Aloha Friday Message – June 20, 2026 – Because Jesus Said So
June 20, 2025
2525AFC062025 – Because Jesus Said So
Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site. And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Luke 9:16-17 –16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Acts 2:42 –42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
–16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
Greetings adelphos! We have new additions to the MBN Intercessory Prayer List. Please visit, and if you can make the time, please add the MBN Daily Prayer to your “daily list.” Thank you VERY much!
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. This coming Sunday is June 22, 2025 – The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). On this day we remember that Christ told his Disciples, and us as well, that he is the Bread of Life come down from Heaven which was followed by the statement for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. (Please read carefully John 6:53-59) Jesus is in the Father, the Father is in Jesus, the Father and the Son live in the Unity / Communion / Fellowship (Fellowship is translated from “koinonia” as κοινωνία) of the Holy Spirit, and the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in those who believe. We hear this in every Mass, the Great Doxology.” Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever. AMEN
St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote: “Material food first of all turns itself into the person who eats it, and as a consequence, restores his losses and increases his vital energies. Spiritual food, on the other hand, turns the person who eats it into Itself, and thus the proper effect of this sacrament is the conversion of man into Christ, so that he may no longer live for himself, but that Christ may live in Him. And as a consequence it has the double effect of restoring the spiritual losses caused by sins and defects and of increasing the power of the virtues.”
Yes, we believe it truly is Christ who is present in the Eucharist; we believe His true presence begins from the time of the consecration and then endures so long as the sacramental species are discernible. In that belief, we become what we eat – Holy. Perfect? No, we are not perfect or perfected. We are made WHOLE which is what holiness is. Christ is present, Christ is offered, and Christ offers the Offering.
We refer to this offering as an oblation. This is a solemn gifting of Christ’s sacrifice and ours as we look upon the True Presence with eyes enlightened by faith. (See Ephesians 1:17-19 for opening the eyes of our hearts (↔ Music Link). An Oblation is a “meal” (grain) offering. It is the most fundamental of all offerings. In the Old Testament it is often called a “gift offering,” and the noun used in Hebrew is מִנְחָה (minkhah) {min-khah’}. During every Eucharistic Prayer there are two Oblations. The “lesser oblation” is the Offertory – this happens before the Consecration – in which the bread and wine are presented to God. During this Offertory, the Priest holds both hands over the Gifts on the Altar and blesses them in and through the Holy Spirit. The “greater oblation,” the Oblation Proper, occurs after the consecration when the Priest, on behalf of Christ, offers God the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus as Jesus himself offers himself to his Father on our behalf. It is a truly amazing moment many people often miss even though we have opportunity to see the Bread of Life and to believe – to be an active participant in The Fellowship of The Bread.
We see the Bread when it is offered. We see the Bread when it is consecrated. We see the Bread when is broken and elevated with the Chalice of Salvation. We see the Bread when it is given for consumption. We become the Bread when we eat the Bread and drink the Chalice. In all of these instances after the consecration, if we see with the eyes of our hearts, we see The Precious Body and Blood of Christ – not just bread and wine. (↔ Music Link)
Jesus is the Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life, The Living Bread, and that Bread was blessed and broken for us. (See also John 6:22-59 – The Bread of Life Discourse. Every Christian, Catholic or non-Catholic, should read this passage often) Bread is the staff of life, and eating bread is a necessary action of living. Traditionally, bread – as the staff of life – was broken before eating it; it was not cut because, symbolically, that would be slicing Life itself. With that in mind, there is a new layer of context in Acts 2:42 –42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. These are spiritual acts – sacred moments devoted to God. The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10:16 –16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
As these passages testify, Jesus states quite plainly , and repeatedly, that he is the Bread of Life. The Gospel reading from Luke for this Sunday is an account of the feeding of 5000+ persons with 5 barley loves and two fishes. (See also John 6:1-15) It comes down to this: In Scripture from the very words of Jesus at The Last Supper, and attested to by The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Jesus said plainly “This is my Body” and “This is my blood.” There was no indication of representational similitude. Please try this the next time you attend to the Eucharistic Prayer.
