'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' Sunday Reflections, 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Miraculous Draught of Fishes

Raphael [Web Gallery of Art]

Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord (Luke 5:8; Gospel)).

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 5:1-11 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

At that time: The crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God. He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

The painter Raphael in his Miraculous Draught of Fishes above captures something of the awe of St Peter when he saw how much fish he and his companions had caught, despite their misgivings as experienced fishermen in following the advice of someone they knew to be a carpenter from the mountains of Galilee. St Peter, who had a long way to go in his formation as a follower of Jesus, recognised the utter generosity of God's providence.

The late Columban Fr John Griffin, a New Zealander who worked for many years both in the Philippines and Chile, tells a story about St Alberto Hurtado SJ (1901 - 1952) and his trust in God's providence in A priest, I bless you - Alberto. 

Fr Griffin wrote: Fr Hurtado though now canonised, is still known in Chile as Padré Hurtado - just as we still call St Pius of Pietrelcina 'Padre Pio' and St Teresa of Kolkata 'Mother Teresa' - is best known and remembered throughout Chile for his ‘Hogar de Cristo’ (Christ’s Home) Foundation. The seed for this was sown late one night when he was on his way home to San Ignacio. He met a man who was in poor health, had eaten nothing all day and had nowhere to go.

This was the priest’s first encounter with such poverty and it moved him greatly. He did what he could for the man and then asked: ‘What are our Catholics doing for those who have no roof over their heads?’ He began asking this question during his retreats and so was born the idea of ‘Hogar de Cristo’. He formed a board of directors from people eager to help – six men and 30 women. Land was available alongside the Jesuit parish of Jesus the Worker and the first night-shelters were built and an appeal for funds began. By 1945 there were five shelters that had been able to house 12,000 poor men. 

Now it was time to do something for the numerous ‘street kids’ who spent their nights under the many bridges over the Mapocho River which runs for miles through Santiago. These youngsters needed educations as well as shelter and land was donated for this purpose a few miles to the north of the city near Colina railway station and a children’s home was built.

It was immediately obvious that such youngsters needed some sort of a trade to make their future secure, so different workshops were built. Fr Hurtado was confronted by another question: ‘How many such homes and workshops are needed up and down Chile to tackle the problem of child vagrancy?’ Something, he said, that should be of concern to all Chileans.

Fr Griffins article continued with a story that for me resembles the experience of St Peter and his companions and their trust in Jesus:

Providence was always on his side. At a meeting one night his board of directors was unwilling, for lack of funds, to approve a new project. In the midst of discussions there was an unexpected call for Fr Hurtado to attend to someone at his front door. He had a brief conversation with the caller who said she wanted to leave a gift to help the great work he was doing.

He gratefully put her envelope in his pocket, wished her a good evening and returned to his meeting. He looked at the contents of the envelope as he sat down. Then he tossed a check onto the table saying, ‘There you are, ye of little faith!’ It was for one million pesos – worth about US$30,000 at that time. I'm sure he spoke to his board with a smile on his face.

Ronnie

Columban Fr Chris Saenz is an American Columban who worked in Chile for many years, initially for two years as a seminarian on First Mission Assignment. On two occasions during that period while assigned to a parish he threw a chronic alcoholic named Ronnie out of the church - Fr Chris is very tall and strong - because he was disrupting Mass. Some years later, now a priest, he visited that parish one Sunday and was astonished to see the same Ronnie as reader at the Mass. In Interview with Ronnie he allows this man to tell the story of the extraordinary change in his life and the part Padré Hurtado played in that. 

He was found in a gutter, blind drunk, and taken to a nearby hospital where another Columban priest, Fr Michael Howe, anointed him. The doctor told him that if he took one more drink he would die. Ronnie had a devotion to Padré Hurtado and entrusted himself to God through the saintly Jesuit who had died in 1952 at the age of 51 from pancreatic cancer. Ronnie, whose life since childhood had been one of suffering, never drank again and became involved in his parish and with Hogar de Cristo. Both Fr Hurtado and Ronnie had lost their fathers at a young age.

Ronnie experienced God's providence in being able to attend the canonization of this remarkable saint in 2005. Ronnie told Father Chris: There was a national lottery for Hogar de Cristo to send 36 persons from around the country.  There were seven spots for volunteers/workers of Hogar de Cristo and 29 for those who, like me, received aid. Different names were submitted from around the country, including mine and a few others from the Ninth Region. When the first ticket was drawn at the lottery my name was on it. I knew than it was Padré Hurtado’s hand again. In fact, I was the only one from our Region to go.

