If A Mule Would Do It, Why Wouldn't You?

Mt 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

As I heard the Gospel once again this morning at Mass, I was once again drawn to the parallelism between this event and the Institution of the Eucharist. Fr. Bing Arellano, whose show I occasionally chance upon on EWTN, once remarked about how Jesus went into the future and compartmented His whole Body and Blood into the Bread and Wine He broke during that fateful Last Supper with His Apostles.

We Catholics are particularly fortunate for being given the grace to partake personally the Body and Blood of Christ, as a way of strengthening His presence in our lives. And yes, the mere thought of this sends shockwaves through my spine. Who would imagine such a way for God to be with His people?

One non-Catholic friend of mine once told me that this person wanted me to attend their church for the purpose of giving me more food, because, as this person said, "the Catholic Church isn't giving you much food." Upon hearing that from this person's lips, I almost cried. I cannot bear imagining other people to take Christ's presence in the Eucharist for granted. Reminding myself of the presence of the Eucharist was enough to tell me that my Church is giving me more than enough food: she is giving me God Himself!

As a way of proving the Holy Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Saint Anthony of Padua once responded to a challenge posed by a non-believer of the Holy Presence.

" During the 13th century St. Anthony of Padua was reported to have converted a hardened heretic through a rather unique contest.

The heretic, by the name of Bononillo, was unmoved by the reasoning of the "hammer of heretics," as St. Anthony was called. Bononillo was as stubborn as the mule that stood beside him.

Eyeing the mule, Anthony made an offer to Bononillo. He asked him whether he would give up his heresy if the mule were to bow down and adore its Creator present in the Blessed Sacrament.

The heretic answered he would, provided he could lay down certain conditions: for two days the mule was not to be fed, and on the third day it was to be led into the public square. On one side of the square would be placed a tempting pile of fresh feed, on the opposite side Anthony could stand with what Bononillo contemptuously called the "body of Christ."

Anthony agreed, but in all humility made one condition. If the animal did not kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, his sins alone were to be blamed.

The day arrived for this strange contest and the square was crowded with people. When the derisive Bononillo arrived with his half-starved mule, he was fully confident that his mule had sense and appetite enough to go after the feed.

But he was wrong. Anthony had implored his Lord in the intervening two days for the soul of this heretic. God did not let his faithful servant down. When turned loose, the mule without the least hesitation advanced towards Anthony and knelt in an attitude of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.

With much emotion and contrition the heretic too fell on his knees and gave up his heresy. As wonderful as these miracles are the greatest of all, transubstantiation, has to be viewed with the eyes of faith. " (from http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/oem_mh.htm)

This post once again echoes a call to honor and adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and receiving Him worthily at Holy Mass. Let us continue to purify ourselves, get to know Christ closer by encountering Him in Scripture and tradition, and live lives of Christian goodness and receive Him into our bodies, into our souls, and into our lives.

Let us honor, adore, and worship Christ in the Eucharist. If a mere mule would do it, why wouldn't you?

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Photo credits: http://www.benotafraidnewsletter.com/eucharist_year.jpg, http://prayingforgrace.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html, http://photos9.flickr.com/20095889_1c3d8d85c9.jpg, http://www.monasteryicons.com/products/regular/402.jpg, http://www.stanthony.org/aboutanthony/gfx/history_art_3.jpg