Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Today we celebrate the great solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and we reflect on the remarkable gift that is the Eucharist. In all our readings today, shared meals form the heart of the hospitality that God offers to us, and invites us to offer one another. In the first reading Melchizedek offers bread and wine with a blessing and receives a fortune from Abram in return. In his second letter to the people of Corinth, St. Paul retells the story of the gift of the Eucharist that Jesus gave his disciples the night of the Last Supper, the foundation upon which they were to build His Church. And in the Gospel we hear the story of Jesus’ miraculous hospitality.
I wanted to take a moment to delve into the familiar and beloved Gospel story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Here Jesus’ hospitality is on full display, as well as His remarkable talent as a teacher. He has taken His disciples to a remote place to have a private discussion with them. They have returned from their first attempt to preach, heal and exorcise in His name, and He wants the opportunity to talk to them, hear their experiences, and counsel them, knowing He has limited time to the prepare them for the work of ministry. But the crowds, hungry for Jesus’ teaching, learn where they are going and follow them. Jesus does not turn away from their hunger, graciously changing His plans. When the need to meet their physical, as well as spiritual, hunger arises, Jesus takes the moment to teach His disciples that all of their followers’ needs are their responsibility, an important lesson to those who are going to build His Church.
It is a lesson that continues to be imparted to Jesus’ modern disciples. Today we celebrate the gift of the Eucharist, that nourishes the hearts and the spirits of God’s people. Following Jesus’ example, we must not turn away from the needs of our brothers and sisters because they are inconvenient or overwhelming. The nourishment we receive at the Eucharistic table gives us the strength, and the impetus, to help those in any need. I thank you for all you do in this spirit of concern for God’s people here in our community of Carmel Mission.
I wish you and your loved ones blessings of good health, new hope, and great peace,
Fr. Paul
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