The party flew to Rome on a military plane with the President of Chile on board.

When San Alberto met a homeless man on his way home one night it changed his life. The homeless man was the expression of God's providence, not only for himself but for Padré Hurtado and for the countless poor people still being served more than 70 years after the saint's death through El Hogar de Cristo. It was God's providence that took Ronnie from the gutters to attending the canonisation of Padré Hurtado in Rome.

It was God's providence in the great catch of fish that changed the lives of Peter and his companions for ever. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Benedict XVI canonized San Alberto on 23 October 2005

The words of Pope Benedict at the canonisation (emphases added:

'You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart.... You shall love your neighbour as yourself (Mt 22: 37, 39). This was the programme of life of St Alberto Hurtado, who wished to identify himself with the Lord and to love the poor with this same love. The formation received in the Society of Jesus, strengthened by prayer and adoration of the Eucharist, allowed him to be won over by Christ, being a true contemplative in action. In love and in the total gift of self to God's will, he found strength for the apostolate.

He founded El Hogar de Cristo for the most needy and the homeless, offering them a family atmosphere full of human warmth. In his priestly ministry he was distinguished for his simplicity and availability towards others, being a living image of the Teacher, 'meek and humble of heart'. In his last days, amid the strong pains caused by illness, he still had the strength to repeat: 'I am content, Lord', thus expressing the joy with which he always lived.

San Alberto Hurtado SJ

(1901 - 1952) [Photo from Wikipedia]

Traditional Latin Mass

Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 02-09-2025 if necessary).

Epistle: Colossians 3:12-17.  Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30.

Burning Weeds

Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn (Matthew 13:30; Gospel).

   

'In the hands of Christ my action may have a divine scope.' Sunday Reflections, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes

Lambert Lombard [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel  John 6:1-15 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)  

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.  Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

San Alberto Hurtado SJ 

(1901 - 1951)

St Alberto Hurtado SJ is a man who took today's gospel very seriously, He established the first Hogar de Cristo, Home of Christ, in Chile in 1944 to care for the many in Santiago who were homeless or had little to eat. There are now many such homes, not only in Chile and in other countries in South America but in the USA. Canonised in 2005 by Pope Benedict, he is still venerated in Chile as he was loved in his lifetime by the simple title of 'Padre Hurtado'.

He can speak to us with authority, as he does in this meditation he gave many years ago. His reference to the Venerable Matt Talbot comes from the time he spent in Dublin learning English.

The Multiplication of the Loaves  

Meditation during a retreat on the gift of self and cooperation.

Indecision, faintheartedness is the great obstacle in the plan of cooperation. We think: 'I’m not worth all that much', and from this comes discouragement: 'It makes no difference whether I act or fail to act. Our powers of action are so limited. Is my unpretentious work worthwhile? Does my abstaining from this have any meaning? If I fail to sacrifice myself nothing changes. No one needs me . . . A mediocre vocation?' How many vocations are lost. It is the advice of the devil that is partly true. The difficulty must be faced.

The solution

Five thousand men along with women and children have been hungry for three days . . . Food? They would need at least 200 denarii to feed them and this is the approximate yearly salary of a labourer.

In the desert! 'Tell them to go!' But Andrew, more observant says: 'There are five loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?' Here we have our same problem: the disproportion.

And the loaves. Made of barley, hard as rocks (the Jews used wheat). And the fish. They were from the lake, small, rather mushy in texture, carried by a young boy in a sack that had lain on the ground for three days in the heat . . . not much of a solution. 

Did the Lord despise this offering? No, and with his blessing he fed all the hungry and had leftovers. Neither did he despise the leftovers: twelve baskets of the surplus were gathered, fish heads and bones, but even this he valued. 

The young boy consented to give Christ his poor offering, not realizing that he would feed the multitude. He believed that he had lost his small possession but he found instead that there was even a surplus and that he had cooperated for the good of the others. 

And me . . . like those fish (less than those loaves) bruised and perhaps decomposing but in the hands of Christ my action may have a divine scope, a divine reach. 

Remember Ignatius, Augustine, Camillus de Lellis, and Matt Talbot, base sinners whose lives were converted into spiritual nourishment for millions who will continue to feed on their witness. 

