Thursday, December 31, 2015

Multiplication of loaves correlates with the manna in the wilderness


January 5, 2016

Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

Reading 1

7Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.[1] 8Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

9In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent His only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through Him. 10In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins.

Responsorial Psalm

R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

1O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; 2He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

3The mountains shall yield peace for the people, and the hills justice. 4He shall defend the afflicted among the people, save the children of the poor.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

7Justice shall flower in His days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. 8May He rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Alleluia Luke 4:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

34When 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.

35By now it was already late and His disciples approached Him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. 36Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” 38But 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.”

39So He gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. 40The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.[2] 41Then, 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.[3]

42They all ate and were satisfied. 43And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. 44Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.



Notes on Readings:


[1] 1 John 4:7-12 - Love as we share in it testifies to the nature of God and to His presence in our lives. One who loves shows that one is a child of God and knows God, for God's very being is love; one without love is without God. The revelation of the nature of God's love is found in the free gift of His Son to us, so that we may share life with God and be delivered from our sins. The love we have for one another must be of the same sort: authentic, merciful; this unique Christian love is our proof that we know God and can "see" the invisible God. 
[2] Mark 6:40 - The people . . . in rows by hundreds and by fifties: reminiscent of the groupings of Israelites encamped in the desert (Exodus 18:21-25) and of the wilderness tradition of the prophets depicting the transformation of the wasteland into pastures where the true shepherd feeds His flock (Ezekiel 34:25-26) and makes His people beneficiaries of messianic grace.
[3] Mark 6:41 - On the language of this verse as eucharistic (compare with Mark 14:22), see the footnotes on Matthew 14:19, 20. Jesus observed the Jewish table ritual of blessing God before partaking of food.

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Dear Humanity,

I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.

And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.

Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.