THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Fourth Sunday in Lent 30 March 2014

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friend,

There is great symbolism in today's Gospel for us to contemplate today. We learn from the parallel Gospel of St. Matthew that the multiplication of bread and fishes was done by Jesus, but He distributed them only through His Disciples. All those who ate were fed by God, but through the hands of the Apostles. 

So, it is that God has seen fit to give us spiritual food throughout history, even to today. If we are to be truly fed the life giving bread of the Word of God, we must approach The Church, or in other words the bishops who have been appointed by the Holy Ghost to sanctify, teach and govern Her. Outside of The Church or outside of Her bishops there is no salvation, because The Word of God is not there. 

Those who have taken the Bible as the word of God and claim to receive it directly from God, deceive themselves. They indeed take food, but in not taking it from the hand of God's ministers their digestion suffers greatly. The Church is the only living authority that is the sole dispenser of the Word of God, and She is also the sole guarantee and protector of It. Those who take the written Word of God and separate it from the Living Tradition and Authority, have some of the raw ingredients for the food for their soul, but they cannot assemble it correctly so that it will give them spiritual life. They have the ingredients, but do not have the recipe, or they refuse to follow the recipe and end up with indigestible truths. Because certain truths are indigestible to them, they then begin to deny and cast out all that they cannot accept. This is what has happened with the Protestants throughout history. Private interpretation demands rejection of whatever is unpalatable to the individual. It is unpalatable because they have refused to receive it correctly from the hands that God has appointed to distribute it. 

The number of believers has been reduced to a remnant, due to this Protestant/Pagan influence in the world. Nonetheless, the Church will continue until the end of time. This God has promised to us. One of the necessary marks of the Church is that She is Apostolic. We, therefore, conclude that there will always be at least one true bishop in the world, and that those who will be saved will receive the life giving spiritual food of the Word of God from the hands of these bishops. 

Noting the Great Apostasy and the fewness of bishops, should not discourage us. Just as Jesus multiplied the bread and fishes, so He can and does multiply the words of His bishops. We have a treasure trove of the recorded teachings of the Apostles and their successors throughout history. The fewness of true bishops today is a result of the diminishing number of true Catholics. Or perhaps the converse is truer: there are few Catholics because there are few true bishops. 

In any case, God has seen fit to offer us a remedy for the scarceness of bishops. The words and teachings of our bishops are multiplied and can be heard throughout the world due to the advances of technology. All those who have access to the World Wide Web, are able to hear their bishops directly, or the priests who have been approved and appointed to teach in their names. 

The governing of the Church can likewise be taken care of from a distance. This leaves us with the matter of sanctification. Many in the world are at such a distance that they cannot receive the sacraments. This has always been a grave concern for the bishops in this time of apostasy. God has seen fit in suggesting to us that we spiritually receive the sacraments when we are physically impeded from doing so. 

It has long been the suggestion and practice in the Church to make frequent Spiritual Communions. We can in spirit repent of our sins and unite our hearts with Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist. God, Who sees and knows everything, accepts the desire for the deed. Grace is ours for the asking. This is not an empty suggestion given to quiet the consciences of pietistic souls, but is rather a sound practice of the saints throughout history. 

The spiritual reception of the sacraments offers us the opportunity to gain grace at all times and in all places. There is nothing to hinder us. This great desire to receive the physical sacrament very often softens God's Heart to such a point that He will bring a true priest to us, or us to a true priest to receive that which our hearts desire. 

Today, we still see the multiplication of the bread and fishes. We can find the spiritual food we need so that we do not have to faint along the way of this life. Let us beg of God these graces and open up our hearts and minds to receive from God's appointed ministers this life-giving food for our souls.