In our readings today, there is much talk of those who prophesy, and who do mighty works in the Lord’s name. It is to this that each of us is actually called, to be His prophets, His doers of his will, and to demonstrate to our brothers who do not yet know Him, what our Lords message is through our words and actions.

I find it particularly interesting that in our Gospel, we hear of someone doing works in the name of Jesus, and how our Lord tells his disciples not to prevent this, because no one can do these things and in turn speak ill of our Lord. This is very true, but I think that this can also apply to those who perhaps do the works of our Lord, and yet profess no real faith that they adhere to. They indeed are not yet His followers in the formal sense, they do not perhaps know much about our Lord, and yet they somehow innately know to do His will. This is a powerful testament in itself to the power of God working in those that He desires to come to knowledge of Him, but who will do so at the allotted time, when all is in readiness. This readiness can come in many forms, perhaps they are not yet at a point in their lives to address this relationship, there is perhaps more that God has in mind to show them, or perhaps allow them to endure in order to come to a true humble and accepting knowledge of His plan for them. For many of us, and I certainly count myself in this category, there are sometimes things we must learn this way. Our Lord knows each of us better than we know ourselves, and so tailors his plan for each of us accordingly.

Yet despite the careful plans that He has for each one of us, we in turn must also be vigilant and dedicated to Him once we have come to acceptance. It is all too easy for us to lose sight of what is really important in our day-to-day challenges and interactions with others. We do not want to be that one who would lead any of our brothers or sisters astray. Our vigilance must be for the direct confrontations of things that might lead us away from God’s word, but also from the more subtle temptations that are very good at doing this also and are usually the more frequent cause of our downfalls. The attractions of this world in the forms of wealth, success, and privilege can come with a very high price tag, not only in terms of what it took to achieve them, but also in what was lost while we were focused on their pursuit. Opportunities to show our devotion to our faith, to set an example for those around us, especially those who are young and impressionable are not to be taken lightly, and when they are missed or pushed aside, they cannot always be easily found again. As a parent, I can recall times when I allowed my professional life to encroach too much on my family life and could sense that I had missed an opportunity or event with my daughters and wife that would not come again. It was too late, and I realized it too late, and the only thing left was to repent and resolve that I would be more vigilant in the future. Our Lord knows we are not perfect, but He does expect us to try, especially I think, when He provides us with a moment that could be pivotal for our interaction with His other children who may need our help or example. We do not want to miss these moments, and we certainly do not want to be so wrapped up in worldly pursuits that we provide an example that does not reflect our Lords teachings. I don’t know what a millstone weighs exactly, but I do know that it is considerable, and perhaps not unlike the weight that I sometimes see being born by others or feel bearing down on me at times. It is only through God’s forgiveness and the redemption purchased for each of us by His Son that I have any hope, and yet there it is, that mercy that allows me to pick myself up and continue on, hoping and resolving as best I can, that I will do better in the future. Perhaps I need to pair down my distractions, or refocus myself on what I know really matters, to do this often requires both the recognition of what is pulling me away from God, but also the resolve to sever whatever that is from my priorities – to pluck out that eye, or remove that limb that inclines me toward whatever the attraction or distraction is that is not of God. It is never easy, and it is something that may well need to be repeated, but it is nothing compared to the feeling of knowing we have disappointed or failed our Lord and our brothers and sisters who we should seek to draw closer to Him.

PodCast Link

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-4nmc5-10ebbf2

In everything we read today, we should see a pattern – human desires and agendas at odds with God’s teachings and law. The disparity between the physical and temporal versus that of the Spirit and the Holy. It doesn’t get much clearer cut than this – we are, and always have been at odds with Who and what we know to be right, and we spend our lives making excuses and trying to find loopholes to justify our doings.

