St. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop

St. Peter Julian Eymard, priest

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Numbers 11:4b-15

Now the rabble that was among them

Had greedy desires and even the Israelites wept and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?   We remember the fish we ate without cost in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and garlic.   Now our appetite is gone; there’s nothing to look at, nothing but manna.”

 Now the manna was like coriander seed and had the appearance of bede­l­lium.  The people went about gathering it up and then ground it between millstones or pounded it in a mortar. They boiled it in a pot and made cakes with it which tasted like cakes made with oil.  As soon as dew fell at night in the camp, the manna came with it.  Moses heard the people crying, family by fami­­­­­­­­ly at the entrance to their tent and Yahweh became very angry.

This displeased Moses.   Then Mo­ses said to Yahweh, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Is it because you do not love me that you burdened me with this people?   Did I conceive all these people and did I give them birth? And now you want me to carry them in my bosom as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their fathers?  

 Where would I get meat for all these people, when they cry to me saying: ‘Give us meat that we may eat?’  I cannot, myself alone, carry all these people; the burden is too heavy for me.  Kill me rather thantreat me like this, I beg of you, if you look kindly on me, and let me not see your anger.”

 

Ps 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

Sing with joy to God our help.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊    

Matthew 14:13-21

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 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.

 

以上完稿

Gospel Reflection：

Jesus heard of John’s beheading. He now has to reassess His priority. He prudently with drew to a secluded place knowing that the heat will be turned against Him now that John has been eliminated. After all, they both proclaim that the kingdom is near. Their message raise hackles among the powerful elite whose lives are hardly paragon of exemplary living.

But the ministry is already inaugurated. People begin to flock wherever He is. And so situations like these become inevitable. A large number of people gathering in a secluded place with nothing to eat, is a logistical nightmare. But Jesus calmly asks His disciples to feed them. The little food they save perhaps for Jesus only will be given to all.

And the miracle of sharing feeds the multitude. Jesus shows His disciples the secret of abundance. It is only in giving that we will truly have. Until then, we are merely in possession of material objects. We are not the owner. Perhaps we are even the ones possessed by them. But if we have the freedom to give them away, then we are the owners not the owned.