"They all ate and were satisfied"
First Reading
1 John 4:7-10
7Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. 8He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 72:1-4, 7-8
0A Psalm of Solomon. 1Give the king thy justice, O God, and thy righteousness to the royal son! 2May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice! 3Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! 6May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! 7In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
Gospel
Mark 6:34-44
34As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; 36send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat." 37But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?" 38And he said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." 39Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42And they all ate and were satisfied. 43And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
MEDITATION 1: Bro. Don Schwager
Nothing can satisfy the deepest longing and desire of the heart - except God alone. Do you believe that is true? Of all the miracles Jesus did, the multiplication of loaves and fishes is the only one which is repeated in all four Gospels. A great crowd of people had gathered to hear Jesus because they were hungry for God's word. Jesus' disciples had wanted to send the crowd away at the end of the day because they did not have the resources to feed them. They even complained how much money it would take to feed such a large crowd - at least six month's wages!
Jesus satisfies our hunger - both physically and spiritually
Jesus did the unthinkable. He took the little food they had - only five loaves and two fish - and giving thanks to his Father in heaven, he blessed and distributed this meager portion to the vast crowd. To the amazement of all, there was more than enough food for everyone present. And they ate until there were satisfied of their hunger. The twelve disciples took up what was left over - twelve baskets full of fish and loaves - so that nothing would be wasted.
Jesus is the true bread of heaven - which produces abundant life
What is the significance of this miracle? The miraculous feeding of such a great multitude pointed to God's provision of manna in the wilderness for the people of Israel under Moses' leadership. This food foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers. Jesus makes a claim only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience.
The feeding of the five thousand shows the remarkable generosity of God and his great kindness towards us. In the multiplication of the loaves and fishes we see a sign and a symbol of what God always does. When God gives - he gives abundantly. He gives more than we need for ourselves so that we may have something to share with others as well, especially those who lack what they need. God takes the little we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Do you trust in God's provision for your life and do you freely share what you have with others, especially those who lack what they need?
"Lord Jesus Christ, you satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Psalm 81:16). Fill me with gratitude for your blessings and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others what you have given to me."
MEDITATION 2: FR. Alfonse
Mk 6:34-44 Are You Good?
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Someone recently asked the question: “Is it possible to be good without believing in God?” The answer is: It depends. It all depends on the meaning of the word “good”. Is it possible to be "friendly" without believing in God? It depends. It depends on the meaning of the word “friendly”.
I can define “good”. You can too. And we may actually find ourselves in perfect agreement, but totally wrong.
This is where Christ comes in. This is where God comes in. The Lord taught the people many things, including “loving our enemies” and “doing good to those who harm you”. What He did was teach us (remind us) where "good" comes from: from God.
Without the anchor of God we can easily call good “bad” and bad “good”. Without the Rock of God, we can easily be all over the map with regards to being “good”. As history has shown, we can justify just about anything and call just about anything “good”.
Are you good? “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God” (1Jn 4:10).
Recently, an atheist who teaches math in a public school wrote the following to me: “You are embarrassing yourself…atheists are laughing at you.”
Interesting…this is coming from someone who calls himself a “friendly” non-believer. I find it utterly amazing and humorous at how someone can refute another person's argument with a non-argument. But what I find even more amazing is how some people define themselves (i.e. "Friendly"). This is not surprising to me; after all, without God we can call ourselves whatever we want.
Well, embarrassing oneself means nothing. There have been plenty of wise people who looked like fools. And we all know that laughter is typically a fool’s last recourse (Risus abundat in ore stultorum = laughter is abundant in the mouths of fools).
Here is a good lesson. Christians are not called by Christ to laugh at people (I can’t recall a single scriptural quote where the Lord laughed at someone). Rather, Christians are called by Christ to laugh with people. But if we don’t have Him as our model of life, then on what shall we base good upon? The whims of men. Anything goes. Nothing is wrong.
Now we are ready to hear John Lennon’s song and truly imagine a world without religion; that is, a world full of people who take pleasure at laughing at others. How peaceful do you think the world would truly be?
Another atheist (not the same individual) called me (and every catholic) every possible profane name in the book. What I found most interesting about this e-mail was what was printed at the very bottom: “You may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone.”
What exactly did the Lord teach his people? How to be good, how to be honest, and how to love. These things are obviously not very obvious.
P.S. Either God is or He is not. Fifty-fifty. Why? Here is my apologia. Every arguments made “against” God may actually be used in favor of God. For every argument that appears to refute God, a similar argument can be made to support God.
What really drives us to believe or not to believe in God are not so much the arguments made but the way we approach them.