The very first thing we hear in our first reading, is that the wicked (that’s us) find the Just One to be obnoxious to us, because He does not agree with what we want. How much plainer could this possibly be – we know that He is the Just One, and that his judgements are correct, but we come right out and admit that we find this obnoxious because it goes against our own desires. Yet rather than change our behaviors to what we know to be right, we decide to test the patience of the Just One, to harm Him, and to kill Him. It was all pre-meditated, we had no excuse then, and we have none now. We continue to lay the groundwork for His suffering and the death He endured with every disobedient act we plan, with every sin we commit, and with every rejection of His will that we conjure up to satisfy our own desires. We have not changed at all, we are as unruly now as we were then, and we still have the arrogance to want to put our Lord to the test at every opportunity.

How long will we persist with this? How much longer will we continue to try our own ways instead of listening to what He has taught us, and what we in fact know to be correct even though it goes against our inner desires? Our nature is an undisciplined and unaltered state despite our Lords instruction to us, it is one of envy, jealousy, anger, fear, hatred, and deceit. We simply have not listened. We’ve been trying to make things work using these characteristics almost since time began, and where has it gotten us? We see the fruits of this right now in a world that seems to have gone crazy with its resentments, its violence, its sickness, and its evil that besets all of humanity, but in particular the most vulnerable. This is our creation, and we should not take much pride in it. The very definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over expecting a different result, yet this is our way. We have a world that is rooted in exactly this. It never seems to occur to us to try something that we innately know to be correct, mostly because we find it to be difficult, it requires actual effort on a very fundamental level, and it cannot be avoided – everyone must participate. It means giving up the self, in favor of the good of others. It means taking that first step toward what God teaches us to be – generous, patient, just, kind, loving, and humble. It means admitting we can’t do it our way and expect good results, and so instead bow before God and acknowledge His power and righteousness, and instead of plotting ways to get around it, embrace it fully even when it is uncomfortable because we know that His way is always right.

We cannot possibly do this on our own, part of the humility which we need to embrace means acknowledging our weakness and asking for help. We do this through prayer, we do this through childlike trust and submission to His commands, we do this by seeking and receiving His strength through the sacraments, in particular the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The first to cleanse us and leave us in a state worthy to receive the gift of His body and blood to strengthen us and place actual life within us. There is no other way. No self-help book, no change in perspective or politics, no personal efforts are going to accomplish any of this. It is only through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no other salvation, there is no other hope, and none is needed because He gave all, He is all, and He is the perfection we claim to seek in times of greater clarity and purity in each of our souls.

Podcast Link

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-e5zk7-10e2bcd

Each and every day, we are called to take up our cross, just as our Lord did. We are called to serve God, and one another, and place ourselves back in our order of priorities. We are called to lose our lives, and to die to self, so that we may serve others, and in doing so follow our Lord’s example and call. We must lose ourselves in this life, so that we may join our Lord in life eternal. This is not just metaphorical talk, this is truly what we are called to do, and it is not always easy.

One of my favorite scripture passages is from John 12, where we hear that unless a grain of wheat dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, bears much fruit. Our Lord knew this well, and He was willing to die for us, so that the yield from the harvest would be great. We need to understand though, the harvest is not completed, we too are the sowers and harvesters for our Lord with each successive generation of us that live on this earth. Each generation has a new potential harvest of souls that can either be drawn closer to our Lord as we sow His word and yield much fruit, or that can be overlooked and allowed to wither on the vine and produce rot. We as the followers of Christ are called in each generation to cultivate by our words and actions those who do not yet know Christ, and to bring them to him so that they too may have life eternal. The responsibility is huge, but then so is the reward – everlasting life with our God, in an existence whose splendor we cannot even comprehend with our currently limited faculties.

To get there though is hard, it is the path taken less, and that we truly have to pursue in faith, and in action. It is not enough to think nice thoughts, and to wish that things were better and that everyone would come to know Christ. We have to put forth effort, we have to put works behind our faith, else that faith is dead as Saint James tells us. He is not saying that we can earn our way into heaven through our works, that is impossible, to gain entry into heaven is a grace given to us even though we are underserving. What we are called to do though, is to put forth effort, and accept humbly that though it will never be anywhere close to perfect, it is what we must do to fulfill our Lords call to die to self and to give life to others through a newfound knowledge of Him, that we hopefully impart through our words and actions. To let others know what Saint Peter realized and acknowledged to our Lord, that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and that salvation comes through Him and no one else.

