DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 5, 2013
MEMORIAL, DEDICATION OF THE BASILICA DI SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE
MONDAY 18TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YR I

Num 11:4-15 / Ps 81: 12-13. 14-15. 16-17 / Mt 14:13-21

Numbers 11:4-15
Now the rabble that was among them had greedy desires and even the Israelites wept and said, "Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate without cost in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and garlic. Now our appetite is gone; there's nothing to look at, nothing but manna." Now the manna was like coriander seed and had the appearance of bedellium. The people went about gathering it up and then ground it between millstones or pounded it in a mortar. They boiled it in a pot and made cakes with it which tasted like cakes made with oil. As soon as dew fell at night in the camp, the manna came with it. Moses heard the people crying, family by family at the entrance to their tent and Yahweh became very angry. This displeased Moses. Then Moses said to Yahweh, "Why have you treated your servant so badly? Is it because you do not love me that you burdened me with this people? Did I conceive all these people and did I give them birth? And now you want me to carry them in my bosom as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their fathers? Where would I get meat for all these people, when they cry to me saying: `Give us meat that we may eat?' I cannot, myself alone, carry all these people; the burden is too heavy for me. Kill me rather than treat me like this, I beg of you, if you look kindly on me, and let me not see your anger."

Matthew 14:13-21
On hearing this, Jesus set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, he saw the crowd gathered there and he had compassion on them. And he healed their sick. Late in the afternoon, his disciples came to him and said, "We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat." But Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat." They answered, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes." Jesus said to them, "Bring them here to me." Then he made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised his eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.

REFLECTION
How do we treat those who make unexpected demands on us? When Jesus and his disciples sought a place to rest, they, instead, found five thousand people waiting for them. Did they resent the intrusion? Jesus certainly did not and welcomed them with open arms. Jesus put human need ahead of everything else. In this famous bible story of multiplying loaves and fish, what we witness is that the presence of God's love will heal us physically as well as spiritually. We can never intrude upon God or exhaust His generosity and kindness.

With just a basket of food barely enough for him and his disciples, why did Jesus command his disciples to do such a seemingly impossible feat of feeding a large and hungry crowd? Why does he ask us to do difficult things or put us in hard situations and trials in our lives? He wants to strengthen our faith in him and to make us realize that in even seemingly impossible things, we must trust that He will provide for our need.

The feeding of five thousand shows God's remarkable generosity and His great kindness towards us. He gives us more than what we need for ourselves so we may have something to share with others. Do we trust in what God provides for us? Do we share what we have with others especially those who are in need?

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of Ditas dela Paz, Toots Monfort, Virginia Hernandez, and Fleur Torres
… for the personal intentions of Karl Miguel V. Cortez
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Dick Ng. Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Le Ha Co
- Birthday: Missy Padlan
- In Memoriam (+): Theresa Yang
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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