Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 14,13-21.
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and 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.
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.”
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.
Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
You have to give.
- Calm and secluded: Jesus seeks his moment and his space. You and I must also look for our moment and space, to get away from everyday’s hustle and stress. We can be rushing around forever. Find a moment of the day to have your encounter with God but also to find yourself again, you have to be able to separate yourself from everything around you. That requires sacrifice, even if you wake up a few minutes before and take your time to sit alone and have coffee or teas and talk to God or listen to a meditation and talk to Him. Seek to separate yourself from everything to meet God and yourself and not that everything separates you from God and from yourself.
- Say goodbye: it is the suggestion given by the apostles, there are times when we look for comfort and easiness. We stay in our comfort zone & let others do things … this leads you to forget that the Christian is called to give his best, and if you can help, help! It is good to give a hand and selfless service. Today as we start the week it is good to help others, even if it is just sweeping the floor without your mom or someone asking you to do so.
- There are plenty of them: when God works together with us he can touch many hearts. Do not be afraid of the challenges, feeding so many people was a challenge. Learn to trust God and yourself, do not stop in life because it is like the paratrooper: it is not that he is not afraid to jump but that he gets the courage to take on the challenge and jump trusting God, in himself and in the parachute . You trust God, yourself and your parachute. That parachute can be your wife, your husband, your children, anyway … think today who is your parachute that helps you fall well when facing life’s challenges
God bless you and be with you, in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
…and do not forget: Heaven is Our Goal!