This call is a challenge to us every day, do we take the easy path and simply enjoy life here on earth, or do we put forth the effort to draw others to Christ? Do we ignore those around us in need, and wish that there lot in life was better and then move on to our own meeting our own needs, or do we step out of our shell and acknowledge them as a child created in God’s image and show them we care through our actions to meet their needs as best we can. Perhaps this in the form of monetary help, perhaps we pull over and help someone who is broken down on the highway, perhaps we simply listen to someone else and let them know they are not alone. We start with meeting the immediate need, and when we are asked why we are helping, we openly acknowledge that we are doing so because our Lord calls us to. This is the seed that may well bear much fruit, it gives others something to ponder, it allows them to see that this is very real to us, and perhaps if they allow it, it could be equally real for them. People notice the extraordinary, and right now, with all the need, and want, and loneliness that exists out there, there is an innate longing in many for something better, even if they don’t fully grasp what that is. How often have you heard someone utter the expression – “there must be more to life than this”. They are very right, and so there is, but they must be brought to understanding by those around them who know what that is, and who follow Him who created all, cares for all, and at the end of time wants to embrace all. Simply put, we are called to leave no one alone and lost, and left behind.

Podcast Link

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-bfa9t-10d962b

In our first reading from Isaiah, and in today’s Gospel from Saint Mark, we hear of amazing healings that have come about through God’s power. We hear of sight being restored, the deaf able to hear, and the mute speak, even the other necessities of life like water flowing forth, all due to God’s power at work. We can easily relate to all of these, because they are focused on the physical realities that are easily interpreted and related to through our own experiences in the tangible day to day existence. Yet, as we know, there is far more to us than just using these kinds of senses, or the other needs our physical selves have. We are also beings of spirit, and our Lord knows this well, Jesus himself addressed both of these aspects of our being. He used physical healing to help those he encountered, but also to help others who witnessed them to open themselves to belief in Him as God, and to greater possibilities that exist in life eternal than anything we can imagine when we focus only on this plane of existence.

In our second reading we hear of another infirmity that can affect us at times, though this is not a physical infirmity, but one of the spirit. We have a tendency at times to categorize those around us, and those we encounter, and to define them very often only through appearance without really looking at the whole person, in particular the spirit. This is understandable, as we don’t have much insight into another’s spirit without getting to know them more and using this knowledge to help us better understand that aspect of their nature. Yet we must be careful when do only a cursory evaluation of others, that we do not fall into the trap of letting our initial cursory observations translate into a judgement we make about that person, and in particular how we will then treat them. To do so means we have fallen into the trap of judging others and treating them sometimes with less dignity and consideration than what they are each due as a child of God, and so created in His image.

When we fall into the trap of this kind of judgement, we need to be healed as surely as when we encounter an infirmity that is more physical in nature. Our Lord has cautioned us specifically against this behavior, and the sins that it leads to. This is something we need to be continually asking for help with, and for forgiveness and healing for those times when we still stumble. We must be vigilant to the best of our ability, but ultimately we must ask for God’s healing, grace, and forgiveness to allow us to become more self aware in our interactions with others. This is not something we can handle on our own, any more than the other sins we struggle with as part of our fallen human condition.

When our Lord was asked what the greatest of the commandments was, He answered with two. The first being to love God, and the second being to love others. This is actually really one commandment though in essence, because we simply cannot love God without loving those created by Him and in His image. It stands to reason then, that when we inadvertently, or worse deliberately judge others we are doing then doing so to God. Who are we to do such a thing? It is only the reverse that is proper. It is only the place of Him who can read mind, heart, and spirit, and who knows all, to be a fitting judge. We in turn, should be looking always with eyes of humility and love toward those around us.

Of all the quotes and misquotes that have been attributed to Pope Francis, the one that should stand out to all of us, and should become our most cherished piece of guidance, is when he said simply – “Who am I to judge?”

