Sunday Reflection – 17 November – Living communion with Christ

Sunday Reflection – 17 November – The Third World Day of the Poor and the Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed,,

and broke and gave the loaves” … Matthew 14:19

“Jesus loves us so much and wants to be close to us and looks after those who follow Him.   The Lord meets the needs of mankind but wants to render each one of us, a concrete participant in His compassion.
Now let us pause on this, Jesus’ gesture of blessing:
“taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke and gave the loaves” (v. 19).
As you see, they are the same signs that Jesus performed at the Last Supper and they are also the same gestures, that each priest performs when he celebrates the Holy Eucharist.
The Christian community is born and reborn continually from this Eucharistic communion.

Living communion with Christ is, therefore, anything but being passive and detached from daily life, on the contrary, it includes us more and more in the relationship with the men and women of our time, in order to offer them the concrete sign of mercy and of the attention of Christ.   Jesus wants to reach everyone, in order to bring God’s love to all.”

Pope Francis (General Audience, 17 August 2016)