St. Catherine of Siena, virgin & doctor

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Acts 5:34-42

 

Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14

One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊   

 John 6:1-15

After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed him, because of the miraculous signs they saw, when he healed the sick. So he went up into the hills and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

 Then lifting up his eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to him, and said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?" He said this to test Philip, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece." Then one of Jesus' disciples Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?"

 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." There was plenty of grass there, so the people, about five thousand men, sat down. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish, and gave them as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten enough, he told his disciples, "Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost."

 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is, with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 

 When the people saw the miracle which Jesus had performed, they said, "This is really the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."  

Jesus realized that they would come and take him by force to make him king; so he fled to the hills by himself.

 

 Gospel Reflection：

Discerning Resources

 Andrew would have made a great vocation promoter. In the sea of five thousand men (and possibly many women and children too), his eyes spotted a young man with some resources. It takes a keen sense of discernment to identify young men and women with "five barley loaves and two fish" who could potentially become feeders of five thousand people.

Though Andrew wasn't sure of how useful the little resources would be, he did the right thing: he ensured that the boy and Jesus met. The rest, as they say, is history. How many miracles we – as parents, elders, teachers, priests, religious, siblings – have aborted and how many people have been left unfed by God's Word, because of our failure or lack of interest to discern and trust the potential of our young men and women and bring them closer to Jesus!

 

 

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."      

〜〜〜   ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA     〜〜〜