THE EUCHARIST FOR THE WORLD

Starting this Sunday, we set aside the Gospel of St. Mark and take up the Gospel of St. John for the next five weeks. We see Jesus preaching God’s message to people and sensitively taking notice of the HUNGER of his audience. He realizes that preaching the Kingdom involves concern for both the body and the soul. At the sight of the hungry crowd, he performed the marvelous miracle of the multiplication of the loaves.

This passage speaks about FOOD. God, in Jesus, delivers nourishment to his hungry people. This food, however, is a symbol of that food that, in the heart of Jesus and his followers, will be called EUCHARIST. Jesus is a food provider, not only in the material sense, and that explains why he fled when they wanted to make him king. His offering tackles the complete need of man–body and spirit. It points us to the sacrament of unity and love, the banquet of the Lord.

Why is the Eucharist important? People Crave For God. Against all the predictions of the impending death of religious sentiments, contemporary trends show an upsurge in religious interest, in spirituality. The Eucharist, our worship at the table of God, satisfies our profound sense of longing for God. In the midst of fear, hatred and vengeance, the presence of God assures us that healing will take place; that peace will triumph.

People also crave for Transformation, for lasting change. In the banquet of Jesus, not only is the bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood. Those who witness this event and receive from his hands are also transformed. A boy shared his packed lunch. The disciples’ early hesitation is turned into service as they distribute the food and collect the remnants after the meal. One miracle happens in the bread basket, while the other takes place within the human heart.

The Eucharist then, becomes a challenge to experience the compassion of the Lord and to allow oneself to be an instrument of peace in others. May our Eucharist bring peace! May it make us sensitive to God and be committed to each other! We pray for the transformation of hearts that will bring an end to war. And we pray too, Lord, grant that we may offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice with love, so that we accept to carry the cross, and to be nailed to it to proclaim your glory, to serve our brothers and sisters. Amen.

#53. A HUMOROUS ANECDOTE ON THE EUCHARIST: Two fellows died recently and were walking on the golden streets God’s celestial realm. There was more beauty and more splendor and more joy there than they had ever dreamed imaginable. One of them turned to the other and said, “Isn’t this wonderful?” The other replied, “Yes, and to think we could have gotten here ten years sooner if we hadn’t eaten all that oat bran.”

As we end this month, on the 3ist, the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Society of Jesus, is celebrated. On August 1, the memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists’ Order and Doctor of the Church is celebrated. On the first Saturday of August, we remember St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars, the Patron Saints of Pastors and also we celebrate our First Saturday devotion Mass in honor of our Lady of Fatima for our adorers and parishioners. This is all for now and watch for the next bulletin. God Bless!

Your Priest-Servant and Parochial Administrator,

Fr. Reggie