After the consecration and the fraction of the Host, the Priest elevates the Precious Body and Precious Blood of Christ together above the altar around eye-level and pronounces the prayer based on the Prophecy of St. John the Baptizer – Ecce agnus Dei Behold the Lamb of God. . (↔ Music Link) Behold him who takes away the sins of the World. Blesséd are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.
Blesséd indeed! As the Presiding Celebrant holds the Precious Body and Precious Blood, pay attention to WHO – not what – he is holding up for you to see and if you are prepared to worthily receive him who will be given to you to consume, Jesus’ Body and Blood Soul and Divinity will become part of your spiritual Life and physical strength because Jesus said so. For me and for my fellow Catholics, that exercise is made possible in a fuller and more satisfying way for us because of our confidence in the wholeness – mature, fully grown, completeness of The Body and Blood of the Eucharist. I gave up accepting the symbol of our faith as expressed in symbolic communion when I accepted the challenge to live in the Mystery of Transubstantiation. It’s a difficult concept for many Catholics to embrace and not all Catholics accept it. I cannot condemn that nor can I judge them for that perspective. Finding Jesus depends on where you put him. It is not the Priest who causes this miraculous transformation. It is Jesus in the Holy Spirit united with God the Father.
Now, for the last three weeks I have been too excited about the readings and I neglected to send you the “Person of the Week.” To make up for that I have attached a quick study on three guys in the New Testament. They’re all pretty well-known, so I’ve just pulled together some additional biographic information on them. This information will be inserted at the end of the Aloha Friday Message – this one – as part of the online post.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!
The Body of Christ – the Eucharist – nourishes and forms The Body of Christ – The Church – so that the Body of Christ becomes … the Body of Christ!
Here is the information on the Persons of the Week which I have recently omitted.
Barabbas, Barsabas, and Barnabas
I chose these three men because their names sound similar. We can usually remember at least some of the context in which we hear those names, but today we’ll add some substance to that context. We will start with the most infamous – Barabbas.
Barabbas
The name Barabbas is in Greek Βαραββᾶς whish is a transliteration of the Aramaic bar (son of) and Abba (a father). He is the robber, and murderous insurrectionist (See Mark 15:7), released in place of Jesus at Jesus’ “trial.” His name in mentioned in all four Gospels
:
Matthew 27:16 Matthew 27:17 Matthew 27:20 Matthew 27:21
Mark 15:7 Mark 15:11 Mark 15:15
Luke 23:18
John 18:40
In some translations (←See examples) he is given a first name to go with his last name. Again in Greek that name is Ἰησοῦς – Jesus (i.e., Jehoshua), the name of our Lord Jesus the Christ of God and two (three) other Israelites. In the context of those translations sometimes it is represented as [Jesus] or (Jesus) and there is a good probability that the double name is what was originally intended. The Gospel writers would know how this information would be received by their audiences. The Bible has no other information about the man. Some legends say he converted to Christianity. Other tales say he dies in another failed insurrection, possibly the First Jewish Roman War in 66-73 AD. In that disastrous uprising, the Second Temple was leveled, fulfilling Jesus’ Prophecy in Matthew 24:2, Mark 13:2, and Luke 21:6. This completely changed Worship in Jerusalem, leading to centuries of dispersion and suppression. Worship shifted from centering on sacrifice to study of the Torah and Midrash and an increase in the use of prayers. Matthew 27:16: [Jesus] Barabbas: it is possible that the double name is the original reading; Jesus was a common Jewish name; see the note on Matthew 1:21. This reading is found in only a few textual witnesses, although its absence in the majority can be explained as an omission of the name “Jesus” made for reverential reasons. The is bracketed because of its uncertain textual attestation.
The Aramaic name Barabbas means “son of the father”; the irony of the choice offered between him and Jesus, the true son of the Father, would be evident to those addressees of Matthew who knew that. See also John 18:40. He was referred to as a Revolutionary – a guerrilla warrior fighting for nationalistic aims, though the term can also denote a robber. See the note on Matthew 27:38. The same Greek word found there is used for Barabbas. Called a thief (“robber”), would connote someone who is stealing out in the open (typically with violence). The Greek word lēstḗs (“a bandit, briard”) is a thief who also plunders and pillages – an unscrupulous marauder (malefactor), exploiting the vulnerable without hesitating to use violence. This Barabbas was essentially the antithesis of Jesus, yet the mob preferred him to the real Only Begotten Son of the Living God.
