By our Baptism and reaffirmed through our Confirmation, we are called to share the Good News with the world but it isn’t easy. In fact, it’s incredibly challenging most of the time. It’s far easier to just give up and let people do what they will but that’s not good enough. We’re not just called, we’re challenged to live as true disciples of Christ. Luckily for us, God will nourish us - God will give us the strength we need - and the Lord does it through his son, Jesus Christ. If we have faith in Jesus and follow his commands, he will be our living bread!

In our materialistic world, it’s easy to see “blessings” as things like the house you live in, the job you have, the amount of money you earn, the education you’ve received, the skills you’ve achieved or even the opportunities that are open to you. And yes, many of these things SHOULD be considered “blessings” - at least in the material sense of the word - but there is so much more that we hunger for. It’s a hunger that can only be satisfied by Jesus. But if we don’t see the true blessings in our lives - and if we focus our hearts and minds on the wrong things altogether - then we end up trying to satisfy that hunger with something that never will. We need to recognize our true blessings, fix what's in our hearts and minds, and truly seek out Jesus - the Bread of Life that will satisfy this hunger once and for all!

The readings this week remind us of two of our Sacraments - Baptism and the Eucharist - our entry into the Church and the nourishment we need to live and grow in our faith. As I’ve said many times before, it’s not easy being a Christian - it’s not easy answering God’s call - but we’re not in this alone. When we embrace the call to service with faith and love, Christ will bless us. And just like with the bread and the fish, his blessing will ensure that we end up with more than enough to nourish our souls!

The three readings this week are interesting when you look at them together, especially if you’re in ministry or are active in the Church or parish organizations. There’s always so much to do and there’s never enough time, money, or volunteers to do it all. Then we have to deal with certain “shepherds” who seem to be focused on tearing the flock apart, destroying what many of us have worked for years to build. It can be overwhelming and discouraging, which is why we need to remember a couple things:

We shouldn’t be ashamed of it though because even Jesus needed time to rest and recover!

It should be very clear that we have each been chosen by God but we’re not expected to have certain status or credentials - we’re expected to exhibit true commitment. And just like the Twelve, we’re called to have an active faith that takes us out into the world, where we can share the gifts we’ve been given. We have been chosen and blessed, so the Christian response is to commit to taking action as the hands and feet of Christ on earth!

By our Baptism, we are called to share the Good News. We are called to be prophets - but being a prophet isn’t easy! There will be skeptics and doubters. There will be people who vehemently disagree. People will look at our past - they will look at our failings and point out our faults - all in an attempt to discredit us and call into question anything we say. But we have to remember the words of St. Paul and understand there is strength in weakness. We need to simply accept and embrace our weaknesses and those things will no longer control us. The Lord’s grace will be with us and it will suffice. And even though we continue to fall short from time to time, we can take comfort in the fact that even Jesus was rejected sometimes!

We need to remember that our God doesn’t bring death and destruction upon us - our God created us for righteousness and immortality. Unfortunately, there is evil in the world and it has other ideas, which is the very reason we are called to love and support one another. We are called to be generous and fair to everyone. Sometimes life can be more than we can bear alone; so we need to rely on each other and make sure we don’t give in to fear. We simply need to believe in the Lord!

Because God is somewhere out there, beyond our sight and beyond our comprehension, we can forget that God also became man and walked the same earth that you and I live on today. We think of God as the all-powerful one who created everything and can put limits on the seemingly limitless. But let’s not forget that we are made into new creations through that same power - the power of Jesus Christ - and that means God isn’t far away. God is right here, right now. Let’s try to understand that and then fully embrace the love God offers us by not just knowing ABOUT Jesus, but by trying to open ourselves up through prayer and truly getting to KNOW our Savior!

This week, the theme of planting seeds of faith and letting them grow is front and center in our readings but the idea of having hope and patience is also there. Each time a seed is planted - whether an actual seed or a seed of faith - we need to have patience and nourish it if we can. And when a seed grows into something much larger and stronger, we experience a miracle. The seeds of faith take root and often grow slowly, with hidden and mysterious nourishment from God. We may not even be aware of it until it’s grown rather large. It’s not easy in this day and age, but patience is needed by all of us who wait for the reign of God!

On this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we should start by remembering that we are all meant to be one in Christ - we are meant to be unified with God. Even though we’re flawed, imperfect beings, Jesus poured out his blood and offered us a new covenant. But just like the old covenant, there are expectations around how we keep up our end of the bargain. We haven’t been saved so we can sit on the couch and trash talk people we don’t understand. We haven’t been saved so we can worship hateful politicians who demonize entire groups of God’s children. No… we have been saved so we can serve the living God!