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The Bread Is Everything

20/6/2025

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Luke
9.11b-17

Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured.

The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.”

But Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish — unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each.” They did so and made them all sit down.

And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

By the time we get to Luke chapter nine, Jesus has been on mission for some time. He has been teaching, blessing and healing people all over the place, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies as the incarnation of God, who is Love. He’s been showing us how it’s done; praying bold prayers and trusting His Father in heaven in unprecedented ways. Feeding people, both literally and figuratively.

Jesus looks up to heaven, blesses bread and breaks it, and gives it to His disciples to distribute to the crowd. They aren’t yet aware, but bread is about to become His body, and His priests, the first of whom are the apostles, are sent on mission to “feed” everyone; to distribute Jesus to everyone.

The bread is food, but it’s also so many other things. The bread that Jesus has given us is the actual Love of God; bread that sustains us in ways we can’t understand. It is the kind words that heal harsh ones. It is the gentle helping touch of a caregiver, and the patient, firm yet fair teacher in the classroom. It is the soup kitchen volunteer and the artist who creates beauty for the glory of God; the counsellor who gives the pain of others a safe place to rest. It is the priest’s merciful absolution of the penitent’s sincere confession. None of these things are sustainable or as effective without the Bread of Life.

This beautiful event that is described in the Gospel of Luke reminds me of the multi-faceted nature of the diamond that is our faith. The miracle of the loaves and the fish teaches me to pray boldly to our Father, to trust in His provision with confidence that I will receive more than what I need to minister to others. It teaches me that the bread is Jesus; the bread is compassion; the bread is healing; the bread is blessing; the bread is sustenance; the bread is a miracle; the Bread is God. The bread is everything.

Let us pray: Lord, we humbly ask for the grace to hold deeply in our hearts the knowledge that the Eucharist is love itself; that when we receive Him, we receive Love Himself.

Lindsay Elford

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Nothing Less Than God

19/6/2025

4 Comments

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

1 Corinthians
11.23-26

Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my Blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

This weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi—the Body and Blood of Christ. This important feast celebrates one of the most challenging and important doctrines of the Catholic faith: that the bread and wine we offer on the altar is transformed (or transubstantiated for those of a more theological bent) into the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, even though it maintains its appearance and taste (the accidents) of bread and wine. The Eucharist isn’t a symbol or a sign, but the real deal.

It feels unbelievable to us and we certainly wouldn’t be alone in that. In John 6:51, Jesus declares “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” At John 6:66, we learn that “many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with Him” because they found this teaching too challenging.

For us, separated by 2,000 years from this declaration from Jesus, this teaching is just as challenging. And indeed many struggle to accept the truth of it. We live in a day and age when we rely on facts, data, and science. The idea of believing something that we can’t truly verify seems impossible.

But we already believe so many impossible things: that God Himself would take on human flesh; that He would give His life for our salvation; that He conquered the grave and rose from the dead on the third day. The Eucharist is part of that work of salvation Jesus accomplished through His earthly mission. It is an enduring legacy of His presence—Heaven touching Earth daily in Masses around the world.

My true fear isn’t that I wouldn’t wrestle to believe in this foundational miracle, but instead that I would discount it. That I would receive the Eucharist and say my amen with the same carelessness that I give to my other mindless eating. I fear the part of myself that invites me to take this miracle for granted and treat it like a very special symbol. I’m afraid that, faced with my King, I would see only the outward appearance of bread and wine. That I would be like all those people who saw Jesus during His earthly ministry and declared Him anything less than God.

I pray that when I receive the Eucharist, I will always be aware of Jesus, who continues to humble Himself not just to human flesh, but to the form of bread and wine so that I can be nourished by Him, body and soul.

Stéphanie Potter

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Our Lady of the In-Between

18/6/2025

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A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Psalm 110

R. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Lord says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

R. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Lord sends out from Zion your mighty sceptre. Rule in the midst of your foes.

R. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day you lead your forces on the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning, like dew, your youth will come to you.

R. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

R. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Translation nerd that I am, I was immediately arrested by a difference between the Douay-Rheims and NRSV versions of this Psalm. In the NRSV, verse three says “From the womb of the morning” and in the Douay-Rheims Bible it says, “from the womb before the day star I begot thee.”

Aha! The "day star," A.K.A the "morning star." I know that one—that’s Mary! This may be one of King David’s great prophetic psalms about Jesus Christ, but still the Holy Spirit can’t help but sneak in a preview of His spouse.

