The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

Friends this past Wednesday I traveled to Greensboro for the funeral Mass of Msgr. Anthony Marcaccio. He was for a time the priest secretary for Bishop Curlin (the bishop prior to Bishop Jugis and now Bishop Martin), and then he served for 24 years as pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Greensboro. Not long before passing away from cancer this past July, Monsignor wrote a heartfelt message to his parishioners, his last words to them, in which he expressed His trust in God’s plan and His desire to seek God’s glory in all things, even in the midst of cancer treatment.

Even in that moment when his body began to fail, he placed his faith and trust in Christ.

The readings and prayers for this Mass confront us within ourselves a similar question. Are our hearts truly set on seeking out Christ? Or does He simply offer us some sort of benefit to our lives? Is He second or third place?

Study have been done on those who practice a religion finding that those who practice it devoutly, have happier lives, less experience of depression or risk of suicide, and economically at least in the middle to upper classes even if they did not begin there. In other words, there is a natural benefit, to practicing a religion, you will have a happier more prosperous life.

But that is not faith and would make us no different then the crowd which goes searching for Jesus in the Gospel.

They are interested in the Lord. They have just seen with their eyes His miracle and sign of multiplying the loaves and the fish. Feeding thousands. They acknowledge that it is was miraculous because they respond: “Truly a prophet has arisen in Israel and God has visited His people.”

They seek the next day, crossing the sea of Galilee not because they believe in Him but solely for the purpose of having their physical needs met.

They are Hungry.

Our Lord tells them: “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

He knows they are hungry, He Himself felt it. But then He elevates their minds to what should occupy them in the first place: the state of their soul. The eternal life which can be theirs. Which only Jesus Christ can give.

Us: WE Are among that crowd.

 

The 2nd reading from the Letter to the Ephesians states that we must be renewed in the spirit of our minds.”

Renewed through learning the truth of Jesus, who He is, what He has done, and who He can be for you.

That knowledge, that encounter with His person, Also, a corresponding way of life that is not corrupted through deceitful desires.

One of my favorite books is from Tan Books, “Manual for Conquering Deadly Sin.” Which describes the 7 Capital Vices (PLACES - G) (all of our sins are in there somewhere) in detail along with the corresponding virtue and quotes from the saint. Saint after saint claims that the first of the vices (think a sin practiced so frequently that it becomes habitual), the first vice that we must conquer in our spiritual life is the vice of gluttony.

The vice of an excessive desire for the pleasure of eating and drinking:

It is the vice of the crowd in the Gospel. St. Thomas gives us 5 general ways to commit this sin:

1. Eating or drinking too rapidly or at an inappropriate time
2. “ “ rich or expensive delicacies (St. Thomas)
3. Too much
4. Greedily: eating or drinking too greedily and refusing to share
5. Daintily

This sin of Gluttony can deaden our minds and hearts from seeking out God. It keeps the crowd away from receiving Jesus’ teaching about the Blessed Eucharist in the Gospel

It also causes the grumbling of the Israelite community in our first reading from Exodus.

They Grumble against Moses and Aaron saying, “Would that we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!”

They would prefer to return to slavery. They would rather die in the various plagues sent by God upon Egypt. All of that, just to satisfy their hunger.

Find yourself and your journey towards God in that story.

Exodus is both the historical journey of the Jewish people from slavery to Egypt to the promised land of Canaan. The land promised by God to Abraham and His descendants.

 

But that journey is also a symbol for the Christian journey from slavery to sin and the enslavement to the passions of the body to freedom in Christ.

A mind which Knows Him, A Heart which Loves Him, and a body and will that can then Follow Him.

That is the begin of heaven on this earth.

Especially as we enter the Mass. The Eucharistic Fast is meant to prepare us for it.

In the Eucharistic fast, prior to Mass, at a minimum 1 hour fast from food and liquids with the exception of water and medicine, 1 hour before receiving Holy Communion. If you wish to do more, consider the modified fast under Pope Pius XII which was a three hour fast, or prior to that reform of Pope Pius XII in 1953, Fast from Midnight the night before.

It is a way of training our desires. Recognizing, yes, I am hungry, but first I need to focus on that which is more important, that relationship with the Lord, the eternal life that He can give me.

Tragically, The Crowd in the Gospel ultimately did not want Jesus or His preaching or the life He offers. Just as in our time, many do not desire Him and they even openly mock Him as was shamefully done in the opening ceremony to the Olympics. He is mocked every time He is received unworthily in Holy Communion.

Even in that He reveals His desire for the salvation of your soul.

I had the blessing of speaking recently with your former pastor Fr. Miller, who reminded me,

"To the Lord Jesus, none of that matters as long as He can save a soul. His priority and His interest is in the salvation of a soul even if it means going to the cross and being crucified, even if it means He is publicly mocked again in our time, or His body in the Eucharist is received unworthily incurring that sacrilege.”

His priority is always the salvation of your soul.

IS THAT ALSO YOUR PRIORITY?

The First question He asks in the Gospel according to ST. John,

“What are you looking for?”

If we wish to find Him AND THE LIFE HE OFFERS, it is in this word and in the Blessed Eucharist that HE WAITS FOR YOU.