Tag: miracle of the loaves

Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Remove from me the way of falsehood, and favor me with your law. Lord, teach me your statutes.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 14:13-21)

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.” He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” 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. 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.

Moved by compassion for the crowd even after hearing of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus cures the sick and then feeds them by multiplying the loaves and fish. What Jesus does as he multiplies the loaves is recalled during the Last Supper and during the consecration of every Mass. At his command, we bring our gifts of bread and wine—and our very selves—as the Lord takes the gifts, blesses them and becomes present in the consecrated host. As the Communion Rite from the Roman Missal states: “As the ministers prepare the altar, representatives of the people bring forward the bread and wine that will become the Body and Blood of Christ. The celebrant blesses and praises God for these gifts and places them on the altar, the place of the Eucharistic sacrifice.”

God, every good gift comes from you. Take from me today the simple gifts I give you so that they become through your blessing the spiritual nourishment that strengthens and sustains me. Jesus tells us that he was sent by you and that to do your work is to believe in him. “This is the work of God,” he says to the crowd, “that you believe in the one he sent.” Strengthen my faith, Lord, in your abiding presence. Give me greater understanding and appreciation of the Eucharist as I see the gifts brought to the altar and recognize Jesus’ presence in the breaking of the bread. Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“I do not want to send them away hungry.” | Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 15:29-37)

Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?”

Just as Isaiah speaks of the LORD of hosts providing for his people from the mountain, Jesus goes up on a nearby mountain as people placed at his feet come to be cured. Matthew describes the scene: “The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.” The crowd had been with Jesus for three days, and still he has more to give them. “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd . . . for they have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” Here, Jesus’ compassion extends not only to those who came to be cured but also to those who brought them to his feet; in caring for others, they also come to Jesus for his sustenance.

“Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” the disciples ask. God, help me understand that how Jesus answers this reveals the nature of your being. In giving you thanks and dividing the seven loaves to feed the great crowds, Jesus reverses the natural order. Rather than breaking the seven loaves into smaller and smaller morsels, Jesus multiplies them and provides more—enough to fill seven baskets full. From your being, Lord, division doesn’t result in fractions but in unbroken abundance. In taking the loaves, breaking them, and giving thanks to you, Jesus provides more than enough for the crowd. In this deserted place of earthly exile, God, where could we ever get enough to satisfy? Give me the grace of compassion, trusting that in sharing the little I have to give, you will multiply with your divine power. Help me today find you in the true bread of life, at its source and summit in the Eucharist.

From the first reading: “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, The web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 14:13-21)

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.

In today’s Gospel, we hear about the events that follow the death of John the Baptist. On hearing that news, Matthew tells us, Jesus withdraws by boat to a deserted place. But he’s not alone. The crowds follow him on foot. As he disembarks from the boat, he sees the vast crowd. Moved to pity at the sight of them, he cures their sick. Just as in the first reading, where God provides manna for the Israelites, Jesus provides for the crowd of 5,000 from the multiplication of five loaves and two fish. When God divides, he multiplies so that there is plenty for all.

God, help me today to be among the vast crowd that comes to you for every need. Let me remember to look around and help others approach you or need direction in finding you. Jesus disembarked from the boat, and there the crowd stood before him. Bring me to that place where I cast aside what is unneeded and instead stand before you in need of receiving the true food and true drink of your mercy.

From the responsorial psalm: “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Lord, in your mercy, hear me.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”

Jesus responds to the disciples, who had brought only one loaf with them in the boat, first by saying, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And then: “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?” Is it possible that the disciples failed to recognize that Jesus could just as well provide for them as he had for the five thousand by breaking and sharing the five loaves? The leaven of the Pharisees and Herod—only a little bad leaven added to a large batch contaminates the whole. The limitations of tradition and customs—even natural law—can limit the ability to see God at work in creation and to cooperate with it.

God, I have little to give and often forget you; open my mind to understand today’s Gospel. Act in me through the Holy Spirit to see how your will is being done today.

Thank you, God, for your abundant gifts! I ask you to be present with me today by keeping your word. As the Responsorial Psalm says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him and we will come to him.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues preaching the Sermon on the Mount. In the Gospel passage, he refers to the Ten Commandments in speaking to them about the law and its fulfillment. For each of the laws that he teaches about, such as You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment, he follows with the words and introduces his teaching by saying “But I say to you.” Jesus says to the disciples at the beginning of the passage: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” He goes on to address anger, lust, adultery, and falsehood. For each of these, Jesus does not offer his opinion but Truth and Wisdom itself, the Son of God, speaking of right relationships with the Father.

God, help me grasp the meaning of today’s Gospel as it applies to the choices I make today. The evil one excels at subtle deception. In his compassion, your Son looks deep into the human heart to teach the disciples—to teach all of us—where sin occurs. From within our hearts, choices lie before us, says Sirach, of fire and water, life and death, good and evil. As Jesus says about false oaths, “Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” By this, your Son guides us to depend on you through the Holy Spirit in discerning the mysteries of your kingdom and keeping your words.

From the Responsorial Psalm: “Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them. Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”

These words of the disciples from today’s Gospel are in response to Jesus’ compassion for the crowd that had been following him for three days. He is afraid that on their long journey home the people will collapse along the way. Jesus replies to the disciples question: “How many loaves do you have?” They told him seven. Mark tells us that Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves and some fish, he gives thanks, breaks the bread, and gives the food to his disciples to distribute. After the four thousand people ate and were satisfied, the leftover fragments filled seven baskets. Jesus satisfies and fills the crowd physically and spiritually. In response to the disciples’ question, “enough bread to satisfy,” Jesus goes far beyond expectation in his extravagant love and compassion for the crowd.

God, open my eyes and my mind to understand today’s Gospel. After Jesus fed the crowd, he dismissed them and went by boat with his disciples to the region of Dalmanutha. I can’t help seeing in Jesus’ dismissal of the crowd the same dismissal at the end of every celebration of Mass when the priest or deacon says, “Go, you are dismissed,” which translated from Latin is “Ite, missa est.” Thank you, God, for the Eucharist, for the supersubstantial bread to sustain me in this life as I strive to live in the light of your glory in the life to come. Let me be dismissed to know and do your will.

In restlessness, Lord, nothing is enough, nothing satisfies. Take the little I have, as you did the seven loaves, and do with it what you will. I ask for the grace today to know your will, to know you are present, placing me far beyond my own idea of what is enough.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings