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WSC Reflection for August 2, 2020

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A, Year II)

Community Word: Jesus, the Bread of Life, answers the needs of those who heed Him.

Theme: We heed Jesus when we are compassionate and generous in sharing our blessings to others.

Promise: “Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.” (Is 55:2b)

Reflection:
In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus performs a miracle – the multiplication of five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus did this in the spirit of compassion and sensitivity.

“When he saw the vast crowd his heart was moved with pity,” (Mt 14:14b).  And, to motivate his disciples in the act of sharing, Jesus directed them to give the people food themselves (cf. Mt 14:15-16). After blessing the bread and fish, the disciples started giving the food to the crowd, and this is when the miracle of multiplication happened. Everyone started to become God’s conduit of His blessing in the act of sharing.

Unlike the reaction of the disciples who wanted to resolve the food crisis by dismissing the crowd to buy food for themselves, on the other hand, Jesus found a compassionate solution by making do with what little they have. He offered prayer and performed a miracle, and above all, showed an example on how one can rise above a difficult situation by sharing. The miracle may seem to be just a physical wonder of multiplication, but what could have happened was a miracle in people’s heart when they started sharing the little they had. We find this situation today during the pandemic – people reaching out to others to share what they have, helping one another weather these difficult circumstances in their lives, with compassion and generosity.

Sometimes, we act like the initial reaction of the disciples in trying to get rid of a problem. What may be our version of caring and compassion is often spiritualized by way of praying and good wishes. ‘I will pray for you’ or ‘God bless’ is a common phrase often said when someone expresses difficulties and asks for help. Yes, we wish people well, but sometimes it stops there. “And you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” (Jas 2:16).

What stops us from taking positive action is often our defeatist or pessimistic mentality, that the little we do will not make any noticeable difference at all – ‘sa liit ng gagawin, hindi na yan mapapansin,’ But, as St. Theresa of Calcutta says, small things when done with love do make a difference. Eliminating poverty in our country today is possible when everyone shares and contributes to the whole, an attitude that should become our way of life. As shown by Jesus in the gospel, we see that when we translate our action into genuine caring and compassion, the little we do is multiplied by God’s grace in such a way that it becomes more sufficient for our need. Jesus could have produced food out of nothing; but he used five loaves and two fish brought to him to show us what happens when we do our part, no matter how small, in the miracle of love and sharing.

As people of God, His Church, His community, we endure all kinds of hunger – for food, for love, for peace. God is able and ready to satisfy all our needs, but He is waiting for us to be like His Son Jesus, to be good and compassionate in sharing ourselves and our blessings to others. We are the “five loaves and two fish” that God needs to become a miracle of life. As God is calling us to be His hands to feed His people and answering all our needs, this is His promise, “Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare,” (Is 55:2b).

Prayer:
Make me a channel of Your blessing, a channel through whom Your love, peace and joy flow out for others. May I be Your hands to bless others. May You guide my feet to places where I can go and be a blessing to others. May I realize that the little I have can be shared as a way of life. May my speech be seasoned with salt so that I may speak words of comfort and encouragement, and speak the Truth. Give me the grace to be available when others are in need. Make me an instrument of Your love. In Jesus holy name, I pray. Amen.

Reflection Guide Questions:
1. How do you feel when you are able to share a little of your blessing to help others? Do you practice Christian giving as a way of life?

2. Do you continue to give a little love offering or tithing (a small percentage of your income) to your parish and/ or community? How do you feel doing this?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
Aug 2, 2020 (Sun) – Is 55:1-3/ Ps 145:8-9, 1-18/ Rom 8:35, 37-39/ Mt 14:13-21
Aug 3, 2020 (Mon) – Jer 28:1-17/ Ps 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 103/ Mt 14:22-36
Aug 4, 2020 (Tues) – Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22/ Ps 102, 16-21, 29, 22-23/ Mt 15:1-2, 10-14
Aug 5, 2020 (Wed) – Jer 31:1-7/ Jer 31:10, 11-12ab, 13/ Mt 15: 21-28
Aug 6, 2020 (Thurs) – Dan 7:9-10, 13-14/ Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 9/ 2 Pt 1:16-19/ Mt 17:1-9
Aug 7, 2020 (Fri) – Nah 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7/ Deut 32:35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41/ Mt 16:24-28
Aug 8, 2020 (Sat) – Hbk 1:12 – 2:4/ Ps 9:8-9, 10-11, 12-13/ Mt 17:14-20

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”

 

 

 
 

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