"Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples." (John 6:3)
"A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches." (Genesis 2:10)
Mount Sinai; Noah's Ark; Abraham on the mountain with Isaac; Mount Zion
Throughout Scripture we have these mountains, we have these mountaintops on which incredible things happen....These mountains are a place of transcendence, a place in which we encounter the living God. -Fr. Sean Conroy
"Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, 'Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.' So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat." (John 6:11-13)
The Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke
synoptikos (Greek) — "seeing everything together"
"The Institution narrative and Consecration, by which, by means of the words and actions of Christ, that Sacrifice is effected which Christ himself instituted during the Last Supper, when he offered his Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine, gave them to the Apostles to eat and drink, and leaving with the latter the command to perpetuate this same mystery." (USCCB)
The Bread of Life Discourse: John 6
The Mass, which we come to, is also a mountaintop experience, where we experience Jesus as the source and summit of our lives, where we get to receive his body, his blood, his soul and divinity. This mountaintop experience is where we are transformed into His likeness by what he gives to us. -Fr. Sean Conroy
"...and there he sat down with his disciples." (John 6:3) — Jesus sits, sitting being the posture of the teacher.
"Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures." (Luke 24:27) — The Liturgy of the Word
"Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted." (John 6:11)
The Offertory connects the Liturgy of the Word with the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
The Offertory is where we're called to offer of ourselves—our gifts, our joys, our sufferings, our wants, our needs—offer them and place them at the foot of the altar.... God then transforms those gifts, transubstantiates those gifts, making what was ordinary into what is extraordinary. -Fr. Sean Conroy
"...twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits..." (2 Kings 4:42) — We are called to give first, the best of ourselves, not what is left over.
"In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the ground, while Abel, for his part, brought the fatty portion of the firstlings of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor." (Genesis 4:3-5)
"I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:1-6)
St. Paul is showing us that the Church is meant to be unified. God only started one Church, one faith, one baptism. -Fr. Sean Conroy
When we come to Mass, this mountaintop experience, we experience the sacrament of unity. The Eucharist is that which draws us all together, across the whole world. -Fr. Sean Conroy
Apostolic Letter issued "Motu Proprio" by Pope Francis: On the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to the Reform of 1970
