St. Alphonsus Liguori
Our Lord bears witness to the power of giving God thanks for all of His gifts. Five thousand are fed with a couple of fish and few loaves of bread. Yes, this event happens in a deserted place. And yes, it happens despite the disciples' sad failure to trust their teacher. Nonetheless, this miraculous meal foreshadows our Eucharist – itself a miracle that occurs daily, everywhere, and whether we trust or not. At the center of the Eucharist is a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. As priests of the Most High, we offer ourselves as an oblation. Why? B/c we are gifts from God who return ourselves to God as gifts. But the return happens only as we pass through the holy exchange of the Eucharist – praying as one Body in Christ, giving God thanks for everything we have and everything we are. Without Him, we are nothing and have nothing; literally, nothing. Not-created. Not-redeemed. Nothing. So, we take everything we have and everything we are, and we bring it all to the altar to make it holy in surrender. Only then do we receive Christ – body, blood, soul, and divinity. Only then are we free to become the Christ we are made to be.
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