(Gn.14:18-20; Ps.110:1-4; 1Cor.11:23-26; Lk.9:11b-17) "The Lord Jesus, on the night He was handed over, took bread, and, after He had given thanks, broke it and said, 'This is my body that is for you.'" There is food for all, and it is ever available. The Lord feeds us with His own Body and Blood, and He is generous in giving His eternal self to us. Both eternal priest and victim "of God Most High," and God Himself, we need never fear that His provision for us will lapse. And so we "proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes"; we share in His holy sacrifice until it is made complete in heaven. For it is His death which gives us life, it is the holy offering of Himself which feeds us on our journey here. Let us come always to the altar of His Sacrament and feast upon the nourishment He provides. In our gospel we hear that "Jesus spoke to the crowds of the kingdom of God," healing those in need. After the Word was opened to them, the bread was brought forth. "Looking up to heaven, He said the blessing over [the loaves], broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd." As He would do the night before He died, so He would do here, in answer to the concern of the Twelve for the people. He says to His chosen, "Give them some food yourselves." He thus invites them to share in His sacrifice and in His ministry by laying down their lives for the Church. Here is the Mass clearly foreshadowed. Here it is present even before the death of Christ. Even before the victim has fully offered Himself, He leads us to the table upon which we ever feed. And that which was begun in this desert place so long ago comes down to us this day. The twelve baskets of food remaining we continue to be fed with today; and this Bread continues to be multiplied – the more we eat of it, the more there is to be eaten. Such is God's love and generosity. Such is the richness of the table He sets before us. Like our priest and victim, it is eternal. There is no end to God's grace and the blessings He holds for us. We cannot consume the depths of His love. And so we are to contribute to the spreading and the sharing of the holy offering Jesus is for us. We must call all to the altar of the Lord; we must see that His gift is multiplied. He is "a priest forever"; as long as we live, He dies for us – for as long as we breathe upon this earth, His blood is poured forth. Let us pray in words and in deeds that this blood will come to many and cleanse them of their sins. Let us pray that many come to life by His sacrifice, that many will partake of His Body and His Blood. By each one who comes to the table, we are all strengthened, for the Body is made more whole. Until the time this one Body has reached fulfillment, until His sacrifice is complete, let us continue indeed to "proclaim the death of the Lord," who thereby feeds us with His eternal love. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Symbiosis: State of Living Together" from All One, sixth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, it is you who deliver our foes into our hands, for it is you who strengthen us with the Body and Blood of your Son. YHWH, Jesus shares His very Body and Blood, His own self, with us; and so we who are blessed to partake of this food become as He is, graced with the power of your only Son. As He hands the bread to His disciples to distribute to the people and it is in their hands the bread is multiplied, so His princely power is shared with all who eat His Body and drink His Blood. And so all are fed. Jesus is the priest of the Most High God, the priest and victim whom you bless, O Father in Heaven. And the blessing upon Him falls on all who follow Him, upon all who come to His table and eat. It is for our sakes He accepts such a blessing; such a call to lay down His life He receives from you that we might have the food of Heaven, that we might not starve upon this plane. And so we proclaim the grace that is ours by His death, until He comes again.