The Eucharistic Instruments

The readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time are timely given the recent conclusion of the National Eucharistic Congress. They remind us that for there to be an authentic Eucharistic revival, we must continue to engage in daily conversion. We recognize this need every time we recite these words of the Our Father prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” These words and today’s readings also help us understand how God uses the limited means we have to demonstrate his power.

Today’s first reading from the Second Book of Kings recounts one of several miracles performed by the prophet Elisha. Here, he orders his servant to feed a group of 100 fellow prophets with the 20 loaves of bread he brought. Despite the servant's doubt and much like Our Lord does in today’s gospel, Elisha miraculously multiplies the bread, and the group has enough to eat. But what is often missed from this is that, unlike the creation of the world, God did not perform the miracle ex nihilo. He took the little the servant had and then performed the miracle through Elisha. Often before performing a miracle in the Bible, he takes the few people have and uses it to show that his power is always perfected in weakness (2 Cor 12:9). He still does this today each time we relive the greatest miracle: the Eucharist.

Jesus, in today’s gospel, tests Philip by asking him, “Where can we buy enough food for [this crowd] to eat?” Philip immediately points out their limited resources. Andrew, sometimes referred to as the First-called, presents a boy with some bread and fish, but he also considers these limited resources. Small as these are, Jesus feeds the crowd of 5000 with them, and they have more than enough. Soon after in John 6, Jesus rebukes the crowd by saying, ”Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill” (John 6:26).

Jesus rebukes the crowd, and perhaps his disciples too, for not understanding his miracle. What did they not understand, and what can we learn?

Throughout salvation history, God teaches his people not to solely rely on human bread to survive. Jesus Christ himself says as much, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27). Only Christ, the living bread from heaven, can satisfy that which we really hunger for – union with God. This is what the Eucharist gives us. This is what we are meant to understand from the miracle recounted in today’s Gospel.

Another thing we are meant to understand is the role of the Apostles in this miracle. Just as Elisha ordered his servant to distribute the bread, so did Jesus command his Apostles to distribute the fish and bread to the people. In the Synoptic Gospels recounting this same miracle, Jesus tells them, “You yourselves give them something to eat” (Luke 9:13). At the Last Supper, he commands his Apostles and all priests to perpetually distribute the true bread from heaven to his faithful (1 Cor 11:25). We are meant to appreciate and reverence the work of the priest as the one who gives Christ to us in the Eucharist.

Finally, what we can learn from the readings today is that for God to work through us, we must offer ourselves, however limited we are. As Pope Francis remarked in his Angelus address today, when in the Mass we offer our gifts and our lives to God, it may seem like an insignificant gesture. Yet God transforms what we have offered into the miracle of the Eucharist. For those partaking in the Eucharistic Revival program in the United States, we can make revival happen by continuing to offer ourselves to God. This is what conversion is. Like the Eucharist, God can make us miracles of his grace in the world if we let him use us. Let us say to God together with the Venerable Fulton Sheen, “Here is my body, take it. Here is my soul, my will, my energy, my strength, my poverty, my wealth—All that I have. It is yours. Take it! Consecrate it! Offer it!”