Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

“THEY ATE AND WERE SATISFIED” MK 8:1-10

Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.

In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat,
Jesus summoned the disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread
to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”
Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They replied, “Seven.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish.
He said the blessing over them
and ordered them distributed also.
They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people.

He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples
and came to the region of Dalmanutha. MK 8:1-10

The Feeding of the 4,000 is a foreshadowing of the Last Supper. Jesus teaches us that God cannot be outdone in generosity. He can take very little and do much with it! He does this with the bread and the fish and He does it with the unleavened bread and wine. We only receive a small consecrated host, but through it He forgives venial sin, protects us from mortal sin, unifies us, brings us closer to Him, and increases our anticipation of heaven.

Today, the 7 loaves and 2 fish fed the 4,000 with plenty left over. “They ate and were satisfied.” Every saint we read about understood they needed God every day to fight sin and grow in holiness, therefore they received the Eucharist daily and went to confession often. The Catholic ER.

The saints had the same struggles as us, they just decided to fight for holiness, rely totally and completely on God, trust in Him, and came to His grace more and more. God transforms us with His grace, nobody leaves the Supper Table or confessional unsatisfied but full of grace. The saints learned to fight with humility, trust, prayer, and bringing themselves to God in the sacraments faithfully.

In our lives today and everyday, Jesus’ heart is “moved with pity for us.” We often eat of worldly things that only entertain us and make us happy for a short time and then we need more. We learn that when we give our self as gift to other it is a more lasting happiness.

But, the greatest joy and peace comes from understanding we have a transcendental soul.

“The Divine became Human so the human could become Divine.” -St. Athanasius

Jesus is eternal and knows how to satisfy us with eternal things. Trust in His everlasting love and mercy, have faith, and you will be satisfied.

Today’s challenge: Go to Mass one more day a week during Lent to receive the Eucharist. Buy 7 Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinney Flynn or Jesus, Our Eucharistic Love at your local Catholic bookstore to support them. Read about a Eucharistic Miracle. Allow Jesus to feed you and be satisfied!

Be a servant, be a saint today!
#Christian YOLO!