The Lord still bids us to get busy and join him in feeding the multitudes.
Sunday, Aug. 2, is the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Mass readings: Isaiah 55:1-3; Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18; Romans 8:35, 37-39; Matthew 14:13-21.
The Gospel is the very familiar Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes (or Feeding of the Five Thousand).
After Jesus “withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself,” crowds “followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.”
But that is not all they needed.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”
Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
A personal appeal comes directly from the Lord’s lips to our ears: The Lord still bids us to get busy and join him in feeding the multitudes.
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
And then comes the miracle:
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over —
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.
What does this parable teach us?
We all know that this world is in an increasingly bad state and the problems feel overwhelming. What will we ever do with our “five loaves and two fishes?”
Let us assess our “loaves and fishes”:
- I can work on my own conversion. A holier world must start with me. If I get holier, the world gets holier.
- I can pick up the phone and call a family member who I know is hurting.
- I can love my spouse and my children.
- I can spend time raising my children to know the Lord and to seek his kingdom.
- With love, I can rebuke sin and encourage righteousness.
- If I am a priest or religious, I can faithfully live my vocation and heroically call others to Christ by teaching and proclaiming the Gospel without compromise.
- If I am young, I can prepare myself devoutly for a vocation to marriage, the priesthood or religious life.
- If I am older, I can seek to manifest wisdom and to provide a good example to the young.
- If I am elderly, I can prepare myself for death devoutly and display the desire for heaven.
- I can pray for this world and attend Mass faithfully, begging God’s mercy on this sin-soaked world.
Jesus says, “Bring them to me.” We should bring him what we have so that we can get started together.
Bring your loaves and fishes to Jesus.
This guide is adapted from a past post.