Barsabas
His “full name was Joseph Bar Sabas – Joseph the son of Sabas; this could include the meaning “son of the Sabbath. His surname was Justus as we see in Acts 1:23. He was one of two Disciples put forward to replaces Judas Iscariot; the other was Matthias. The Apostles cast lots, and it fell to Matthias. Some contemporary historical records indicate he was one of the 670 sent out by Jesus (see Luke 10:1) – some ancient texts say 72. There is a second personality in the New Testament named Barsabas – Judas Barsabas who accompanied The Apostle Paul’ companion Silas. Silas was also a Ro/man Citizen like The Apostle Paul, as well as a teacher and a Prophet. He was chosen to accompany The Apostle Paul because he was well-known in the Church in Jerusalem. Barnabas and Paul had a serious disagreement between them (See thisIMPORTANT TEXT in Acts 15:36-41) and The Apostle Paul chose Silas to go with him to revisit the churches he and Barnabas had established together.
Barnabas
He was a Levite from Cyprus who was also originally named Joseph. The name means son of encouragement. In Acts 4:37 we read that he sold a field he owned and brought the money to the Apostles. It was Barnabas who brought Saul of Tarsus, the feared persecutor of the Early Church, to the Apostles in Jerusalem. Barnabas vouched for Saul and told them about the miraculous conversion Saul had experienced near Damascus. The Believers in Jerusalem were wary of being associated with this Saul of Tarsus who had been on of the principal witness of the execution of Stephen, the First Martyr of the Church. Barnabas was a generous, faithful, and supportive companion to The Apostle Paul during much of the early years of the Church working tirelessly with him to establish churches in many cities. The tow endured many hardship and persecutions, beatings, and life-threatening moments together. They fell into sharp disagreement about another Disciple named John Mark who had traveled with them for a time, but abandoned them in Pamphylia. Barnabas wanted to bring him back into service, but Paul refused. They split up and went their separate ways. Barnabas did give John Mark another chance and took in under his wing as his traveling and preaching companion. There is an apocryphal Epistle credited to Barnabas.
2525AFC062025 – Because Jesus Said So
Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site. And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Luke 9:16-17 –16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Acts 2:42 –42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
–16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
Greetings adelphos! We have new additions to the MBN Intercessory Prayer List. Please visit, and if you can make the time, please add the MBN Daily Prayer to your “daily list.” Thank you VERY much!
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. This coming Sunday is June 22, 2025 – The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). On this day we remember that Christ told his Disciples, and us as well, that he is the Bread of Life come down from Heaven which was followed by the statement for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. (Please read carefully John 6:53-59) Jesus is in the Father, the Father is in Jesus, the Father and the Son live in the Unity / Communion / Fellowship (Fellowship is translated from “koinonia” as κοινωνία) of the Holy Spirit, and the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in those who believe. We hear this in every Mass, the Great Doxology.” Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever. AMEN
St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote: “Material food first of all turns itself into the person who eats it, and as a consequence, restores his losses and increases his vital energies. Spiritual food, on the other hand, turns the person who eats it into Itself, and thus the proper effect of this sacrament is the conversion of man into Christ, so that he may no longer live for himself, but that Christ may live in Him. And as a consequence it has the double effect of restoring the spiritual losses caused by sins and defects and of increasing the power of the virtues.”
Yes, we believe it truly is Christ who is present in the Eucharist; we believe His true presence begins from the time of the consecration and then endures so long as the sacramental species are discernible. In that belief, we become what we eat – Holy. Perfect? No, we are not perfect or perfected. We are made WHOLE which is what holiness is. Christ is present, Christ is offered, and Christ offers the Offering.
