Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Saturday of the fifth week in ordinary time, February 14th, 2026, Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk and Methodius, Bishop

Delivered by Jeril from the Parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. 1 Kings 12: 26-32; 13: 33-34; Rs psalm 106: 6-7a.19-20.21-22; Mark 8: 1-10.SPIRITUAL MEALTHAT UNITES The title for our meditation today is: Spiritual MealThat Unites. The unity within a family is especially seen when all the membersof the family come together to attend Holy Mass, and then continue with lunchtogether. This is somehow a routine activity. Such a fellowship is in sharpcontrast to the situation of God's people under the kings after Solomon'sdeath. Worst, King Jeroboam magnified his sin by going against the Spirit ofGod because he believed in the gods of Gentiles.  The spiritual meal available to believers, followersof Christ, is the offering of Jesus himself as the main part of His work ofdoing the Father's will. In all of His ministerial work, He manifested His actof love in the presence of the apostles and many around Him. They were allamazed, proud, happy and believe in those loving actions of Jesus. But aboveall is the ultimate act, which is to die to redeem all mankind. He marked this highest act with an act of remembrancein the Church, in the form of a meal, to become the firsthand experience of Hispresence by all His people. This aims to strengthen and preserve communion thatHe has made. We all know this as the Eucharist. Before the institution of theEucharist, Jesus first brought His followers and many people to eat theeuchatistic bread, which is His own body, on the occasion  of the multiplication of bread and fish tofeed thousands of people who were hungry and thirsty, after the whole dayfollowing and listening to Him. The feeding of these thousands was further emphasizedin the moments leading up to His moment of death, when He ate the last supperwith the apostles, and there He distributed bread and wine. His reminded thatthey should continue the event of celebrating this spiritual meal inremembrance of Him, as well as to be the spiritual empowerment for all who takepart in it. In this banquet, Jesus who broke his own body and shared to theapostles to consume, this act signifies the institution of the sacraments of Eucharistand Priesthood.  So the unity that we preserve and strengthenconstantly both through prayer and tangible action depends heavily on these twobasic elements: the Eucharist and the Priesthood. The sacrament of theEucharist is a spiritual meal, while the priesthood is the privilege ofcarrying out and presiding over the memorable event to be celebrated when theLord himself presides and we take part in it.Let us pray. In the name of the Father... Lord Jesus Christ,may our unity in and with You be a very real force in this world to bring aboutthe kingdom of God that can renew the whole face of this earth. Hail Mary, fullof grace... In the name of the Father...