In anticipation of our Celebration of the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ this weekend, we offer some “food for thought.” (First Corinthians 11, 23-26)
What do we believe Jesus meant when He said, “Do this in remembrance of me?” To what does “this” refer? Could it mean more than one thing? Is it “remember me when you do this?” Or, in remembrance of me, do also what I did for others? How might we explain the following? “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.” Is the gift of Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection a one-time thing that happened in the past, or is it on-going and always newly present?
Pope Francis has commented on the Apostle’s idea of sending the hungry people away: “… it isn’t the way Jesus thinks. He tells His disciples straight out: ‘You give them something to eat.’ (Luke 9, 13) We can imagine the thoughts that went through their minds: ‘We don’t have enough bread for ourselves, and now we are supposed to think about others? Why do we have to give them something to eat if they came to hear Him, our Teacher? If they didn’t bring their own food, let them go back home, it’s their problem.’ This way of thinking is not wrong, but it isn’t the way Jesus thinks.”
The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ invites us to remember and treasure this: Jesus is our Living Bread. It is His obvious intention that all people be well fed. The Eucharist, a great gift from the same God that sent the manna in the desert, ought to strengthen the determination of both the hungry and the satisfied to do what it takes to eliminate hunger of every kind.
Again, Pope Francis: “The Lord does great things with our littleness, as He did with the five loaves. He does not have to work spectacular miracles and never waves a magic wand; He works with simple things. Love, after all, can accomplish great things with little and the Eucharist teaches us this … for in it we find God Himself contained in a piece of bread. Simple, essential bread, broken and shared, the Eucharistic food we receive allows us to see things as God does. It inspires us to give ourselves to others. It is the antidote to the mindset that says: “Sorry, that is not my problem,” or “I have no time, I can’t help you, it’s none of my business,” or “we do not have enough.”
