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“Rather than saying "God, here is my problem," we should put the problem into perspective by saying, "Problem, here is my God!"
- Anonymous (What "problems" are you struggling with? Take a few moments to introduce them to God and ask for guidance in responding to them.) |
Nm 11:4b-15; Ps 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Mt 14:13-21 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."
He 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.
Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain, 2018 (3rd ed.) Matthew 14: 13-21 (Jesus feeds the multitudes)
Jesus loved John the Baptist very deeply. When he hears of John’s death, he seeks a lonely place where he can mourn the loss of his friend, but the crowds deny him even this small amount of privacy. His response to them is one of mercy, however, and not reproach. • "My interruptions
are my work,” Henri Nouwen wrote. How do you handle interruptions? Do you believe that some interruptions are God’s way of breaking into your life? • Think over your day, anticipating times when you will probably be interrupted. How can you respond in a loving way? Pray for the grace to remember to do 50 when those times come.
Treatise on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) ____________ BOOK IV: OF THE DECAY AND RUIN OF CHARITY Chapter 1: That as long as we are in this mortal life we may lose the love of God.
So wine well purified and separated from the lees is easily kept from turning and getting thick; that which is on its lees is in continual danger; and we, so long as we are in this world, have our souls upon the lees
or tartar of a thousand moods and miseries, and consequently easy to change and spoil in their love. But once in heaven, where, as in the great feast described by Isaias, we shall have wine purified from all lees, we shall be no longer subject to change, but be inseparably united by love to our sovereign good. Here in the twilight of dawning we are afraid that in lieu of the spouse we may meet some other object, which may engage and deceive us, but when we shall find Him above, where He feeds
and reposes in the mid-day, there will be no chance of being deceived, for His light will be too clear, and His sweetness will bind us so closely to His goodness, that we shall no longer have the power to will to unfasten ourselves.
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