'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)