Thus says the Lord:
All you who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me and listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.
Brothers and sisters:
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
All you who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me and listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.
Second reading Romans 8:35-39
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves. ” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves. ” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here. ” Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over — twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
Reflection
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves. ” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves. ” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here. ” Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over — twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
Reflection
By Bernard M. Borja
Do you remember the last time you dined at an all-you-can-eat buffet? So many food cooked in different varieties and served to fully satisfy your hunger. It’s even better if you were invited to take part in a celebration which is free of charge. Much better if your loved ones are dining with you in such festivity. Sometimes, you tend to get a little of each so that you can taste almost all of the food being served. But after being full and satisfied, still there are more food ready to be served for more guests.
Somehow, a buffet restaurant can give us a glimpse of how abundant God’s banquet is. Overflowing food, joyful celebrations, bottomless drinks, and diners are treated as special guests. But God’s banquet is far beyond these things that can only satisfy our human desires. Our hunger and thirst drives us to seek for things that will satisfy us. Even more when we need to provide for our loved ones. We do everything that we can to put food on the table. But there are times that earthly food is not enough to nourish us. We also need the nourishment for our soul through Christ that will not only satisfy our human hunger, but also our deepest desires.
In our readings today, God reminds us four things - 1. An invitation to His abundant feast, 2.
Such a feast that will satisfy all our hunger and deepest desires, 3. That nothing can ever
abandon us from being invited by God, and 4. To share the graces to others as a response to God’s invitation. But as I reflect on these, questions arise in my heart as my hunger and thirst go deeper.
My wife and I miss dining out with our loved ones. More so, we miss being invited, and being able to come, to celebrate special occasions with our families and friends. It has been more than six months since we were able to visit and share a meal with them. Like our longing to share joyfully with our loved ones, the hunger and thirst has deepened especially to respond to God’s invitation to celebrate with Him through the Holy Eucharist. We constantly participate in online Masses from different parishes for spiritual nourishment but I feel this is not enough. This made me ask constantly, “How can people be nourished well in these times? How can people respond to God’s invitation in the midst of this pandemic? How can we receive again these graces that we long for?”.
Many people today are struggling to believe and trust God. I remember a news story about a governor in a foreign country, who is an atheist, said that he did everything that he could to slow the spread of the virus. As some people praised God, this governor said that he was the one who did it, not God. I watched this news on social media and I came across a comment saying, “Praise God for He uses everyone as an instrument of His love. Even the non-believers.” This made me realize something about my perception of God’s invitation.
Maybe I’m forgetting that when Jesus saw the vast crowd, His heart was moved with pity. Maybe I’m forgetting what Jesus said to His disciples when they became concerned about the people’s food. Jesus said, “Give them some food yourselves.” And maybe I did not realize that Jesus broke the loaves first, gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowd. This pandemic continues to reveal to us our deepest longing and desires. But most of the time, we become too focused on ourselves. In our desire for survival, we have forgotten how we are invited to have compassion for others, to offer whatever we have, and to be ready to receive the multiplied graces and share it to the hungry. Today, people are not just hungry for earthly food, but they are also starving for peace. Jesus invites us to offer our selfish desires and let Him transform these into the grace that we seek. May it be the grace of an open heart to acknowledge and receive His inseparable love for us, or the grace of His peace to calm us and help us continue to trust in Him. I believe that in responding to Jesus’ invitation to share whatever graces that we have received, our deepest hunger and thirst are being satisfied. For this is what it really means to take part in the abundant banquet of God, which has more than enough for all to be nourished.
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
We thank You for journeying with us during these difficult times when our hunger only
goes deeper everyday. As we offer our desire to take part in Your banquet, we also offer our
fears especially in this time of uncertainty. We pray for the grace of an open heart to receive the same peace that You gave to the disciples. So that we may be able to respond to Your invitation to offer what we have, and share the multiplied graces to those who are in most need of Your mercy and compassion. Amen.
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