Today is the feast of Corpus Christi, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and so it is fitting that all three readings are linked to what we celebrate today. The Eucharist. But there is more here that might not be evident unless we look a little deeper to what Jesus is asking of us. Let’s take a look.

As I mentioned, each reading is linked to the Body and Blood of Christ. In the first reading from Genesis, we hear from Melchizedek who is meeting with Abram to bless him. It says, “Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and being a priest of God Most High,” and here’s the key phrase, “he blessed Abram.” It is with the bread and wine that Abram is blessed and is a precursor to the Last Supper where Jesus establishes the Eucharist, bread and wine transubstantiated into His Body and Blood, as a means for us to receive God’s blessing…just like Abram. 

In the second reading from Saint Paul to the Corinthians, Paul describes the Last Supper, how Jesus took bread and wine and said those words we know so well. While holding the bread, Jesus says, “This is my body that is for you,” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 

Which brings us to the Gospel, the awesome story of Jesus first feeding the 5,000 with His word and miracles before the practical reality sets in of, it’s getting late and there no food to feed them all. After some back and forth, His disciples tell Jesus that all they have is five loaves and two fish. Undeterred, Jesus blesses the bread and fish and has the disciples distribute the food to the people and it says, ”They all ate and were satisfied.” The leftovers were picked up and filled 12 wicker baskets. 

This miracle from Jesus is referred to as the multiplication of the loaves, and in that we are challenged. We are challenged to do our own multiplication of loaves with the gifts we receive. You see, every time we attend Mass, Jesus, acting through the priest, takes normal bread and wine and makes it His Body and Blood. This also is a multiplication, taking normal bread and wine and making something incredibly different and precious. Our role as multipliers comes next. What do we do with this gift? How do we multiply the power of the Eucharist by our actions?

Going back to Abram, we know that he became Abraham and his descendants were, “as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore.” Abraham received God’s blessing via bread and wine, followed God’s command and multiplied peoples upon the earth.

Saint Paul received God’s blessing and certainly received the Eucharist frequently, and he multiplied that by, in his words, “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.” The Eucharist and the message of our Savior from the one of the greatest evangelizers ever. 

So, what about us? Can we multiply the loaves to bring the Gospel to others? How can we take this small piece of His flesh and make something special happen? Jesus talked all the time how something small like the mustard seed can become something vast. Or how, “some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred, sixty or thirty fold.” We can be a multiplier. 

When we hand on what we have learned, we multiply. When we spread seed, it grows. Even though we may not see its fruits, it is planted nonetheless inside others we are in contact with… and they seed others. When we stop to see if someone is alright instead of passing by, we multiply. When we give someone a shot at work, we multiply. When make that new neighbor a friend, we multiply God’s gift to us. When we tell someone how Jesus has made a difference in our lives or explain what God’s grace has done for us, we spread the seed. When we forgive and when we pray for others we become a beacon of light for Him in this world. 

So, we can multiply God’s gift in many ways. When we become more and more the body of Christ through the Eucharist, we are doing what He asks of us. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” when He spoke about the Eucharist, but His call is more than that. His call to us is to multiply what He has given us for the Kingdom of God. Let us heed His call!