Mary’s title of Morning Star captures my imagination. The morning star is the brightest light in the night sky at dawn, after the sun and moon. It’s the third brightest celestial body overall. But in scientific reality, it’s not a star, it’s a planet. It’s Venus. And because Venus is also orbiting the sun, but is closer than Earth, the "star" moves around and appears at separate times of day throughout the year. For long stretches, it’s the evening star, appearing only at dusk. In between morning and evening star periods, there are weeks when it’s not visible at all. And it’s never visible during the day or the middle of the night because it’s either behind the sun or too close to the sun. For Venus, it’s only dawn, dusk, or hidden.

Apparently, the Church's connection between Mary and the morning star goes back to the Song of Songs, "Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun" [6:10]. A text from the 1500’s says, “Like as the morning cometh before the sun rising, and divideth the night from the day, so the Virgin Mary rose as the morning before the Sun of Justice, and divided the state of grace from the state of sin, the children of God from the children of darkness.”

I love that Mary, Morning Star, appears as both a herald and a guide during the in-between times. The liminal time; between darkest night and brightest morning, between hard-toiling day and slumbering night. I love to imagine that, like Venus, she is hidden during the brightest day because she is right next to the Sun, her Son. And during darkest night, we need faith to know she is there, because she is hidden in Christ, as we all will be when we die (Colossians 3:3).

And I don’t want to imply that we cannot or ought not pray for Mary’s intercession at these hidden times–in fact, the Church has been praying the Angelus at noon for centuries. But even that was to mark the hour Christ was crucified, so once again, Mary has stepped out the spotlight in favour of glorifying her Son. But the Church also recognizes her role in our transition times—we pray the Magnificat in morning prayer, and with every Hail Mary, we hope that she is with us in the dusk of our lives, the hour of our death.

Liminal periods in our lives, times when we feel like we’re in a murky dusk or dawn, are often the periods that are most fertile. We’re searching, praying, trying to piece together where we think God is drawing us next. Our souls, like Christ’s, are in the “womb of the morning”—safely enshrouded in Mary’s nourishing protection, and full of potential for the day ahead of us. Mary, Morning Star, Evening Star, eternal light, be our shining beacon every time we’re in-between!

Kate Plumb

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Show Me A Sign

17/6/2025

1 Comment

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Genesis
14.18-20

In those days: After Abram’s return King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed Abram and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one tenth of everything.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The Church offers us this recollection of what we believe in the Eucharist: that the bread and wine become the flesh and blood of Jesus; not simply a symbol, but the flesh and blood of Jesus. It is often difficult to understand the how and why of this sacrament, of this gift God gives us. There is a lot of language used to explain it all, but ultimately, the gift of faith and the truth of scripture tell me that this one miracle occurs at every Mass!

The first reading speaks of a king who brings bread and wine to Abram (who will become Abraham). As is so common in the Old Testament, this scripture is a foretelling of the New Testament, particularly, Last Supper and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. We are introduced to the king of Salem (translated, he is the king of “peace”) Mechizedek. We know very little about this king but what we see is Abram showing great reverence to him with a gift of one-tenth of everything from Abram’s spoils of battle. We see this king giving a blessing to Abram.

So, how does our first reading connect to the solemnity we celebrate today? Two thousand years before Jesus was born, God began to slowly reveal His plan of salvation. It is not hard to see the similarities between the King of Peace and our Saviour Jesus. We see the bread and wine and the blessing given.

As I read this scripture and meditate with it, I am struck by the fact that God gave Abram a sign and it was 2000 years before it was fulfilled! I get so impatient when God makes me wait a day or week or month or year(s). So, why do I get frustrated when God’s timing and mine are different? For me, it is because I do not always trust Him. I ask for a sign and I do not trust Him enough to give it; I do not trust myself to see it!

In reality, the only sign I need has been given: the cross! That is the sign of God’s love, mercy, healing, salvation, defeat of death, and care for me. What more do I need?

Why do I seek more signs? Why do I continue to ask God for signs and then ignore them? Because I lack faith; I do not trust! Why? Because I am a sinner! The good news is that in the midst of my sinfulness (not in spite of it) God NEVER ceases to love me, care for me, forgive me, guide me, and protect me.

This Sunday, we will pay particular attention to the sign of His love. God gave us His Son and every time I go to Mass, that Son, Jesus, freely gives Himself to me in the Eucharist. He does not ask for a sign that I love Him; a sign that I am worthy; a sign that I will do better; a sign that I will donate more to the Church. He simply gives Himself; and by the grace poured out on each of us at baptism, we are able to freely give ourselves to Him in return!

He is the sign!

Let us pray: Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!

Sr. Teresa MacDonald

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The Bread Is Everything

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Nothing Less Than God

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

​Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Our Lady of the In-Between

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Show Me A Sign

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Archives

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, June 22nd, 2025:
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