My actions and my desires can have a divine scope and can change the face of the earth. I will not know it, the fish did not know it either. I can do a great deal if I remain in Christ; I can accomplish much if I cooperate with Christ . . 

Fr Patrick Egan

Fr Patrick Egan, a Columban who spent most of his life as a priest in Chile died unexpectedly on 17 July at the age of 88. At his funeral Mass Fr Alo Connaughton, who had also worked in Chile, told a story in his homily that illustrated how Father Pat lived the Gospel, a story that San Alberto Hurtado would appreciate. Father Pat was a man who, if he saw a need, would respond to it, as Jesus did to the hungry crowd in this Sunday's Gospel. In one parish where he served he found a man who was not only homeless but nameless as well. And the man didn't know where he was from. Father Pat, who was one of 14 children who grew up on a small farm in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, made a room for the man in the parish house.

Then with the help of a couple of women in the parish he went about getting the man an official and legal identity. Inspired by the story of Zechariah naming his son John, they chose Juan as his name and took 24 June, the feast of the Birth of John the Baptist, as his date of birth, going back 40 years, the age they reckoned he was.

They then had to find a family name for him. The man often walked around carrying rags, though kind people gave him clothes, and one of the women suggested jokingly that they choose the name 'Falabella'. This is the name of an up-market department store, comparable to Arnotts in Dublin, Harrods in London, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City and Rustans in Manila. Father Pat then went with the man now named Juan Falabella to a government office to register him. The person dealing with them was very kind and understanding and Juan now was entitled to various government benefits.

Father Pat grew up about 15 kms from where the poet Antoine Ó Raifteirí was born in 1779. The poet, like Father Pat, understood this Sunday's Gospel. And Father Pat understood and lived the words of San Alberto Hurtado, in the hands of Christ my action may have a divine scope, a divine reach. 

Ó Aithrí an Reachtaraigh / from Raftery’s Repentance

Le / by Antoine Raiftearaí

A Rí na Glóire atá lán de ghrása, / is tú a rinne beoir is fíon den uisce; / le beagán aráin do riar Tú and sló; / Och! Freastail fóir agus slánaigh mise.

O King of Glory full of grace, / You made beer and wine from water; / With a little bread you provided for the multitude; / Oh! Attend to, help and save me.

Raiftearaí (1779 – 1835) was one of the last of the wandering Irish bards. He was the youngest of nine children. Some time between 1785 and 1788 all except Antoine died at the same time from smallpox and he became blind. His poetry was in Irish, though not written down when composed. The poem from which the stanza above is taken shows a knowledge of Scripture, including a familiarity with today's Gospel, along with a deep faith in God's mercy and that of our Blessed Mother and an awareness that his life was drawing to a close. He died on Christmas Day 1835. His surname, which has a number of variations in Irish, is usually Anglicised as 'Raftery'.

Antoine Raiftearaí

Craughwell, County Galway, Ireland [Wikipedia]

Traditional Latin Mass 

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 07-28-2022 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:2-11.  Gospel: Luke 18:9-14.

Church Interior with the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican

Dirck van Delen [Web Gallery of Art]

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13)

'With a little bread you provided for the multitude.' Sunday Reflections, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes

Lambert Lombard [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 6:1-15 (English Standard Version, Anglicised: India)

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 

Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place.

So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.  Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

 

San Alberto Hurtado SJ 

(1901 - 1951)

St Alberto Hurtado SJ is a man who took today's gospel very seriously, He established the first Hogar de Cristo, Home of Christ, in Chile in 1944 to care for the many in Santiago who were homeless or had little to eat. There are now many such homes, not only in Chile and in other countries in South America but in the USA. Canonised in 2005 by Pope Benedict, he is still venerated in Chile as he was loved in his lifetime by the simple title of 'Padre Hurtado'.

He can speak to us with authority, as he does in this meditation he gave many years ago. His reference to the Venerable Matt Talbot comes from the time he spent in Dublin learning English.

The Multiplication of the Loaves  

Meditation during a retreat on the gift of self and cooperation.

Indecision, faintheartedness is the great obstacle in the plan of cooperation. We think: 'I’m not worth all that much', and from this comes discouragement: 'It makes no difference whether I act or fail to act. Our powers of action are so limited. Is my unpretentious work worthwhile? Does my abstaining from this have any meaning? If I fail to sacrifice myself nothing changes. No one needs me . . . A mediocre vocation?' How many vocations are lost. It is the advice of the devil that is partly true. The difficulty must be faced.