PodCast Link

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-mrkcg-10d0aa7

As a people, we have been given the Lords Commandments, and what is needed to live our lives in such a way that we are following the will of God and will be found pleasing to Him on the day we are judged by Him. The laws that He gave us do not change, nor should they, because they are timeless in their relevance. What we as people develop to try to add to them, or to modify them, is almost without exception flawed, and very often full of the follies of mortal men who are too caught up in their worldliness to be attempting such things. The laws we have been given by God on the other hand, are flawless because they have been provided by Him who can read mind and heart, and who is the source of all wisdom. Only God himself can provide us with anything more than what was originally given by Himself.

In our first reading, we hear a caution from our Lord against our trying to manipulate the commandments which he has given us. To neither add nor subtract from the perfection which was already created with the full knowledge of God as to the people’s needs, and their abilities to successfully follow them. The trouble is, the people pretty much either ignored, or lost sight of this, as the codex of Mosaic law had some 603 additional entries added to it. Many of these were nearly impossible for any, but the most privileged to carry out successfully because of the burden of resources that were required in order to do so. These laws of men placed the people very often in a hopeless state, and one that they had to shoulder as a tremendous burden to them. That was never what God intended for his people, and yet those whose job it was to guide the people in His ways and to carry out His will were the very ones who created these burdensome human laws. The sad part is that it came about through what were often good intentions. The desire was to please God by offering Him what they thought would be appealing to Him through various offerings of material goods for the expiation of sins, and to show deep reverence for Him. Somewhere though, in their pursuit of this, and perhaps with the influence of human arrogance as part of the equation, they lost sight of His commandments to the point that adherence to their own formulated laws sometimes eclipsed what God had decreed. We seem to suffer from a similar mentality today. We have decided that the relevance of God’s laws is questionable in our “modern” society, and we try to develop our own laws to address what we see as something that the one who created heaven and earth, and our very selves, could not have anticipated – yeah right. The gifts of knowledge, including the law, came to us in perfection. If we truly carried out God’s commandments in both the word and the spirit, we would find that there is nothing they do not address, and there is no social, moral, or theological issue that is beyond them.

In the conversation that our Lord had with the pharisee’s, who were the politicians / legislators as well as religious leaders of the day, the above points are perfectly illustrated. While it can be a good thing to make a habit and follow the tradition of something as simple as washing one’s hands, when taken to extremes it can easily backfire to the point where it no longer benefits man in the intended way. Jesus disciples were acting out of necessity in not washing their hands, they had likely been without food for quite a while, and equally as likely did not have the facilities to wash their hands at that point. Yet this is all that the pharisees keyed in on. Not the fact that there were people in need of food to simply sustain themselves, not the fact that they needed to be on guard against the greater sins that can come from within, only that their precious traditions (for all intents and purposes laws) were not being observed. This was done in many respects so that it developed, a subtle point of control that like so many others could be used to ingrain a sense of obedience in the people. That same control mindset could easily be used to guide the people toward executing things that their rulers felt important, even if at some level it did not agree with the moral awareness and will of the common man. Case in point, when we hear in the Gospels about how the rulers used their influence to incite the people to riot and insist on Jesus’ crucifixion when he was before Pilate and about to be exonerated, we can easily see how far this can go. The same holds true to us today, when we are faced with a leadership that is passing legislation or using the resources of the people to accomplish things that go against our most basic morals and beliefs. Again, as an example, there is no question of what our Lords opinion would be of those who slaughter his creations. Whether they are the most vulnerable among us – prebirth or very elderly, or perhaps those who share the misfortune to live in a less developed part of the world that we use only for exploiting its resources with no thought to the impact this has on its people. The examples of the way we now seem to callously compromise humanity are numerous, but they share one common element – they exist because we are being led to view the human person as something within a societal construct, rather than someone who was created by, and in the image of, God. Yet there are those in our leadership who do nothing to stop this and feign their own moral distaste for such policies and acts, while continuing to vote in favor of their existence. It cannot all be laid at the feet of our leadership, we placed them there, if we as a people continue to allow this to happen by electing them knowing their stance through their voting record, we are complicit, and we must ask ourselves do we also really want to be seen by our Lord as those who honor Him with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him? We have what we need to make proper decisions in every instance. We have the gift of God’s commandments to live by, and we have been granted a moral sense of direction that if we allow it to do its job will guide us when we follow it in humility, and not let our own intellect be our sole decision maker. That is not to say that we do not use the gift of the intellect that God has granted us, that would be wasting a precious gift. We simply need to temper our thoughts and ideas with a beautiful and humble acceptance of our own limitations and God’s conversely infinite wisdom.

