By Pat Haggerty

Are you a collector of quotations?  A lover of quotations?  A searcher of quotations?  I wouldn’t say that I am a collector, but I do have a few quotations that are my favorites.  I tend to pull them out at the right moment and use them when applicable.  For example, when I was a teacher, I often liked to quote Einstein:  “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”  As a service-learning proponent, I often quoted Mahatma Gandhi:  “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

For now, at this time, as I think about the feast of Corpus Christi, another Einstein quote comes to mind:  “There are two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”  In the gospel for the feast of Corpus Christi, the story of one of the greatest miracles is recounted.  Luke tells us that after a busy day of preaching and healing Jesus and his disciples are about to dismiss the crowds.  However, Jesus tells his disciples to give the crowds some food. They reply with, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.” We know what happens next.  The crowds sit down in groups and the disciples feed them with what they have.  “They all ate and were satisfied.  And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.” (Luke 9:17)

This scenario is astounding!  No doubt the apostles were amazed.  Or, perhaps, knowing their Lord, they had come to expect the unexpected.  They had seen Jesus cure people throughout the day.  This was just another example of his divinity, of his Godliness.  Jesus was showing his followers that he cared for them---that he would provide for them.

Jesus continues to feed us.  At the Last Supper he promised to continually sustain us.  He said, “This is my body that is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  We commemorate this sacrifice and share in this meal each time we celebrate the Eucharist.  We are reminded of this, particularly, as we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi.

Let us call to mind the wonder of the miracle of loaves and fishes.  Let us be grateful for our ability to share in the Lord’s Supper each time we partake of the Eucharist.  Let us shout our “amen” as we respond to Our Lord’s gift of himself.  Let us revel in the small miracles that we encounter each day through the Lord’s goodness and love.

“A hundred million miracles are happening every day.”  (Flower Drum Song)