Catholic=Universal

Today's readings are a beautiful reflection on the universality of the Church. In the first reading, from Isaiah, we hear that the Lord will provide for His people a feast of "rich foods and choice wines" on a mountain. We're also told that the Lord will wipe away all tears and remove the reproach of His people from the whole earth, pointing towards the Church's future inclusivity of Gentiles.

This leads us to today's Gospel from Matthew. We're all familiar with the feeding of the 5,000, but did you know that Jesus performed a SEPARATE feeding of 4,000? It's true! It's also today's Gospel. Jesus is healing people on a mountain near the Decapolis, a Gentile region.

The crowd is amazed at the signs He performs, and praise