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https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-grz6h-10c77fa

Acceptance can sometimes be a difficult thing, whether there is something we don’t understand completely, or perhaps there is something that goes against our pre-conceived notions of how things should be, or perhaps there is something we simply never pondered carefully until someone brought it to our attention. Yet acceptance with all its secular difficulties, is exactly what God demands of us.

The people that Joshua spoke to had a choice to make, whether to fall back into old ways, or to instead follow our Lord who had led them out of Egypt and brought them to land they could call their own after further protecting them from the pagan tribes that initially inhabited it. Jesus’ followers had to choose between accepting His teaching, no matter how much they objected to His words, or to fall away. We ourselves have the same choices to make, do we follow the design that God has in store for us and behave toward one another as He intended, or do we decide that we like the ways of this world better?

No matter which one of the instances we are talking about, at the root of it, a choice has to be made as to whether we believe in our Lord and are willing to accept his teaching through faith and a knowledge that as our loving Father he would not mislead us – ever. This can be a difficult task for us, when we are so used to dealing with what we call the “solid” realities of everyday life – the tangible, the familiar concreteness of our physical existence which our bodily senses provide us with so much information about to make our belief in that realm easier. Yet this only a small fraction of our existence. We are beings of both flesh and spirit, the fleshly portion of ourselves is easily interpreted because of the comparative simplicity of physical reality, the spirit requires opening ourselves to a world that is often masked by the overwhelming sensory experience of physical life. It requires awareness and effort to unmask its existence and essence. We each have the means to achieve this, we simply need to be willing to go beyond what is easily perceived and evolve to a higher level of awareness and belief. This is actually not so different from the evolving of God’s chosen people from a childlike state that required the firm hand of God so often seen in the Old Testament, to the more attuned nature of the people that Jesus encountered and proclaimed His message to. Too be sure, there were still those who stumbled and sought physical proof, or signs, that He was who he said he was, but there were also those who innately were able to look beyond such things and risked all simply to touch him and knowing that in doing so they would be saved.

Our world today is not as different from the world that Jesus walked through in His life, even though we think our situation is oh so unique, and that many of our problems are far more complex. Not really. We still require the same basic things in life to sustain us, we still have the same basic problems throughout our lives, the only thing that has changed is the packaging. We can still gain the same fruits from our belief, that His disciples did when they chose not to fall away, by simply accepting His words as being the timeless, immutable, words of God that they are, and not being swayed by the passing whims of what this world calls “normal”. Is what this world offers really so attractive or sensible that it eclipses or relegates the words of our Lord so that they are no longer to be accepted by us? Each of us needs to ponder this, and make our choice.

Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, and so it is appropriate that we hear much about her in our readings, certainly more than we are used to seeing, and this is a good thing today because it draws our attention to her so that we can perhaps gain a greater understanding of her role in her son’s ministry and life. I think this is especially important for us, because we need to have an understanding of Mary in order to better understand her Son, who was both God and man, and who gained that humanity through His mother so that he could become one of us in order to save us.

In our first reading we learn of Mary’s role as Queen of heaven and earth in the narrative of her appearance crowned with the stars, and about to give birth to our Lord. We hear of how the devil in the form of a dragon tried to prevent this, but in the end how both Mary and her Son were kept safe to continue God’s plan. In our Gospel reading we also hear of Mary’s trip to see her sister Elizabeth who was the mother of John the Baptist who would be the forerunner of our Lord and announce his coming among us. Even then, it was revealed to Elizabeth through the Holy Spirit how special Mary’s role was as the mother of our Lord and filled with that spirit she made her proclamation of who Mary truly was, and what her title would be – Mother of God. All of this is the precursor to what is revealed to us in our second reading, that our salvation would come through Jesus as man, which could only happen with Mary’s acceptance of, and participation in, God’s plan of salvation. That through His Son, we would be redeemed from the death that came through Adam and be granted eternal life through Jesus death and resurrection.