We refer to this offering as an oblation. This is a solemn gifting of Christ’s sacrifice and ours as we look upon the True Presence with eyes enlightened by faith. (See Ephesians 1:17-19 for opening the eyes of our hearts (↔ Music Link). An Oblation is a “meal” (grain) offering. It is the most fundamental of all offerings. In the Old Testament it is often called a “gift offering,” and the noun used in Hebrew is מִנְחָה (minkhah) {min-khah’}. During every Eucharistic Prayer there are two Oblations. The “lesser oblation” is the Offertory – this happens before the Consecration – in which the bread and wine are presented to God. During this Offertory, the Priest holds both hands over the Gifts on the Altar and blesses them in and through the Holy Spirit. The “greater oblation,” the Oblation Proper, occurs after the consecration when the Priest, on behalf of Christ, offers God the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus as Jesus himself offers himself to his Father on our behalf. It is a truly amazing moment many people often miss even though we have opportunity to see the Bread of Life and to believe – to be an active participant in The Fellowship of The Bread.
We see the Bread when it is offered. We see the Bread when it is consecrated. We see the Bread when is broken and elevated with the Chalice of Salvation. We see the Bread when it is given for consumption. We become the Bread when we eat the Bread and drink the Chalice. In all of these instances after the consecration, if we see with the eyes of our hearts, we see The Precious Body and Blood of Christ – not just bread and wine. (↔ Music Link)
Jesus is the Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life, The Living Bread, and that Bread was blessed and broken for us. (See also John 6:22-59 – The Bread of Life Discourse. Every Christian, Catholic or non-Catholic, should read this passage often) Bread is the staff of life, and eating bread is a necessary action of living. Traditionally, bread – as the staff of life – was broken before eating it; it was not cut because, symbolically, that would be slicing Life itself. With that in mind, there is a new layer of context in Acts 2:42 –42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. These are spiritual acts – sacred moments devoted to God. The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10:16 –16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
As these passages testify, Jesus states quite plainly , and repeatedly, that he is the Bread of Life. The Gospel reading from Luke for this Sunday is an account of the feeding of 5000+ persons with 5 barley loves and two fishes. (See also John 6:1-15) It comes down to this: In Scripture from the very words of Jesus at The Last Supper, and attested to by The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Jesus said plainly “This is my Body” and “This is my blood.” There was no indication of representational similitude. Please try this the next time you attend to the Eucharistic Prayer.
After the consecration and the fraction of the Host, the Priest elevates the Precious Body and Precious Blood of Christ together above the altar around eye-level and pronounces the prayer based on the Prophecy of St. John the Baptizer – Ecce agnus Dei Behold the Lamb of God. . (↔ Music Link) Behold him who takes away the sins of the World. Blesséd are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.
Blesséd indeed! As the Presiding Celebrant holds the Precious Body and Precious Blood, pay attention to WHO – not what – he is holding up for you to see and if you are prepared to worthily receive him who will be given to you to consume, Jesus’ Body and Blood Soul and Divinity will become part of your spiritual Life and physical strength because Jesus said so. For me and for my fellow Catholics, that exercise is made possible in a fuller and more satisfying way for us because of our confidence in the wholeness – mature, fully grown, completeness of The Body and Blood of the Eucharist. I gave up accepting the symbol of our faith as expressed in symbolic communion when I accepted the challenge to live in the Mystery of Transubstantiation. It’s a difficult concept for many Catholics to embrace and not all Catholics accept it. I cannot condemn that nor can I judge them for that perspective. Finding Jesus depends on where you put him. It is not the Priest who causes this miraculous transformation. It is Jesus in the Holy Spirit united with God the Father.
Now, for the last three weeks I have been too excited about the readings and I neglected to send you the “Person of the Week.” To make up for that I have attached a quick study on three guys in the New Testament. They’re all pretty well-known, so I’ve just pulled together some additional biographic information on them. This information will be inserted at the end of the Aloha Friday Message – this one – as part of the online post.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!
The Body of Christ – the Eucharist – nourishes and forms The Body of Christ – The Church – so that the Body of Christ becomes … the Body of Christ!
Here is the information on the Persons of the Week which I have recently omitted.
Barabbas, Barsabas, and Barnabas
I chose these three men because their names sound similar. We can usually remember at least some of the context in which we hear those names, but today we’ll add some substance to that context. We will start with the most infamous – Barabbas.
