29 At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 Great
crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed,
the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured
them. 31 The
crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made
whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified
the God of Israel.
32 Jesus
summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the
crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to
eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse
on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few
fish.” 35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then
he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over — seven baskets full.
Reflection
“Great crowds came to him, having with them the
lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at
his feet, and he cured them.” ~ v. 30
The late columnist Ann Landers gave advice to
people for over 30 years. One day an interviewer asked her, “What question are
you asked most?” Ann said it was a very simple question, “What’s the matter
with me? Why am I lonely?” When asked what answer she gave to this question,
Ann said, “Get involved! Do something for other people. The people who need
help are all about you. Everywhere you look you see them.”
The advice of Ann Landers and the example of
Jesus in the Gospel invite me to ask: Who is one person whom I could help?
“Self sacrifice is never entirely unselfish,
for the giver never fails to receive.” ~
Dolores McGuire
Reflection Credits: Fr. Mark Link, SJ, Daily Homilies, slightly adapted
Prayer Response
