Introductory Prayer:  Lord, every time I come to your sacred banquet to receive your body and blood, enkindle in my soul a deeper faith, an ardent hope and a persevering charity. Grant that this temple of my soul and body reflect the inner sanctity by which you now abide in me and I in you.

Petition: Jesus, I offer you today the fragments of my human frailty and misery to be transformed like the five barley loaves and fish into a testament of your love for souls. Make me a living Eucharist today to feed souls hungry for Christ.

Gospel: Jn 6:1-15

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to "Philip, How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peters brother, said to him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand." Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!" Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

1.  "How Are We to Buy Bread, So that These People May Eat?"

Here Jesus prepares humanity for the new manna to feed his hungry people.

The bread given to our ancestors in the desert could not appease the interior hunger of mankind for the true bread of life. At the Last Supper, on the night when He was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us (Sacrosanctum Concilium, #2).

 2.  "Five Barley Loaves and Two Fish; What Are They Among So Many?"

We should never underestimate what God can do with a docile soul. Christ wants to feed the famished crowd, but at the same time he looks to his disciples for help. He desires that as poor and insignificant as we may be, we give him our work, our sacrifices and our generosity so that he can do more than we ever could through it. In the miracle of the Eucharist he takes the bread, fruit of the earth and the work of human hands, and makes it into his Body, spiritual food. This is the mystery of faith we proclaim every time we celebrate the Eucharist. Christ wants us to be coworkers in the salvation of souls, he will take and transform our actions to make them bearers of his salvation.

3.  "This Is Indeed the Prophet, Who Is to Come Into the World!"

The Holy Mass is the pinnacle of history because every prophet preceding Christ was pointing towards the moment of salvation to come through the meritorious act of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is this same reality. St. Teresa of Avila spoke of the Eucharist as the same glorious Christ whom we will see face to face in the beatific vision in heaven behind the veil of bread and wine. If we truly believe how close Jesus Christ is to us, how different would our life be, what meaning it would have.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you offer yourself each and every day on the altar in the eternal Sacrifice of the Mass, for my sins and the sins of all. Grant me a grateful heart, to come to the banquet of your Eucharist often and gain from it the nourishment you want me to have

Questionnaire:  This optional questionnaire is intended to help you evaluate your life in light of the inspirations God just gave you in these moments you spent with him in prayer.

1. How do I prepare myself for Mass? Am I conscious that I am going to receive Christ in his body, blood, soul, and divinity? Does this provoke in me a profound gratitude and desire to be as least unworthy as possible for such a gift?

2. What am I willing to place upon the altar united with the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ?

3. Do I see with eyes of faith the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist? How often do I first go to the Blessed Sacrament for consolation and strength when I face challenges or difficulties?