By Bernardo Strozzi [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
“The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.” cf. Psalm
145:16
God is always aware of what we need, and He desires to
provide for us in every way, both spiritually and physically. In today’s Gospel
reading, Jesus directs his disciples to feed a gathered crowd of 5000. Although
the disciples have no provisions for the multitude, Andrew finds a small boy
who is willing to share his five barley loaves and two fish. Andrew doesn’t
dismiss the boy’s offering, but presents it to Jesus, who blesses it and
multiplies it. The loaves and fishes miraculously feed all those who are
gathered, with enough left over to fill twelve baskets. Because of the
generosity of a child, the faith of a disciple, and the blessing of God, the
crowd was fed that day long ago, as we too are fed and nourished by the hand of
the Lord, who provides for us with His own Body and Blood in the Eucharistic
banquet.
St. John Paul II, in his 1982 Address to the Young People of
Scotland, reflects on how young people, like the little boy in the Gospel, can
make a difference by offering their own lives and gifts:
“Saint Andrew gave Jesus all there was available, and Jesus
miraculously fed those five thousand people and still had something left over.
It is exactly the same with your lives. Left alone to face the difficult
challenges of life today, you feel conscious of your inadequacy and afraid of
what the future may hold for you."
"But what I say to you is this: place your lives in the hands of Jesus. He will accept you, and bless you, and he will make such use of your lives as will be beyond your greatest expectations! In other words: surrender yourselves, like so many loaves and fishes, into the all-powerful, sustaining hands of God and you will find yourselves transformed with "newness of life", with fullness of life.”
"But what I say to you is this: place your lives in the hands of Jesus. He will accept you, and bless you, and he will make such use of your lives as will be beyond your greatest expectations! In other words: surrender yourselves, like so many loaves and fishes, into the all-powerful, sustaining hands of God and you will find yourselves transformed with "newness of life", with fullness of life.”
What do you have to offer to Jesus today? Whatever it is – the
child’s loaves and fishes, the widow’s last few pennies, or your own prayers,
works, joys and sufferings - give it generously, without counting the cost, and
trust Jesus to multiply your humble gift beyond all imagining.
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