1. In what ways does Melchizedek prefigure Jesus?

2. Discuss the properties of bread and wine and their benefits to the body when consumed. Why do you think Melchizedek chose them for offerings? Do you know why Jesus chose them?

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 11:23-26

1. What do we believe Jesus meant when he said, “do this in remembrance of me”? To what does “this” refer? Could it mean more than one thing? Is it “remember me when you do this”? Or, in remembrance of me, do also what I did for others?

2. Explain “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” Is the gift of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection a one-time thing that happened in the past, or is the gift on-going and always newly present?

Gospel
Luke 9:11b-17

1. The crowd had been listening all day, in a deserted area, away from villages. How are the 5,000 like the Church today? Are we starving for divine inspiration on questions, spellbound by Jesus’ words like ecojustice, incarceration, immigration, bias, gun control?

2. Pope Francis says about the Twelve’s idea of sending the hungry people away: “… it isn’t the way Jesus thinks.” What would Jesus, who ate with sinners and welcomed strangers, think of his ministers refusing to give the Eucharist to people now?

He tells his disciples straight out: “You give them something to eat” (Lk 9:13).  We can imagine the thoughts that went through their minds: “We don’t have enough bread for ourselves, and now we are supposed to think about others? Why do we have to give them something to eat if they came to hear our Teacher? If they didn’t bring their own food, let them go back home, it’s their problem. … This way of thinking is not wrong, but it isn’t the way Jesus thinks. …

The Lord does great things with our littleness, as he did with the five loaves. He does not work spectacular miracles or wave a magic wand; he works with simple things; … love can accomplish great things with little. The Eucharist teaches us this: for there we find God himself contained in a piece of bread. Simple, essential, bread broken and shared, the Eucharist we receive allows us to see things as God does. It inspires us to give ourselves to others.  It is the antidote to the mindset that says: “Sorry, that is not my problem,” or: “I have no time, I can’t help you, it’s none of my business.”  Or that looks the other way. …

Pope Francis Homily for Most Holy Body and Blood
June 23, 2019