Today, Jesus speaks to us, His disciples, of avoiding scandal, which causes “the little ones who believe in Him,” to sin.

We often think that scandal is something of which we are not capable; scandal seems to be something outside of us, those “big, public sins” which appear on TV news.

Jesus speaks to His disciples, you and me, who are loved by Him. Who are “the little ones who believe in Him”? They are our brothers and sisters who are “smaller” than we are, whose faith in Jesus is developing.

“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

This is one great example of what our retired Bishop Thomas Olmsted called Catholics in the Public Square, Christ Himself teaches us on critically-important moral issues in our modern times. Bishop writes very clearly:

We very warmly welcome Bishop John Dolan this weekend to Blessed Sacrament Parish for the official Order of Pastoral Installation.

Chapter 8 is the halfway-point of St. Mark’s very short Gospel and it is very theological.

The Scripture we hear and read today is called The Confession of St. Peter and is the turning point of Christ’s ministry. Jesus asks Peter and also asks us personally: “But who do you say that I am?”

These are the only words Jesus says to us today. We have to pay special attention. What Jesus says is important. But he does other things as well. Let’s role play a little with this story. Imagine if someone came up to you, face to face, then poked their fingers in your ears and put spit on your tongue and groaned up to Heaven and said: “Be opened.”

“Ephphatha!” Be Open to Hearing the Word of God.

This is an important story that touches each one of us. We may say, “but I am not deaf and I do not have a speech impediment.” So often we don’t listen and we say the things badly!

This man was deaf to the Word of God, and Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word, healed this man. Jesus took the man away from the crowd, so that the man could be alone with Him. He healed the man’s deafness, removed the speech impediment and the man was able to hear and speak plainly.

We conclude the Bread of Life Discourse. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” Strong, powerful, truthful words.

Jesus is teaching about himself and about the sacrificial death He is to endure. He is teaching about the Holy Eucharist, the sacrament of the sacrifice of the cross is made present on the altars of the church until He returns.

Jesus continue our short retreat this weekend with the end of the mysterious Bread of Life Discourse.

Our readings are at once inspiring and challenging. Jesus had just very directly declared:

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

These words would have caused consternation and confusion among the Jewish disciples mainly due to their very strict dietary laws; and this led in turn to the showdown we witness today in our Gospel.

“They shall all be taught by God.”

Jesus continues His teaching on The Bread of Life in the Gospel of John, Chapter 6, and reveals Himself as the Bread of Life, the Bread of Heaven. Christ tells us that He is the Word of God Made Flesh, a disgusting thought for many followers.

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

“I Am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

It is an astonishing claim and revelation: Our Bread of Life Retreat With The Lord Continues
There is so much in these powerful readings: Jesus clearly tells us today on our retreat with Him:
He Explains Who He Is and Why He Came
Remember That God Always Does The Most With The Least

We begin our Jubilee Year on Tuesday: The Jubilee Is A Special Year of Grace. We begin our Golden Jubilee with The Special ‘Bread of Life’ Retreat

Every three years we get to make a very special Eucharistic retreat with the Lord. Because St. Mark’s Gospel is very short, we enhance it with readings from the Bread of Life Discourse, the sixth Chapter of St. John’s Gospel. We pick up from last week: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” … and he began to teach them many things.

“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while?” (Mark 6:31). We all need a break after lots of hard work. Jesus invites us to pray, to be alone with Him. He wants each one of you to know His perfect love more intimately and personally, to develop our loving friendship with Him. Our Catholic Faith requires that we grow in our prayer life. This requires daily quiet, meditative time, free from any distractions.

“Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two” (Mark 6:7).

Two by two? Recall St. Matthew’s words:

“Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst”

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).

Well, having celebrated Independence Day this past week, it is a good time to reflect on the past year. As we welcomed Fr. Samuel Aliba this past week, likewise a year ago, you all warmly welcomed me to Blessed Sacrament Pariah as your new Pastor.

I am confident that you will agree that it has been a very good year. Together, we have achieved a lot in twelve months with the Lord’s grace and with your generous support also.