Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him.

Have you ever encountered someone who doesn’t attend Mass anymore and you ask why?  I have (which is the main reason I’ve started this blog) and the responses vary – here are a few…

I have a personal relationship with the Lord and don’t need the Mass to sustain my faith.

The Mass is too boring; I don’t get anything out of it.

They only want my money and the Church has plenty without mine.

The Church has too many rules.

I don’t believe in transubstantiation; it’s more symbolic than real.

Out of these, the only one I truly “buy” is the last one.  I truly believe that many people who don’t go to Mass (and quite frankly, some people who do) don’t believe in transubstantiation.  So, what is transubstantiation?  I found this article on line – don’t stress over the words “for beginners” because it is a beautiful explanation.  Now, with a little bit of knowledge about what happens at the Eucharistic prayer, let take a closer look at what is being told to us today in our readings.

What does the first reading speak of? On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples.  A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.

And the response speaks of living in the house of the Lord – all the days of my life.

And the Gospel tells how Jesus taught and healed the people for three days and before dismissing them, felt the need to nourish them – feeding them loaves and fishes – before sending them on their way…Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.  I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” 

The readings cry out “Mass” to me.  Large crowds gather in the house of the Lord who need to be healed in some way; we hear the word of the Lord; we offer our sacrifice of bread and wine which are then transubstantiated into the  rich foods and choices wines we are fed.  After eating, the surplus food is gathered and saved for another meal and we are blessed and sent on our way – nourished in the love of Christ.  Sent to spread the good news – the Gospel of the Lord.

So, it seems, some of us who have chosen not to partake of this meal have are now hungry – and quite possibly have “collapsed” on the way.  We need to get them back into Church; we need to feed them the Bread of Life; the Cup of Eternal Salvation.

If you know someone like this, share this post with them.  My only purpose of this blog is to bring people back to their faith where they can be fed these rich foods and choice wines – the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Do something great for our Lord today – spend 5 minutes reflecting on His Holy Word.  Share your faith with someone in need.

God’s will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid; just have faith.

Jesus, I trust in You.