The day was drawing to a close, and the Twelve drew near to tell him, “Send the crowd The day was
drawing to a close, and the Twelve drew near to tell him, “Send the crowd away, and let them go into
the villages and farms around, to find lodging and food, for weare here in a lonely place.” But Jesus
replied, “You, yourselves, give them something to eat.”They answered, “We have only five loaves and
two fish. Do you want us to go and buy foodfor all this crowd?” for there were about five thousand men.
Then Jesus said to his disciples,“Make them sit down in groups of fifty.”
So they made all of them sit down. Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish, and,So they made all
of them sit down. Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish, and,raising his eyes to heaven, pronounced
a blessing over them; he broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the crowd. They ate
and everyone had enough; and when they gathered up what was left, twelve baskets were filled with broken pieces.
Read: King and priest Melchizedek offers up bread and wine. In Paul, we have the earliest account of the
institution of the Eucharist. Jesus feeds about five thousand men.
Reflection: The Feast of Corpus Christiaf firms the Real Presence of Christ inthe Eucharist— a scandal for
many, but a core experience of faith for the believer. Writing on the Real Presence, Flannery O’Connor,
athoroughbred catholic story teller, recalls an encounter with another author, a fallen-away catholic:
“[She] said that when she was a child and received the Host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being
the ‘most portable’ person ofthe Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was apretty good
one. I then said, in a very shaky voice, “Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.” That was all the defenseI was capable
of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the center of
existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.”
Pray: For an unshakable faith in For an unshakable faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Act: Today, tend to the Corpus Christi Today, tend to the Corpus Christiin the body of a needy person.
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