Communion at Holy Name Monastery

Miracles

The Loaves
Mk 6:34-44

When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.
He said to them in reply, Give them some food yourselves. But they said to him,
Are we to buy two hundred days wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat? He asked them, How many loaves do you have? Go and see.
And when they had found out they said,
Five loaves and two fish. So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish. Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus does not let the hungry crowd be chased away. He is moved with pity for the people who were as sheep without a shepherd. How many times do I think that I do not have what a needy person requires and send them away without trying to do what I can with what I have? This reading says to me that with great love and compassion, a little bit of whatever I have will go a great way. If I allow my heart to be moved to help those who have come to me, God will work great miracles. I need to do all that I can, when I can....and believe that with love and God all things are possible. Little miracles happen daily. With an open mind and heart, I can be a vehicle of God's grace and love.

The Way