HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 02 05 – Year II
Teach, Proclaim and Live – Memorial of St. Catherine of Sienna
(Acts 5:34-42; Ps 27; Jn 6:1-15)
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Do you see yourself as a teacher and proclaimer of faith?
The readings today invite us to imitate the early apostles in teaching about, and proclaiming, Jesus as the Messiah.
To teach and proclaim Jesus to the world, we have to know him well. Three titles by which we know Jesus emerge from the readings today: prophet; Messiah and bread of life.
As prophet, Jesus not only spoke the truth of God – he was the truth of God, pointing the way to a better future, and challenging the status quo religion of his time. Interestingly, we are not that comfortable with Jesus as prophet. They wanted to make him king, and often, so do we. There are many parishes in the world called Christ the King, but to my knowledge there is not one called Christ the Prophet. That should give us reason to pause and reflect.
As Messiah, Jesus had four roles: to gather all the nations to God; to restore the temple, to overcome the enemies of Israel, and to reign as Lord over all forever. From the moment he began his ministry, people flocked to him from all directions, even more so than to the temple, rousing of course the jealousy of the priestly Temple class. He was gathering the nations to God.
By his death and resurrection, Jesus overcame the real enemy of Israel, the power of Satan and evil. By cleansing the temple and calling himself the new Temple of God, he was restoring the temple to its former glory, before the glory or shekinah of God rose up and left the temple in the time of Ezekiel, because of the corrupt nature of religion at that time. That glory of God did return – not to the physical temple building, but upon the temple of the Church gathered in the upper room in the form of wind and fire at Pentecost. We are now the dwelling place of God, temples of the Holy Spirit.
And by his resurrection and ascension into heaven, we know that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, reigning over all until all the enemies of God are placed at his feet.
As Messiah, Jesus also had a two-fold mission: to redeem and sanctify, to forgive and heal. He establishes his reign in our hearts when we come to him for forgiveness of all our sins (which he promptly forgets), and for healing of our painful emotions and negative attitudes. That is how we can access the “new way of life” the apostles proclaimed over and over after the resurrection.
Finally, in the gospel, we see some divine irony. When faced with the impossible challenge of feeding the multitudes, the apostles ask what worth are five loaves and two fish? The irony is they do not realize they are in the presence of the bread of life – it is a moot question – they need look no further. It is Jesus alone who can truly satisfy the deeper yearnings of the human heart.
This miracle mirrors the Liturgy of the Word and Eucharist – after teaching the people, Jesus feeds them. Jesus makes the customary Eucharistic moves in regard to the bread: taking, giving thanks, and distributing. And everyone is fed. During the sacred liturgy, the priest, on behalf of the people, offers to God a small pittance: some wafers of bread and some wine and water. But because God has no need of these gifts, they come back infinitely multiplied for the benefit of the people.
Through the power of Christ’s word, those gifts become his very Body and Blood, the only food capable of feeding the deepest hunger of the human heart. This liturgical rhythm is beautifully conveyed by the iconic lines: “Jesus took the bread, gave thanks to God, and distributed it to the people who were sitting there . . . and they all had as much as they wanted.”
The Hebrew people took numbers seriously, and so should we to get the full meaning of the gospel. Five and two (imperfect numbers) make seven, a perfect number. There is a hint here that with faith in Jesus, our meagre resources can be magnified beyond measure. And after the people had eaten as much as they wanted, there were twelve baskets left over – a deliberate number symbolizing two key items: Jesus is the Messiah who fulfills God’s plan for the chosen people, the twelve tribes of Israel, and that Jesus alone can fulfill the profound human yearning for wholeness and completeness.
The world today is hungry for that bread, but lacking faith and knowledge of who Jesus really is. People thus get taken in by the false gods of possession, prestige and power that will all too likely lead to addiction.
St. Catherine of Siena, whom we honor today, was one of four women doctors of the Church. The youngest of 25 children, she vowed her virginity to God at the age of seven after a vision of Christ in glory. She then joined Dominican Third Order in 1365 and spent those first years in seclusion, fasting and praying. In 1368 after receiving a vision of Christ accepting her as his bride, she felt called to carry this love to others, and so became more active, caring for the poor, tending to the sick, and corresponding with people from all walks of life, including princes and popes. In the process she became renowned as a peacemaker.
Catherine was also a great mystic. Particularly famous are her visions of her exchanging hearts with Christ, and of the Virgin presenting her the Baby Jesus who gives her a ring. She expounded her doctrine in three works: the “Treatise on Divine Providence”, her “Letters” and a collection of “Prayers”. She died in Rome in 1380, was canonized in 1461, became patron of Italy in 1939, and was declared a doctor of the Church in 1970. She is co-patron of Europe with St. Bridget of Sweden and St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. What an example she is for us.
The Eucharist is our food for that spiritual journey, the food that alone truly satisfies our deepest yearning for love, belonging and self-esteem, and that gives us the strength to say no to the false gods of possessions, prestige and power.
So, let us be modern apostles, get to know Jesus better, put our faith in him, teach others about him and proclaim him as Messiah, Prophet and the true Bread of Life.
