REVISITING MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES

MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES REVISITED

 

…and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves. – John 6:13

 

Almost 10 years ago, I spent four days in a retreat with Pascal Pingualt, the founder of the Bread of Life Community in France. He shared with us one event when the Bread of Life brothers received this idea of organizing a Pentecost for the poor.

They invited everybody without any registration even though they didn’t have money. They planned the affair to last for three days. They didn’t know how many would come. Yet they organized everything, pitched tents and so on.

Five thousand came. It was a lot of people to feed by a community that didn’t have any money. And there was no registration fee! But they simply prayed. Miraculously, all had enough to eat during the three-day affair. A butcher gave one ton of cooked rice. Someone else brought a truck of chocolate. With the many poor people, they ate and prayed and had a big feast for three days.

Miracles preached in the Gospel can happen today in our midst — if we exercise enough faith and obedience to what the Holy Spirit prompts us.Cristy Galang (cristy_cc@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

Do I allow the Holy Spirit to perform miracles through me? Do I have enough faith and trust in the Lord to make this happen?

 

My Jesus, thank You for reminding me of the great things You can do in me or through me — if only I will trust You enough. Oh please increase my faith and openness to Your Spirit. Amen.

 

WHY ALL THE LEFTOVER FOOD?

 

Whenever I reflect upon the parables of the multiplication of the food (which, by the way, is the only miracle that is common to all the four Gospels), I always wonder why there is so much food left over. What do you think? The simplest answer is that it is God’s way of showing that His love is overflowing. Yet, there are many in the world who would say that this is not their experience of life on a daily basis. What does this miracle story mean to those who lack food, water, medicine, housing, etc.? This is very difficult to answer. Some might say that the miracle is symbolic of God’s love for us but this answer falls short because if we truly love someone, we will do what we can to give them what they need.

Perhaps the answer lies more along the mystery of God’s provision. Perhaps it is a challenge to us who have more to give to those in need. After all, the initial experience in the miracle is that of “want” as the disciples seek to feed a massive crowd with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. Jesus does what He can and there is more left over. Perhaps the excess is meant to symbolize that when we give to others, we should not calculate the exact amount they need but give generously to them and do our best to ensure that they will have enough. In this case, the excess is seen as a sign of generosity and disinterestedness in oneself when faced with the needs of others.

I think this starts to get closer to the point of the miracle — God does what He can, and leaves the rest to us. There is enough food in the world to feed everyone. But there are many who eat excessively and wastefully while others barely have anything to eat. Those who have too much should bring their excess to those who need it. How this is done on a global scale is beyond me, but on a local scale, it is clear that each of us has a moral responsibility to do all that we can to alleviate the sufferings of those around us. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

Reflection Question:

What do I see as my responsibility towards those who are suffering? How can I help them?

 

Father, You did not want to see us punished for our sins so You sent Jesus to redeem us. We did not deserve this but You did it anyway. Help me to put the dignity of human life before any judgments of the worthiness of an individual for my help.

 

St. Encratia, pray for us.