Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 14: 13-21
August 7, 2023 | Monday
When Jesus heard of it, he 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 that 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.
Today’s Reflection:
Compassion is the ability of a human being to be persistent in accompanying his fellow human beings, whether it be while facing joy or sorrow together. Compassion should not be selective and based on our mood. It is an indispensable vocation that knows no time or condition. Compassion is more than the acts of generosity, it is not just a mere dole out. Because even in our generosity, we can be motivated by our guilt of being passive to the needs of others. In the end, being generous can sometimes function as a psychological satisfaction. It does not really make us remain with our fellow human beings. Jesus performs the miracle of the multiplication of loaves not because He wanted to solve hunger once and for all but so that he can be worry free. The point of the miracle is the demand for our availability to be present with and for others. /Vulnerasti, 2023