The solution

Five thousand men along with women and children have been hungry for three days . . . Food? They would need at least 200 denarii to feed them and this is the approximate yearly salary of a labourer.

In the desert! 'Tell them to go!' But Andrew, more observant says: 'There are five loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?' Here we have our same problem: the disproportion.

And the loaves. Made of barley, hard as rocks (the Jews used wheat). And the fish. They were from the lake, small, rather mushy in texture, carried by a young boy in a sack that had lain on the ground for three days in the heat . . . not much of a solution. 

Did the Lord despise this offering? No, and with his blessing he fed all the hungry and had leftovers. Neither did he despise the leftovers: twelve baskets of the surplus were gathered, fish heads and bones, but even this he valued. 

The young boy consented to give Christ his poor offering, not realizing that he would feed the multitude. He believed that he had lost his small possession but he found instead that there was even a surplus and that he had cooperated for the good of the others. 

And me . . . like those fish (less than those loaves) bruised and perhaps decomposing but in the hands of Christ my action may have a divine scope a divine reach. 

Remember Ignatius, Augustine, Camillus de Lellis, and Matt Talbot, base sinners whose lives were converted into spiritual nourishment for millions who will continue to feed on their witness. 

My actions and my desires can have a divine scope and can change the face of the earth. I will not know it, the fish did not know it either. I can do a great deal if I remain in Christ; I can accomplish much if I cooperate with Christ . . 

A Workman's Meal-Break

Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

Ó Aithrí an Reachtaraigh / from Raftery’s Repentance

Le / by Antoine Raiftearaí

A Rí na Glóire atá lán de ghrása,

is tú a rinne beoir is fíon den uisce;

le beagán aráin do riar Tú and sló;

Och! Freastail fóir agus slánaigh mise.

 

O King of Glory full of grace,

You made beer and wine from water;

With a little bread you provided for the multitude;

Oh! Attend to, help and save me.

Raiftearaí (1779 – 1835) was one of the last of the wandering Irish bards. He was the youngest of nine children. Some time between 1786 and 1786 all except Antaine died at the same time from smallpox and he became blind. His poetry was in Irish, though not written down when composed. The poem from which the stanza above is taken shows a knowledge of Scripture, including a familiarity with today's Gospel, along with a deep faith in God's mercy and that of our Blessed Mother and an awareness that his life was drawing to a close. He died on Christmas Day 1835. His surname, which has a number of variations in Irish, is usually Anglicised as 'Raftery'.

Ave, Regina caelorum

Setting by Palestrina, sung by Chanticleer

Ave, Regina caelorum, / Ave, Domine Angelorum: / Salve, radix, salve, porta, / Ex qua mundo lux est orta.

Gaude, [Virgo] gloriosa, / super omnes speciosa, / vale, [o] vale decora, / et pro nobis Christum exora.

Hail, Queen of Heaven, / hail, mistress of the Angels, / root of Jesse; hail, the gate / through which the LIght rose over the earth. 

Rejoice, [Virgin] most renowned  / and of unsurpassed beauty. / Farewell, [Lady] most comely. Prevail upon Christ to pity us.

This is Palestrina's setting of this antiphon to the Blessed Virgin, traditionally sung at the end of Compline (Night Prayer) from 2 February till Wednesday of Holy Week. It is also sung on other occasions.

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 7-25-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 10:6-13.  Gospel: Luke 19:41-47.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Blue Skies

Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin

Arranged by Joseph Jennings, sung by Chanticleer

As I prepare this we are getting plenty of blue skies here in Ireland and temperatures in the high 20Cs and even over 30C. The song includes the line Nothing but blue skies from now on. That's very unlikely in Ireland at any time of year but we are grateful for blue skies we're having at the moment. 

I saw Chanticleer in the National Concert Hall in Dublin in December 2018. They have an extensive and varied repertoire as they show in Ave, Regina coelorum and Blue Skies. In Joseph Jennings's arrangement of the latter there are musical allusions to Johann Sebastian Bach, to Christmas and to weddings.

