Food That Satisfies

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟏𝟒:𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏𝟎:𝟏-𝟒 “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐤.”

𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟑-𝟐𝟔

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟗:𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟕

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅..” (𝒗.17) 

There have been numerous historical accounts of alliances, partnerships between two people, groups, organizations and even, among nations and the rationale behind these collaborations is to establish a strong bond of unity to either perform a contract, strengthen an organization or repel external aggression.

          An example of such bond is the blood compact between Miguel Lopez De Legazpi of Spain and Rajah Sikatuna of Book in the Philippines. Such compacts or covenants become more than just an agreement when it is forged in blood. When blood is spilled to be the foundation of a covenant it becomes a sacred arrangement that unites the two people in a covenant into an undying loyalty and allegiance to one another.

          As the Jews of ancient times equates blood with life, we see such kind of allegiance in the first reading in the way the people responded when blood was used as an offering at the altar “𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐.”

          But it was also generally accepted that no man can keep the law and the people at that time were always in default. This is what Jesus impressed upon His disciples and to us now when He said in 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕 26:28: “𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑪𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚.” What Jesus is saying is that His being sent by God to suffer and die for us is to ratify a new relationship between God and man, a covenant that is no longer dependent on the law but on the blood that Jesus shed on the cross which is founded on love.

          It is a wondrous thing to see churches overflowing with parishioners on Sundays and are filled to the rafters during the liturgical seasons. It'll become even more meaningful if the ordinary lay people understand the deeper meaning of the Celebration of the Eucharist or the Sacrifice of the Mass.

          With Jesus shedding His own blood to establish a new covenant, we are brought into an eternal bond with God, and we are called to respond the way the Jews answered in 𝑬𝒙𝒐 24:3, 7 “𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐.” This is what the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is all about.

          As we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ let us open our hearts especially at the time when the bread and cup of wine is raised by the Priest at Mass, and let this overflow of love and grace leads us to respond the way the Israelites responded in the old times: “𝑴𝒚 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.”

           Our Gospel passage today highlights the only miracle that is recorded in all the four Gospels in 𝑳𝒌 9:11-17 which is our Gospel reading for today and, in 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕 14:13, 𝑴𝒌 6:30, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑱𝒏 6:1. There are differences in the way this event was pictured. The Synoptic Gospels tell of the disciples giving Jesus the five loaves and two fish apparently coming from their bag of packed food. But it’s different in John’s Gospel where the Apostle wrote that Andrew found a boy who had with him the five loaves of bread and two fish.

           The question is why is it so? Matthew’s writings focus on Jesus as the promised Messiah, Mark shows Jesus as the suffering servant while Luke highlights Jesus’s humanity and universal salvation while John emphasizes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and, that by believing this truth, that we may all have eternal life.

           And as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ today, the Church sees it fit to use the feeding of the 5,000 from Luke’s account to draw a parallelism between the five loaves and two fish that was shared and satisfied the hunger of the people 𝑳𝒌 9:17 with the Body and Blood of Christ that is present in the specie of the Bread and Wine that we also share with one another each time we join in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

This Gospel passage today has been referred to as one of the most memorable of the many miracles that Jesus had performed but there was certainly more to the feeding of the 5,000 than meets the eye. In fact, there are several realities in this event that will give us a clearer picture of who Jesus was and what defines him and what we are to him.

         For us to grasp the significance of this event we must first try to understand what a miracle is. A miracle is an extraordinary event that is beyond the power or scope of any created being and thus, a miracle is something that could only come or created by God Himself as no natural forces could account for it.

           There are also two ways man can look at this miracle. We can see it as a miracle in which Jesus created food for the multitude. Or we can see it as a miracle that began with the 12 disciples traveling with Jesus who brought out what they had to share it among themselves and those around them which moved the others to also do the same and all were able to have their fill.

           What we see in the four Gospels which is very important is that Jesus took the five loaves and two fish – blessed it and he prayed over it. To this day, there is a Jewish saying that says: “𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐝.” There is also a blessing said in every home in those days up to today that says: “𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮, 𝐉𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐡, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡,” and Jesus would not eat without giving thanks to the giver of good gifts.

           It is from these sayings that the Church patterned the prayers during the presentation and preparation of the Gifts of the Eucharist when the priest says: “𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖: 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.”

           It is the same when the wine is prepared and presented: “𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖: 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌.” On both occasions, the multitude of believers respond: “𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓” in apparent reference to God who is the source of every good gift.

           What we can deduce from this Gospel passage we have for today in celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is the fact that this miracle when 5,000 people were fed that happened some 2,000 years ago is still happening today in every Sacred Mass that is celebrated throughout the world when we see the specie of the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus and distributed to the people from the Table of Sacrifice.

           This story of the feeding of the 5,000 tells us many things: 1) Jesus had compassion for the people who were hungry. It would be interesting to know how much time Jesus spent in easing the pain and hunger of the people in those days, yet he still needs those extra hands to minister to the people the way the Church today needs us to spread the Gospel; 2) Jesus showed that generosity knows no bounds when it is rooted in love. There is always enough for all as God has created a world where there is more than enough for all if only we will share with others the blessings we have received; and 3) As always, there is a permanent truth in this miracle that Jesus will supply all our needs. He alone can satisfy the hunger in our hearts that are restless until it rests in Him. “𝑴𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔,” (𝑷𝒉𝒊 4:9) even when we find ourselves trudging through the deserts in our lives.   

           The Gospel today gives us an important lesson for the way we go through life as disciples in that no situation is impossible if we take what we have, give it to God with thanksgiving, and share it with others. This kind of sacrificial love of sharing what we have can be seen when Jesus obligingly went to the cross, certain of the love of God for the sinful man and He was equally certain that in the end God's love will conquer man's sinful nature.

          As we are nourished by His Body and Blood during the Mass, we must also nourish others. This is the new covenant that Jesus made with His disciples and is making with us now - a covenant that calls on us to love God and one another. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 22, 2025)