THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Fourth Sunday in Lent

30 March 2025

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading (Saint John 6:1-15), Jesus multiplies bread and fish to feed a multitude of people. This physical multiplication of bread symbolizes the Holy Eucharist Jesus left us in the Church. The people were fed by the work of Jesus but through the hands of the Apostles. Everyone ate, yet there was more bread left over than before they started. So it is with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. The receiving of Jesus in Holy Communion does not lessen His Being or His Presence among us but rather increases it.

At this point in the Gospel, we witness the transition from the Old Law, which was based on the Mosaic covenant, to the New Law, which is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ. This shift is significant as it marks a new era of salvation and grace. "The pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand." Jesus, the new Paschal Lamb, is not found in Jerusalem or the Temple for this festival day, but He is on a mountain sitting with His disciples. From here, Jesus lifted His eyes and saw that a great multitude was coming to Him. The multitude followed Jesus and turned away from Jerusalem and the festival, symbolizing their acceptance of the New Law and their desire to be near Jesus.

The multitude turned away from Jerusalem with all its beauty and pageantry so that they could go to a mountain and see, hear, or just be near Jesus. They followed Jesus because He healed and cured and spoke like no one had ever heard before. They followed Him into the mountain, away from the world of men. They followed Him away from festivals, civilization, homes and businesses, and even the priests and the Temple.

The previous healing and curing of bodies was preparation for receiving the miraculous bread and fish that Jesus multiplied to feed the multitude. Likewise, in preparation for receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, we are to seek out the healing and curing of our souls in the Holy Sacrament of Penance or Confession. As we examine our souls, we find our spiritual diseases, illnesses, or weaknesses and present ourselves to Jesus to heal our souls. We seek Jesus through His priests in the Catholic Church in the tribunal of Penance. The priests in this capacity are fulfilling the mission Jesus gave them: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them."

The joy that fills our hearts in receiving the consoling words of absolution is wonderful, but Jesus has prepared even greater things for us if we continue to follow Him. Following Him requires faith in Him because He calls us away from the world and our comforts and into the wilderness or into the mountains. This requires a lot of self-denial and the willing and loving embrace of our daily crosses. This trust and eager willingness to follow Jesus away from the world brings us to Him in the mountain where we will receive Him Who is the Bread of Life. The healing of our souls prepares the way for filling our souls with the very Life of God, strengthening our personal relationship with Him.

It is through the Catholic Church that we receive the healing of our souls in the Sacrament of Penance and the Life filling of our souls in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus blessed the food and then had the Apostles distribute it to the people. Jesus changes bread and wine into His Body and Blood (Transubstantiation), and then the Apostles and their successors distribute Him to the people in Holy Communion.

Receiving Holy Communion is not like having a meal. This is not like food that we assimilate into our bodies. The Holy Eucharist, when properly received, assimilates us into the Life of Jesus Christ. This means that the grace and love of Jesus, which are present in the Eucharist, become a part of us, transforming us into His likeness. The proper place for us to receive Him is away from the world and in the quiet of our souls—not in the hustle and bustle of the cities and festivals, not in the businesses and homes, but away from human activity and worldly concerns.

As we fill our souls with the Life of the Holy Eucharist, we see through the eyes of faith that there is much more than we are capable of receiving. When all were filled, Jesus' disciples gathered twelve baskets of bread left over from the five loaves.

This joy within us cannot be readily shared with others but is Sacred between our soul and God. This is not properly received, appreciated, or treasured in the presence of worldly celebration. We see that Jesus rejected the worldly enthusiasm of the multitude to make Him a king. "Jesus, therefore, when He knew, they would come to take Him by force, and make Him king, fled again into the mountains Himself alone." The time of Holy Communion is one-on-one time between our soul and God. It is a holy or sacred moment. We may not be able to go into the mountains alone with Jesus. Still, we can enter into our souls alone with Him as we shut out the world around us, cherishing this blessed moment that is wonderfully beyond description or understanding.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!