Br. Juan Pablo García Hincapié, L.C.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Christ, our King, Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Lord, here I am before You. I want to come and stand in your presence with what I am. I thank You for each of the benefits and blessings that You have poured out on my life today, and give me the graces to correspond with love to the magnificent works that You want to do through me. I offer you my five loaves and two fish so that, with my prayer, I may continue to intercede for the needs of others.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 6:1-15
At that time, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee or Lake Tiberias. Many people followed him, because they had seen the signs which he did in healing the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat there with his disciples.
Now the Passover, the Jewish festival, was near. When Jesus saw that many people were following him, he said to Philip, “How shall we buy bread that these may eat?” He asked him this question to test him, for he well knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Not even two hundred denarii of bread would be enough to give each one a piece of bread.” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “Here is a boy who brings five barley loaves and two fish. But what is that for so many people?” Jesus answered him, “Tell the people to sit down.” In that place there was plenty of grass. So they all sat down there; and the men alone numbered about five thousand.
Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks to God, he distributed them to those who sat down to eat. In the same way he gave them as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had all eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that they will not go to waste.” They gathered them up, and with the pieces they took them. So they gathered them up, and with the leftover pieces of the five loaves they filled twelve baskets.
And when the people saw the sign that Jesus had done, they said, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world. But Jesus, knowing that they were going to take him away to proclaim him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
During these Easter days we have contemplated the Risen Christ who has conquered death. Today's Gospel continues to help us deepen our understanding of the mystery of the resurrection through the passage of the multiplication of the loaves. The Risen Christ continues to bear his wounds, reminding us that Jesus, even with his glorious body, still bears the wounds that caused his crucifixion. I have always been struck by this important detail of the paschal mystery. Christ rises with his wounds, because he fully understands the pain, suffering and need of our humanity.
When Jesus, in this Gospel passage, sees himself surrounded by a crowd of people, the first thing he thinks of is the need of each of those around him. He knows well about the hunger that people feel because he has experienced it. It is Jesus' opportunity to go out to meet such a basic need as feeding the crowd. The extraordinary thing is that the Master does not do all the work, but commissions his disciples to feed themselves. In such an important task that the Lord has given us, we are sure that he asks us for our generosity to go out and ask and look for our poor solution to such a great need. Search among the people and find what a boy offers, five loaves of bread and two fish. Christ takes those loaves and five fish, takes the smallness and the insufficiency and makes them multiply in such a quantity that the loaves are multiplied in abundance.
Let us ask the Risen Lord that, with our needs, sufferings and problems, we may be able to continue imitating the generous boy who gives what he has, five loaves and two fish.
«The scene of Jesus teaches many things to the people and to the disciples. As the Lord teaches with love and compassion, perhaps they begin to talk among themselves. “But it is late...the place is deserted and now it is late; send them away, so that, going into the surrounding fields and villages, they may buy food.” They practically tell them to get ready and buy their own bread. But we are sure that they knew they had bread for themselves, and they wanted to keep it. It is indifference. The disciples were not interested in the people: Jesus was interested in them, because the people wanted him. They were not evil, they were indifferent. They did not know what it was to love. They did not know what compassion was. The most everyday opposite of God's love, of God's compassion, is indifference. “I am satisfied, I lack nothing. I have everything, I have secured this life, and also eternal life, because I go to Mass every Sunday, I am a good Christian.” “But, when you leave the restaurant, look the other way”. Let us think of this God who takes the first step, who has compassion, who has mercy and so often we, our attitude is indifference. Let us pray to the Lord to heal humanity, beginning with us: may my heart be cured of this disease that is the culture of indifference.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, January 8, 2019, in Santa Marta).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Dialogue with Christ about what I can offer Him today to help the need of someone close to me.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
To help or do a favor with charity.
Farewell
We thank You, Lord, for all Your benefits, You who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
