Gospel Reflection For The 10th day of February in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Mark 8:1-10
1 In those days again, when there was a great multitude, and had nothing to eat; calling his disciples together, he saith to them: 2 I have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I shall send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way; for some of them came from afar off. 4 And his disciples answered him: From whence can any one fill them here with bread in the wilderness? 5 And he asked them: How many loaves have ye? Who said: Seven.
6 And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, he broke, and gave to his disciples for to set before them; and they set them before the people. 7 And they had a few little fishes; and he blessed them, and commanded them to be set before them. 8 And they did eat and were filled; and they took up that which was left of the fragments, seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand; and he sent them away. 10 And immediately going up into a ship with his disciples, he came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
One of the nice things about being a Catholic author is the great variety of people who send messages or comment on my articles online. This morning, a theologian got in touch, making reference to this very passage. He posited an interesting argument with which I was unfamiliar. He said that one theory is that the seven loaves in today’s Gospel represent the seven sacraments of the Church. With the seven sacraments, the people are well provided for and the graces of God multiply beyond measure. With the seven sacraments, the Church has order and stability. As he explained, Protestantism rejects five of the seven sacraments – Holy Orders, Confirmation, Reconciliation, the Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick. They accept only Marriage and Baptism (although many reject Baptism, considering it merely symbolic and the sacrament of Marriage believing in civil divorce). For this reason, there is great confusion among Protestantism, resulting in thousands of denominations that disagree with each other on matters of theology and doctrine, and all of them reject the Catholic Church. With only two sacraments, they do not have all they need to sustain them, they have no stability, they wander in error and may collapse before reaching home.
Unfortunately, many Catholics do not fully understand or believe in all seven sacraments either. Too many fail to take advantage of the sacraments, avoiding confession, skipping mass and following societal norms in regard to marriage. Even as Catholics, we may fall into just as much error and confusion. We too, may fail to reach our eternal home for lack of spiritual food. There is no greater food for the soul than the Eucharist. But recall, that not by bread alone does man live, but by the Word of God. Jesus is the living Word of God and we find Him in the Eucharist. We also find Him in the Holy Scriptures. We encounter Jesus through His priests in all of the sacraments. We commune with Him in prayer. Through His Church, our Lord gives us all that is necessary for salvation. We need only take advantage of all He offers.
A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass readings January-June, 2024. may be purchased as a .pdf directly from me using this link https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-daily-catholic-devotional-reflections.html or in paperback on Amazon amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q
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Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.