One Minute Reflection – 13 February – Readings: Genesis 3:9-24, Psalms 90:2, 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, Mark 8:1-10 and the Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony OP (1190-1237)
“And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” – Mark 8:3
REFLECTION – “Lord Jesus, how well I know You have no wish to allow these people here with me, to remain hungry but to feed them, with the food You distribute, and so, strengthened with Your food, they will have no fear of collapsing from hunger. I know, too, that You have no wish to send us away hungry, either… As You have said – You do not want them to collapse on the way, meaning to collapse in the byways of this life, before reaching the end of the road, before coming to the Father and understanding that You come from the Father…
Our Lord takes pity, then, so that none may collapse along the way… Just as He makes it rain on the just as well as the unjust (Mt 5,45) so He feeds the just, as well as the unjust. Was it not thanks to the strength of the food, that the holy prophet Elijah, when he was collapsing on the way, was able to walk for forty days? (1Kgs 19,8). It was an angel who gave that food to him but, in your case, it is Christ Himself who feeds you. If you preserve the food you have received, in this way, then you will walk, not forty days and forty nights… but for forty years, from your departure from the borders of Egypt to your arrival in the land of plenty, the land where milk and honey flow (Ex 3,8)…
And so Christ shares out the foodstuffs and, there is no question, He wants to give it to all. He withholds it from no-one, for He provides for everyone. Nevertheless, when He breaks the loaves and gives them to the disciples, unless you hold out your hands to receive your portion, you will collapse along the way… This bread that Jesus breaks, is the mystery of the Word of God, it increases as it is distributed. With only a few words Jesus has provided abundant nourishment for all peoples. He has given us His words as bread and, while we are tasting them, they increase in our mouths… Even as the crowds are eating, the pieces increase and become more numerous to such an extent that, in the end, the leftovers are even more plentiful than the loaves that were shared.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church – Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, VI, 73-88
PRAYER – Lord support us as we pray, protect us day and night. Grant us the grace of total trust and teach us to hear Your Voice and do Your Will. By Your Word You teach and lead us and Your Word, we share with all. May Your food always strengthen us for the journey that we may reach the end of the road in Heaven. May the prayers of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, help us and strengthen us that we may grow in worthiness to receive Your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
AnaStpaul 