Homily

The crowd is very large that has gathered to hear and see Jesus. There are many thousands of people who have probably spent a number of hours listening to Jesus teaching, and many who were sick were healed by His hand. It’s time for dinner but Jesus refuses to send the crowds into the towns to buy food. Five loaves and a few fish are blessed by Him and the people are miraculously fed, and fed so well that there are twelve baskets of bread pieces left over.

It is interesting and important that St. Matthew places this story in his gospel immediately after the famous birthday banquet of King Herod and the killing of St. John the Baptist. At Herod's banquet there is pride, arrogance, scheming and plotting, lavish indulgence in food and drink, and finally a murder—all taking place in a royal palace. But at Jesus' banquet, out in a deserted place, there is simple but adequate food, there is healing, trust, sharing, and faith.

This story of the multiplication of the loaves has an element of mystery in it. How exactly did that bread multiply so that it could feed many thousands of people? We could get lost in that detail and still never know for sure just exactly how the miracle took place. But it is certain that Matthew, in telling us this story, is pointing toward another event that will happen later on, when Jesus will feed His disciples not with loaves of bread, but with His own Body and Blood, under the appearance of bread and wine. And how exactly that happens is a miracle we cannot completely understand. It is a genuine banquet and a true sacrifice where Jesus Himself is our food and our drink for the remission of our sins and unto life everlasting.

Every Eucharist is a miraculous event because what happens cannot be explained by any law of nature, but only by the power of God. At every Liturgy bread and wine become the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We all believe that. But I think the problem can be that it is difficult to fully comprehend that, to constantly remember that, to be totally focused on the truth of this, to greet the Lord with a most sincere heart and genuine devotion, to see Him with the eyes of faith and to be most truly aware that we carry Him within us as our Lord and our God. It is not always so easy for us to meet with God Who looks like bread and wine.

For example, if Jesus were standing here today in the flesh and He told us to come up so He could lay His hands on us, what would be in our thoughts and minds and attitudes while we were standing in line to meet Him? “Oh, look how cute that baby is. What should I make for dinner? I gotta remember to get the oil changed. I'm so tired today.” I think we would have much different thoughts in our heads as we stood in line to be touched by the Lord. But when we receive the Holy Eucharist, we are not only touched by Him, we take Him into ourselves. Our thoughts so often drift here and there and it's so easy for us to lose focus but let us always do our best to keep our focus on the Lord when we come up to receive. Jesus does not expect us to get into some mystical, ecstatic state. But we should always try to do our best to focus on Him when we receive Him.

I think of the millions of people in our country who are baptized in the Church and yet rarely come to Liturgy, to come and meet and receive Christ. There are some who have never been taught what Communion is and there are those who receive but do not know what they are doing. A shocking poll sponsored by EWTN in 2022 showed that only 50% of people who claim to be Catholic believe that bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. And of those who are at church every Sunday only 73% believe this. These numbers have been disputed. But I think the largest group of people are those who do not care what Holy Communion is. To be able to receive the Lord in Holy Communion is just not that important in their lives. And correspondingly Christ is just not that important in their lives. We all know people who do not consider this blessed sacrament to have any great importance. What sad situation.

But I am not here to preach to those who are not here (but “hello” to everyone on live streaming.) It would be good for us to remember that only we can help them to see the value of this most sacred encounter with Christ. Only we by example and word, when possible, can show them the great importance and the life-creating power of these holy, divine and immortal mysteries. And we do that best by allowing Him Who we receive to change us—to make us like Him, to help us become better disciples so that others will be able to see Him in us. We may not be able to easily convince other people of the power of the Eucharist simply by talking with them, but if we live as people who meet with Jesus in Holy Communion in every Liturgy, that is a truly powerful witness in faith. We can’t guarantee results, but that should never influence our willingness to live as people who are powered and enlivened by the Body and Blood of Christ.

It’s not so easy for us to approach the Lord as we should. We are easily distracted, our faith is not always strong, we get lost in our routines, our thoughts may be jumbled, our emotions can pull and push us, and our kids can do the same. Even so, let us make every effort to gather ourselves together as best we can and prepare ourselves to meet the Lord as we approach the chalice. And then, when we receive let us not fail to greet the Savior Who comes to us so humbly. And then let us carry Him with us for our own healing and for our own life, as well as the lives of other people, and may they see the Lord Who is at work within us. Just like 2,000 years ago when Jesus saw the crowds and His heart was moved with pity for them, so also today His heart is moved with pity for us. Let us meet Him and talk with Him Who cares so deeply for us that He has become our food and drink, to satisfy hungry souls.

Dear friends, we often think of miracles as something so extraordinary that we are unlikely to ever see one. But let’s remember that there is a genuine miracle at every altar in the world where the Divine Liturgy is served. May we never become indifferent or bored with these Sacred Mysteries, but instead let us work to be ever more attentive and focused, doing our best to welcome the King of All, invisibly escorted by angelic hosts, here today in this very church and at this most special time.