The Crowd, the Saints and Love 

1 Kings 12:26-32, 13:33-34; Psalm 106; Mark 8:1-10

The Gospel presents us with the feeding of the four thousand people. This miraculous feeding of the crowds has not stopped. Jesus feeds us daily with his word and the Eucharist. This food gives us strength to journey through this world to our heavenly home. It is the grace for the race. In 1Kings 19:7-8 Elijah ate and became strong to make the long trip.

Similarly, Jesus felt sorry for the crowd and fed them so that they can reach their earthly home without fainting on the way (Mark 8:3). The Eucharist is strength for the journey; eat and have life in you. Like Jeroboam in the first reading many have turned away from the Lord. They have abandoned the True Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and have created for themselves false worship. This we see in many churches today.

Today, the Church places before us St. Cyril and St. Methodius, men who carried the fire of the Gospel across cultures without diluting the truth. They remind us that evangelization is demanding, not entertaining; sacrificial, not fashionable. 

According to the previous liturgical calendar (1962), the feast of Cyril and Methodius is celebrated on July 7; while today 14th marks the commemoration of St. Valentine. However, in 1969, the Catholic Church removed St. Valentine’s Day from the General Roman Calendar due to the lack of historical information about St. Valentine. 

He was once honoured as a martyr of faith, but today has been largely rebranded by culture. What was meant to celebrate sacrificial love has become an excuse for sensuality. The Church deemphasized his liturgical celebration, not because love is unimportant, but because love without truth becomes distortion. 

LET US PRAY

Lord, nourish us with the Bread of Life, rekindle in us the fire of authentic love, and keep us faithful to the truth handed down by the saints. Through Christbour Lord. Amen.