DAILY- HOMILY

August 3, 2015 MONDAY, 18th Week in Ordinary Time 

Green 

Nm 11:4b – 15 / Mt 14:13 - 21 

Reading: Nm 11: 4b – 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."

Gospel: Mt 14:13 - 21 

     On hearing this, Jesus set out secretly by boat for a secluded place. 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:

     The multiplication of loaves and fish to feed about five thousand men, recounted in the four Gospels (today's reading Mt 14: 13 -21; Mk 6: 35 - 44; Lk 9: 12 – 17; and Jn 6: 1 – 15), is a key foreshadowing of the Lord's generosity in leaving us the Eucharist, his body for food in the form of bread and his blood as drink in the form of wine.

     All four Gospel accounts feature the same gestures familiar to us in the Eucharistic celebration: "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" (Mt 14: 19); "Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish and, raising his eyes to heaven, he pronounced a blessing, broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples to distribute to the people' (Mk 6:41); "Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish, and raising his eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing over them; he broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the crowd" (Lk 9: 16); and "Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed them" (Jn 6: 11).

     Just as our Lord fed the five thousand because he had compassion on them in their hunger, since they not eaten for days, our Lord gave himself to us in the Eucharist as spiritual food and drink for eternal life.

     In addition, the Eucharist brings to the Church and its members "the unity and peace they signify," unity with Christ and all others who in faith receive the Eucharist.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     JOAQUIN CUNANAN JR.

     NAIDA JAVIER UY

     RAFAEL DELA CRUZ JR.

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

     GERALDINE & TIM TAN

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     FELICIANO T. LAO

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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