'My actions and my desires can have a divine scope and can change the face of the earth.' Sunday Reflections, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Feeding the Hungry

Master of the Acts of Mercy [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel Matthew 14:13-21 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’  Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Stamp issued in Chile for the beatification of Fr Alberto Hurtado SJ, 16 October 1994

The late Fr John Griffin, a Columban colleague from New Zealand, who after many years in the Philippines went to work in Chile, wrote about a great saint of our times, San Alberto Hurtado SJ, a native of that country, in the last printed edition of Misyon, the Columban magazine in the Philippines that I edited from 2002 until 2017, the March-April 2008 issue.

One story he told in that article is a perfect expression of what happened in today's gospel. But first a little background in that same article:

Overall, Fr Hurtado is best known and remembered throughout Chile for his Hogar de Cristo (Christ’s Home) Foundation. The seed for this was sown late one night when he was on his way home to San Ignacio. He met a man who was in poor health, had eaten nothing all day and had nowhere to go.

This was the priest’s first encounter with such poverty and it moved him greatly. He did what he could for the man and then asked: ‘What are our Catholics doing for those who have no roof over their heads?’ He began asking this question during his retreats and so was born the idea of ‘Hogar de Cristo’. He formed a board of directors from people eager to help – six men and 30 women. Land was available alongside the Jesuit parish of Jesus the Worker and the first night-shelters were built and an appeal for funds began. By 1945 there were five shelters that had been able to house 12,000 poor men. Now it was time to do something for the numerous ‘street kids’ who spent their nights under the many bridges over the Mapocho River which runs for miles through Santiago. These youngsters needed educations as well as shelter and land was donated for this purpose a few miles to the north of the city near Colina railway station and a children’s home was built.

Today's gospel tells us: Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat.'

Stamp issued in Chile in 2001 for the centennial of the birth of  Padré Hurtado

Fr Griffin continues about San Alberto: 

Providence was always on his side. At a meeting one night his board of directors was unwilling, for lack of funds, to approve a new project. In the midst of discussions there was an unexpected call for Fr Hurtado to attend to someone at his front door. He had a brief conversation with the caller who said she wanted to leave a gift to help the great work he was doing.

He gratefully put her envelope in his pocket, wished her a good evening and returned to his meeting. He looked at the contents of the envelope as he sat down. Then he tossed a cheque onto the table saying, ‘There you are, you of little faith!’ It was for one million pesos – worth about US$30,000 at that time.

Statue of San Alberto Hurtado SJ

Viña del Mar, Chile, his birthplace [Wikipedia]

The directors on the board of Hogar de Cristo were being prudent, as they were supposed to be and, in being so, following what Jesus teaches us elsewhere in the gospels. But Father Alberto was listening to what Jesus said to the Apostles today: They need not go away; you give them something to eat.

I'm sure that when Father Alberto threw the check on the table and said 'There you are, you of little faith' he did so with a smile that expressed both irony and gratitude and that the board members saw the irony and felt the same sense of gratitude.

Once again we find the presence of Jesus in the needs of others - and in one who joyfully lives the Gospel.

Smile and move forward! Total sacrifice is perpetual joy. The squaring of the circle? No. Because there is a secret link between the gift of self, out of love, and peace of soul. (San Alberto in a retreat to priests, 1948.)

The Gospel, radiant with the glory of Christ's cross, constantly invites us to rejoice. (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel, No 5, 2013.)

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes

Lambert Lombard [Web Gallery of Art]

TheMultiplication of the Loaves

Meditation during a retreat by San Alberto on the gift of self and cooperation.

Some of the details here are found in St John’s Gospel.

        

Indecision, faintheartedness is the great obstacle in the plan of cooperation.  We think: I’m not worth all that much, and from this comes discouragement: It makes no difference whether I act or fail to act.  Our powers of action are so limited.  Is my unpretentious work worthwhile? Does my abstaining from this have any meaning? If I fail to sacrifice myself nothing changes.  No one needs me . . . A mediocre vocation?  How many vocations are lost. It is the advice of the devil that is partly true.  The difficulty must be faced.

The solution

5,000 men along with women and children have been hungry for three days… Food? They would need at least 200 denarii to feed them and this is the approximate yearly salary of a labourer.

In the desert!  Tell them to go! But Andrew, more observant says: There are 5 loaves and 2 fish, but what are these among so many! Here we have our same problem: the disproportion.

