside for a walk and see all that God has created for us to enjoy. Instead of checking social media to see how many likes our last post has, we could call a friend and talk about our day. This way of living our day will bring to our life focus and meaning.Our world history is divided into BC and AD, before Christ and after his birth. The Sacred Scripture is also organized the same way and so we have the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament from time to time, we get glimpses and hints of Jesus in events or people anticipating or pointing the way to Jesus. In the first reading today (Gen 14:18-20), the priest Melchizedek is one of those people giving us a glimpse and hint of Jesus to come. Melchizedek was a priest, though not in the tribe of Levi, and Jesus is the High Priest of the New Testament, also not in the tribe of Levi, prophesied by our Psalm today: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (i.e., outside of the tribe of Levi.) Melchizedek offered bread and wine to God which was a foreshadowing of the Eucharist that Jesus would give. There are several other hints and
glimpses of the Eucharist in the Old Testament; the manna which the Israelites received in the desert (Ex 16), and the food that sustained the prophet Elijah for forty days and nights until he reached Mount Horeb/Sinai (1 Kings 19).
In the Gospel today (Luke 9:11-17), Jesus performed a miracle by feeding thousands from only five loaves and two fish. This miracle is preparing for the greatest New Testament miracle, the Eucharist. In fact, if we read this account of multiplication in John’s Gospel Ch. 6, we will discover how the ‘Discourse on the Eucharist follows this miracle of the multiplication of loaves. Just as Jesus is the center of time, BC and AD, our celebration of Corpus Christi today reminds us to keep Jesus in the Eucharist at the center of our lives. Jesus desires that we live each day in intimate union with him; he is not a stranger to meet for just one hour every Sunday. Can we live our entire day with Jesus and also spend special time in prayer with Jesus in the Eucharist?
Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we are reminded of the great love of Jesus for us by his giving himself for us in his passion and death. Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, “As if the better to remind us of His passion in the Sacrifice of the Mass, He chose bread and wine, both of which become what they are through a kind of Calvary. Wheat becomes bread and grapes become wine through a veritable passion of the gristmill and the winepress.” (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Life of All Living (Doubleday Image Book pp111-112.)
Just as the wheat is beaten and crushed to become flour for bread, Jesus’ body was scourged and crucified. Just as the juice flows from the grape to make wine, Jesus’ blood flowed. The bread and wine that we offer in sacrifice during every Mass are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus in the transubstantiation, remind us of the passion and death of Jesus. Truly every Mass reminds us of Jesus’ total giving of himself for us. When we can discover the gift of the Eucharist, then we will tame our consumeristic tendencies and focus on the divine presence in our life. Jesus is the center of time. Let us make him the center of our day.
Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O