You see, this is what we need to understand about Mary, that her sole desire is to draw us closer to her Son, because of her continued participation in God’s salvific plan. She accepted her role here on earth, and with absolute faith gave her yes to God’s plan and continues that to this day. She wants us to be saved through her Son, and so prays for us and intercedes on our behalf through her prayers. She is a powerful advocate in that role, and one that we should continually look to and ask for her prayers through our own. We do not worship Mary, worship is for God alone, but we do hold her in a special place because she is the mother of God, and because of that we ask her to pray for us. I sometimes hear people (mostly non-Catholic, but occasionally even Catholics) rebuff this, and tell me they feel strange praying to Mary, and ask why not just pray to Jesus directly, and so they should, but that does not mean that we should not ask others to pray for us as well, most notably Jesus’ mother. He gave her to us as our mother as well while he was dying on the cross for a very good reason. So that we would have an advocate who would love us and pray on our behalf – there was a purpose in all that our Lord did and said, and this was certainly no exception. Just as we are called to pray for one another, so too are we to be humble enough to ask for prayers, and we begin with Mary.

There is a postscript to this homily, as I write this, it is Saturday, which is the Feast Day of Saint Maximillian Kolbe. Saint Maximillian was very dedicated to Mary and founded the Militia Immaculata. This was an association devoted to helping others better understand Mary and her special role as the mother of Jesus, and to grasp that through a devotion to her, we would in turn be drawn closer to her Son, which is always her desire for us. Saint Maximillian was martyred in Auschwitz when he took the place of another man who was to be put to death, but he is still remembered as an ardent devotee of Mary because he fully grasped that it was our Lords intention to have His mother watching over us and guiding us, just as she did for him when he was growing up. In our case, our growing up is something of a lifelong proposition, because we learn and grow in faith throughout our lives, and we always benefit from our Blessed Mothers help.  

Podcast LInk

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-fdq79-10b4e67

The journey into the desert that Elijah took, is in many ways a foreshadowing of the journey that each of us is called to take. He eventually journeyed for forty days in the desert, it was a time of purification and discernment for him, and it was only through God’s help that he was able to endure, our Lord knew he needed sustainment for this journey, and so provided a hearth cake and water for his body, but He was also with him on this journey to sustain him in spirit.

In our journey too, we must have sustenance, though in our case, it comes from the living bread that Jesus spoke about in our Gospel – Himself. The Eucharist is our most important sustenance, because without it, like Elijah, we may not be strong enough to endure for our own journey. Yet this grace is one that is contested by some to this day. They do not believe it to be truly the body of Christ, despite our Lords words that tell them very directly that it is in fact His flesh and blood, and that without it we do not have life within us. It is not a symbol, a pleasant remembrance, or just a reminder – what we receive is from the realm of spirit and so to human eyes it cannot be fully interpreted, and though it may look like bread and wine, it is truly our Lords flesh and blood given for each of us. This is indeed a stumbling block for some, just as Jesus himself was a stumbling block for some. We must listen to our Lords words, and believe in them, and thereby accept the gift that He has left us, to sustain us to new life.

The question then, is how do we do this, as it seems at first glance like a catch twenty-two, how can we truly accept His words without the bread of life, and how can we worthily partake of the bread of life without that acceptance?