Barabbas
The name Barabbas is in Greek Βαραββᾶς whish is a transliteration of the Aramaic bar (son of) and Abba (a father). He is the robber, and murderous insurrectionist (See Mark 15:7), released in place of Jesus at Jesus’ “trial.” His name in mentioned in all four Gospels
:
Matthew 27:16 Matthew 27:17 Matthew 27:20 Matthew 27:21
Mark 15:7 Mark 15:11 Mark 15:15
Luke 23:18
John 18:40
In some translations (←See examples) he is given a first name to go with his last name. Again in Greek that name is Ἰησοῦς – Jesus (i.e., Jehoshua), the name of our Lord Jesus the Christ of God and two (three) other Israelites. In the context of those translations sometimes it is represented as [Jesus] or (Jesus) and there is a good probability that the double name is what was originally intended. The Gospel writers would know how this information would be received by their audiences. The Bible has no other information about the man. Some legends say he converted to Christianity. Other tales say he dies in another failed insurrection, possibly the First Jewish Roman War in 66-73 AD. In that disastrous uprising, the Second Temple was leveled, fulfilling Jesus’ Prophecy in Matthew 24:2, Mark 13:2, and Luke 21:6. This completely changed Worship in Jerusalem, leading to centuries of dispersion and suppression. Worship shifted from centering on sacrifice to study of the Torah and Midrash and an increase in the use of prayers. Matthew 27:16: [Jesus] Barabbas: it is possible that the double name is the original reading; Jesus was a common Jewish name; see the note on Matthew 1:21. This reading is found in only a few textual witnesses, although its absence in the majority can be explained as an omission of the name “Jesus” made for reverential reasons. The is bracketed because of its uncertain textual attestation.
The Aramaic name Barabbas means “son of the father”; the irony of the choice offered between him and Jesus, the true son of the Father, would be evident to those addressees of Matthew who knew that. See also John 18:40. He was referred to as a Revolutionary – a guerrilla warrior fighting for nationalistic aims, though the term can also denote a robber. See the note on Matthew 27:38. The same Greek word found there is used for Barabbas. Called a thief (“robber”), would connote someone who is stealing out in the open (typically with violence). The Greek word lēstḗs (“a bandit, briard”) is a thief who also plunders and pillages – an unscrupulous marauder (malefactor), exploiting the vulnerable without hesitating to use violence. This Barabbas was essentially the antithesis of Jesus, yet the mob preferred him to the real Only Begotten Son of the Living God.
Barsabas
His “full name was Joseph Bar Sabas – Joseph the son of Sabas; this could include the meaning “son of the Sabbath. His surname was Justus as we see in Acts 1:23. He was one of two Disciples put forward to replaces Judas Iscariot; the other was Matthias. The Apostles cast lots, and it fell to Matthias. Some contemporary historical records indicate he was one of the 670 sent out by Jesus (see Luke 10:1) – some ancient texts say 72. There is a second personality in the New Testament named Barsabas – Judas Barsabas who accompanied The Apostle Paul’ companion Silas. Silas was also a Ro/man Citizen like The Apostle Paul, as well as a teacher and a Prophet. He was chosen to accompany The Apostle Paul because he was well-known in the Church in Jerusalem. Barnabas and Paul had a serious disagreement between them (See thisIMPORTANT TEXT in Acts 15:36-41) and The Apostle Paul chose Silas to go with him to revisit the churches he and Barnabas had established together.
Barnabas
He was a Levite from Cyprus who was also originally named Joseph. The name means son of encouragement. In Acts 4:37 we read that he sold a field he owned and brought the money to the Apostles. It was Barnabas who brought Saul of Tarsus, the feared persecutor of the Early Church, to the Apostles in Jerusalem. Barnabas vouched for Saul and told them about the miraculous conversion Saul had experienced near Damascus. The Believers in Jerusalem were wary of being associated with this Saul of Tarsus who had been on of the principal witness of the execution of Stephen, the First Martyr of the Church. Barnabas was a generous, faithful, and supportive companion to The Apostle Paul during much of the early years of the Church working tirelessly with him to establish churches in many cities. The tow endured many hardship and persecutions, beatings, and life-threatening moments together. They fell into sharp disagreement about another Disciple named John Mark who had traveled with them for a time, but abandoned them in Pamphylia. Barnabas wanted to bring him back into service, but Paul refused. They split up and went their separate ways. Barnabas did give John Mark another chance and took in under his wing as his traveling and preaching companion. There is an apocryphal Epistle credited to Barnabas.
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
