Today we observe the 4th Sunday of Lent also known to us as Laetare Sunday. Serval ancient documents also refer to this as the Sunday of the Five Loaves.
It is this miracle that was given to us in our Gospel when Christ took these five loaves along with two fish and multiplied them and came to feed the multitude. It is this Heavenly food which came down from Heaven in order to give life to the world.
Not only did five thousand men come to be fed, but 12 baskets were left filled. This is a true testament to the omnipotence of God and the reality of what those who place their trust in Christ receive. This miracle summarizes His mission and it prepares us for something much greater. This is a foreshadowing of the banquet where we will come to be fed not once a year, but continuously.
Through all that unfolds for us within this miracle we are being given a symbol of the Eucharist. This bread is that Heavenly food which Christ promised for He is “the bread of life; whoever comes to Him will never hunger, and whoever believes in Him will never thirst.”
In Saint Matthew’s Gospel this feeding of the multitude takes place within the desert. Despite entering into this space of heat and solitude, they come to find the nourishment they are in need of. We too have entered into this Lenten season where we have prayed, fasted, and given alms. These practices assist us in coming to know the Lord and to invite Him to enter more intimitly into our life.
We must set our sight upon Christ who is the prize and dare to move closer to Him in this life. Christ does not keep us at a distance, but invites us to enter in by coming to be fed. To stay at a distance would be not to enter into the desert in order to pray, fast, and give alms. If we are to enter into relationship with Him and be nourished by the Eucharist we must come to leave the slavery of sin behind in order to live for Christ.
The Eucharist becomes food for our journey that we may always live for Him. Sadly, the Eucharist and thus Christ so often get pushed off to the side in order to invite the ways of the world into our life. The shackles of slavery can only be released if we allow Him to be the one who does so. Therefore, make a confession of your sins in order to be liberated. Therefore, receive Him in the state of grace. Therefore, rejoice for the day of the Lord’s Resurrection is coming soon. Let us always be found prepared to go out in order to greet Him.
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