Saint Paul provides us with a starting point, he calls us to put away bitterness, anger, and malice, and to allow the gifts of the spirit (love, patience, and kindness) to imbue into us. This initial quieting of the spirit and beginning acceptance of a different way of acting allows the spirit to work within each of us, and to prime us to accept the more complex message of the living bread that has come down from heaven for each one of us. When we open our hearts to this new way of thinking, our sinful need to be so critical of all that we do not understand begins to diminish, and we are able to see a bit past our own limitations that are the result of original sin. We can actually begin to soften ourselves to acknowledge that God loves each one of us, no matter what we have done, and that He indeed has a plan for us, that includes the gift of eternal life if we simply believe in Him. This process takes time, but like anything else it has to start somewhere. When push comes to shove, most people will acknowledge that there is a higher power out there, even if they do not completely understand it, this is the very beginning, and it is through this beginning, that the softening of the human condition can then work, and slowly produce fruits of the spirit which will allow the process to continue. It takes time, and for some, a lifetime of struggle, but in the end, there is salvation. The Lord does not ask for perfection, He asks for effort, because through this effort we show love, as we pursue Him.

To any who harbor any doubts about Jesus being the true bread come down from heaven, there is a call from our Lord, to simply soften their hearts a bit, and allow Him to do the heavy work that will bring them to eternal life.

PodCast Link

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-ms45i-10ac0e1

Our readings today are kind of unique in their content, and the way they are situated. What we see is an evolution taking place, from the earliest point in our first reading when the Lord provided the people with physical food to sustain their bodies, to Saint Paul’s admonition in our second reading counseling us to a new way of thinking and living, and finally to our Gospel, where our Lord proclaims a new bread to be given to the people, so that they may have eternal life – the true bread come down from heaven – Himself.

The evolution that I spoke of is not a past, or concluded event, it is a continuing process that is hopefully taking place inside each one of us. I say hopefully, because it is something that we each the choice to accept or not, to focus on and nurture, or not. God will never force us to accept His gifts, we each have free will as a sign of His love for each one of us, and it is up to us whether we love Him in return and accept the gifts offered.

For each one of us who accept God’s graces, there is a process of learning to die to self, and to do away with the more tangible things that used to be so important to us in our mere physical state. Instead, we learn to look to a new way of living, to embrace a new self that is more focused on our life in the spirit. Our needs will change as well as part of this process, as we become more focused on our spiritual selves the bread we seek will become less and less that of the conventional and we will seek the body of Christ as our true bread. This bread will sustain us in a way the other could not hope to. Our spiritual strengthening will produce the fruits of the spirit – patience, kindness, love, and compassion for all. This is what we are called to evolve into, the people who will live and seek to function in such a way as to be a part of the body of Christ – the living stones of His Church.

The path is not an easy one, there are no small number of those in our culture who will try to dissuade us, and perhaps even ridicule our efforts. To those, we simply blot out the noise. If an opportunity to correct them, and bring them closer to Christ is there, then we will pursue that, but at all costs we do not allow others to derail our efforts. To do so is to allow the plans of the enemy to succeed. There is a very real struggle that is taking place each and every day, and there is no middle ground – it is a choice quite literally between life and death, and as is so often the case, the path to life is not the easy one. Yet we must listen to our inner guiding voice which is one of the fruits of the spirit, and know it is the only one worthwhile.

Our Lord knows all our needs, both bodily and spiritually. He knows that we need to be fed to sustain our bodies, but He also knows that our spirits require sustenance too. We receive food for our bodies to help them be strong and productive, and we likewise receive food for our spirits to allow them to yield the fruits that come from the strength that our spiritual food in the Eucharist provides each one of us.

In our first reading, and in our Gospel, we hear of the food that the prophet Elisha, and that our Lord himself multiply to allow those who have followed them to be sustained. This sustenance allows them to continue to journey and to stay with them to learn what each has in mind to teach them. As human beings it is difficult for us to function when we are not sustained, our bodies and minds suffer when we do not have the food necessary to allow us to function properly. Our Lord knows this, and it was his purpose to provide the food to the people to both allow them to function, but also to demonstrate to them that He would provide for them, and that they did not need to worry about their needs. They could rely on Him completely.

Likewise, when we receive His body and blood through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we can be confident that our spirits are sustained to allow us to yield the fruits of the spirit that He calls us to give to one another. To be patient, kind, and loving to one another in order to fulfill what we are called to be to one another in the one body of Christ. When we do this, we can fully participate as the parts of that body, and work together to fulfill to the fullest potential what our Lord has in mind for each one of us.