The Lord provides. In every instance and circumstance, the abundance of God is not exhausted or strained. He is able to address, fill, and even overfill, our meager needs because nothing is difficult for Him. He doesn’t run out of resources or energy or desire.
Jesus demonstrates the mysterious abundance and generosity of God and how He freely and easily provides for those who express their needs to Him with faith and trust – lepers receive healing, cripples are given strength, the blind receive sight, the dead are given life, the mourning receive their loved ones anew, and the hungry receive food.
All of these miraculous gifts of God, which fill and overfill our needs, are intended to point to our deeper needs: our spiritual leprosy, our spiritual blindness, our spiritual hunger. God alone can meet those needs, and we are unsatisfied until they are filled! But this filling is dependent on our willingness to lift up our needs to Him with faith and trust. Even just our little faith and trust, offered to Him for his purposes, allows God to reach down and pour out His goodness. What we see as pitifully inadequate becomes more than enough when offered wholly to Him, acknowledging that He is the Giver of every good thing.
In today’s Gospel, we see what God can do with our meager offerings. The disciples offer the little food that they have (not even enough to satisfy their own hunger!), and Jesus gives thanks, blesses it, and gives it to the disciples to distribute. He invites them into His work of mysteriously, miraculously, and easily satisfying over 4,000 with only those seven loaves and a few fish – with enough left over to fill seven baskets!
Jesus invites us into His work of filling others’ needs as well. He fills our deep spiritual need, and invites us to participate with Him in feeding others. Because, as the Gospel Antiphon for today reminds us, “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Today, let us ask the Lord to help us hear this invitation in our daily lives, and to offer our meager resources and abilities to Him, so that we can help with His work of healing and bringing God’s Word of salvation to those around us
El Señor provee. En cada caso y circunstancia, la abundancia de Dios no se agota ni se acaba. Él es capaz de abordar, llenar e incluso colmar nuestras escasas necesidades porque nada es difícil para Él. No se queda sin recursos, energía ni deseo.
Jesús demuestra la misteriosa abundancia y generosidad de Dios y cómo provee libre y fácilmente para los que le expresan sus necesidades con fe y confianza: los leprosos reciben sanidad, los discapacitados reciben fuerza, los ciegos reciben vista, los muertos reciben vida, los dolientes reciben a sus seres queridos de nuevo y los hambrientos reciben alimento.
Todos estos dones milagrosos de Dios, que llenan y colman nuestras necesidades, tienen como objetivo señalar nuestras necesidades más profundas: nuestra lepra espiritual, nuestra ceguera espiritual, nuestro hambre espiritual. Solo Dios puede satisfacer esas necesidades, ¡y estamos insatisfechos hasta que se satisfacen! Pero esta satisfacción depende de nuestra voluntad de elevar nuestras necesidades a Él con fe y confianza. Incluso nuestra pequeña fe y confianza, ofrecidas a Él para sus propósitos, permite que Dios se acerque y derrame su bondad. Lo que vemos como lamentablemente inadecuado se vuelve más que suficiente cuando se lo ofrecemos por completo a Él, reconociendo que Él es el Dador de todo lo bueno.
En el Evangelio de hoy, vemos lo que Dios puede hacer con nuestras escasas ofrendas. Los discípulos ofrecen la poca comida que tienen (¡que ni siquiera es suficiente para saciar su propia hambre!), y Jesús da gracias, la bendice y se la da a los discípulos para que la distribuyan. Los invita a participar en su obra de satisfacer misteriosa, milagrosa y fácilmente a más de 4.000 personas con solo esos siete panes y unos cuantos peces, ¡y sobró tanto que llenó siete canastas!
Jesús nos invita a participar en su obra de satisfacer las necesidades de los demás también. Satisface nuestra profunda necesidad espiritual y nos invita a participar con Él en la alimentación de los demás. Porque, como nos recuerda la Aclamación antes del Evangelio, “No sólo de pan vive el hombre, sino también de toda palabra que sale de la boca de Dios”.
Hoy, pidamos al Señor que nos ayude a escuchar esta invitación en la vida diaria y a ofrecerle nuestros escasos recursos y habilidades, para que podamos ayudar en su obra de sanación y de llevar la Palabra de Dios a quienes nos rodean.
Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and eleven grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is www.KathrynTherese.com
Feature Image Credit: Alex Bayev, https://www.pexels.com/photo/fish-on-white-background-19993441/
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
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