And the loaves.  Made of barley, hard as rocks (the Jews used wheat).  And the fish.  They were from the lake, small, rather mushy in texture, carried by a young boy in a sack that had lain on the ground for three days in the heat . . . not much of a solution. 

Did the Lord despise this offering? No, and with his blessing he fed all the hungry and had leftovers. Neither did he despise the leftovers: 12 baskets of the surplus were gathered, fish heads and bones, but even this he valued. 

The young boy consented to give Christ his poor offering, not realizing that he would feed the multitude.  He believed that he had lost his small possession but he found instead that there was even a surplus and that he had cooperated for the good of the others. 

And me . . . like those fish (less than those loaves) bruised and perhaps decomposing but in the hands of Christ my action may have a divine scope a divine reach. 

Remember Ignatius, Augustine, Camillus de Lellis, and Matt Talbot, base sinners whose lives were converted into spiritual nourishment for millions who will continue to feed on their witness. 

My actions and my desires can have a divine scope and can change the face of the earth.  I will not know it, the fish did not know it either. I can do a great deal if I remain in Christ; I can accomplish much if I cooperate with Christ . . .

A Hymn to Alberto Hurtado SJ

Written by Pablo Coloma for the beatification of Blessed Alberto on 16 October 1994, Sung by Pablo Coloma and Ximena Concha

Alberto, hoy resuena tu nombre                        

Se escucha tu palabra encendida

Tu rostro hoy recorre las calles

Tu huella marca un nuevo camino

Profeta que anunciaste el Reino

Supiste denunciar el dolor

Reíste con un canto a la vida

Mostraste un camino mejor.

Alberto, your name resounds today,

your enlightening word is heard, 

your face is seen today on the streets,

your footprints mark a new path.

A prophet who proclaimed the Kingdom,

who knew about pain,

who laughed with a song to life,

who showed a better way.

Alberto contemplé tu figura

incendiando las calles de una oscura ciudad.

Y vi que mil rostros reían

y otros más comprendían que era el paso de Dios.

Alberto has tocado nuestra alma

y ya siento que enciende ese fuego de Dios.

Tu vida fue un regalo divino,

una historia que hizo de este Chile un hogar.

Alberto, I watched you

lighting up the streets of a dark city.

And I saw a thousand faces laughing

and others who understood that that was the way of God.

Alberto, you have touched our soul

and I feel that I am lit by the fire of God.

Your life was a divine gift,

a story that made this Chile a home.

Maestro que enseñaste a vivir

la vida como lo hizo Jesús,

mirando en los hombres que sufren

su cuerpo castigado en la cruz.

A teacher who taught how to live

as Jesus did,

looking at those who suffer,

his body punished on the cross.

Apóstol, compañero de pobres,

viviste en tu carne el dolor

de tantos que viván despreciados,

tus manos fueron pan y un hogar.

Apostle, companion of the poor, 

you lived in your flesh the pain

of the many who are despised,

your hands were bread and a home.

Alberto contemplé tu figura

incendiando las calles de una oscura ciudad.

Y vi que mil rostros reían

y otros más comprendían que era el paso de Dios.

Alberto has tocado nuestra alma

y ya siento que enciende ese fuego de Dios.

Tu vida derramada en las calles

se alsa inmensa hasta el cielo en las manos de todos.

Alberto, I watched you

lighting up the streets of a dark city.

And I saw a thousand faces laughing and others who understood

that that was the way of God.

Alberto, you have touched our soul

and I feel that I am lit by the fire of God.

Your life poured out on the streets

is infinitely raised to heaven in the hands of all.

Just as St Teresa of Kolkata is known to everyone simply as 'Mother Teresa' and St Pius of Pietrelcina as 'Padre Pio', San Alberto is known to Chileans still as 'Padré Hurtado'.

Schola Gregoriana Abba Caelum, Seoul, Korea

Antiphona ad communionem  

Communion Antiphon Wisdom 16:20

Panem de caelo dedisti nobis, Domine,

You have given us, O Lord, bread form heaven,

habentem omne delectamentum, et omnem saporem suavitas.

endowed with all delights and sweetness to every taste.

On Sundays in Ordinary Time there is a choice between a Communion Antiphon with an Old Testament text and one with a New Testament text. The above is the former.

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)

This Sunday, 2 August, is the Ninth Sunday After Pentecost in the calendar that uses the TLM. Complete Mass in Latin and English here.