First Reading
1 John 4:7-10
7Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. 8He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 72:1-4, 7-8
0A Psalm of Solomon. 1Give the king thy justice, O God, and thy righteousness to the royal son! 2May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice! 3Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! 6May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! 7In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
Gospel
Mark 6:34-44
34As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; 36send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat." 37But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?" 38And he said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." 39Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42And they all ate and were satisfied. 43And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
MEDITATION 1: Bro. Don Schwager
Nothing can satisfy the deepest longing and desire of the heart - except God alone. Do you believe that is true? Of all the miracles Jesus did, the multiplication of loaves and fishes is the only one which is repeated in all four Gospels. A great crowd of people had gathered to hear Jesus because they were hungry for God's word. Jesus' disciples had wanted to send the crowd away at the end of the day because they did not have the resources to feed them. They even complained how much money it would take to feed such a large crowd - at least six month's wages!
Jesus satisfies our hunger - both physically and spiritually
Jesus did the unthinkable. He took the little food they had - only five loaves and two fish - and giving thanks to his Father in heaven, he blessed and distributed this meager portion to the vast crowd. To the amazement of all, there was more than enough food for everyone present. And they ate until there were satisfied of their hunger. The twelve disciples took up what was left over - twelve baskets full of fish and loaves - so that nothing would be wasted.
Jesus is the true bread of heaven - which produces abundant life
What is the significance of this miracle? The miraculous feeding of such a great multitude pointed to God's provision of manna in the wilderness for the people of Israel under Moses' leadership. This food foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers. Jesus makes a claim only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience.
The feeding of the five thousand shows the remarkable generosity of God and his great kindness towards us. In the multiplication of the loaves and fishes we see a sign and a symbol of what God always does. When God gives - he gives abundantly. He gives more than we need for ourselves so that we may have something to share with others as well, especially those who lack what they need. God takes the little we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Do you trust in God's provision for your life and do you freely share what you have with others, especially those who lack what they need?
"Lord Jesus Christ, you satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Psalm 81:16). Fill me with gratitude for your blessings and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others what you have given to me."
MEDITATION 2: FR. Alfonse
Mk 6:34-44 Are You Good?
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Someone recently asked the question: “Is it possible to be good without believing in God?” The answer is: It depends. It all depends on the meaning of the word “good”. Is it possible to be "friendly" without believing in God? It depends. It depends on the meaning of the word “friendly”.
I can define “good”. You can too. And we may actually find ourselves in perfect agreement, but totally wrong.
This is where Christ comes in. This is where God comes in. The Lord taught the people many things, including “loving our enemies” and “doing good to those who harm you”. What He did was teach us (remind us) where "good" comes from: from God.
Without the anchor of God we can easily call good “bad” and bad “good”. Without the Rock of God, we can easily be all over the map with regards to being “good”. As history has shown, we can justify just about anything and call just about anything “good”.
Are you good? “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God” (1Jn 4:10).
Recently, an atheist who teaches math in a public school wrote the following to me: “You are embarrassing yourself…atheists are laughing at you.”
Interesting…this is coming from someone who calls himself a “friendly” non-believer. I find it utterly amazing and humorous at how someone can refute another person's argument with a non-argument. But what I find even more amazing is how some people define themselves (i.e. "Friendly"). This is not surprising to me; after all, without God we can call ourselves whatever we want.
Well, embarrassing oneself means nothing. There have been plenty of wise people who looked like fools. And we all know that laughter is typically a fool’s last recourse (Risus abundat in ore stultorum = laughter is abundant in the mouths of fools).
Here is a good lesson. Christians are not called by Christ to laugh at people (I can’t recall a single scriptural quote where the Lord laughed at someone). Rather, Christians are called by Christ to laugh with people. But if we don’t have Him as our model of life, then on what shall we base good upon? The whims of men. Anything goes. Nothing is wrong.
Now we are ready to hear John Lennon’s song and truly imagine a world without religion; that is, a world full of people who take pleasure at laughing at others. How peaceful do you think the world would truly be?
Another atheist (not the same individual) called me (and every catholic) every possible profane name in the book. What I found most interesting about this e-mail was what was printed at the very bottom: “You may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone.”
What exactly did the Lord teach his people? How to be good, how to be honest, and how to love. These things are obviously not very obvious.
P.S. Either God is or He is not. Fifty-fifty. Why? Here is my apologia. Every arguments made “against” God may actually be used in favor of God. For every argument that appears to refute God, a similar argument can be made to support God.
What really drives us to believe or not to believe in God are not so much the arguments made but the way we approach them.