THE MIRACLE INSIDE

They had not understood the incident of the loaves. – Mark 6:52

Over the weekend, I gave my tithes to my parish, paid my bills, gave a week’s allowance to my scholar, donated an amount to the family of a friend who had died, bought some groceries, and so on. As I counted the money left in my wallet, I wondered, “Will this be enough for 10 days?” I doubted it, because I still had some expected cash outlays.

       In years past, I would panic if I had less than P5,000 in my wallet. This time, instead of panicking, I simply prayed. “Lord, I trust in You. You are my provider.”

       Shortly after, as I was clearing my bag of receipts and other litter, I saw a folded envelope. Inside were two crisp P500 bills! It was a token from the organizer of an event that I had helped out with a few months earlier. “Thank You, Lord!” I smiled. It was a miracle, and I knew the Lord had more in store for me.

       In the Bible, we read about the wonders that Jesus had worked. Today, we too experience His miracles — big and small. But sometimes, we fail to remember what He has done for us when we are in our darkest moments.

       Maybe it’s time we recall the miracles He has wrought in our lives. Let’s trust that He will do so much more if we allow Him! Tess V. Atienza (svp_tvatienza@yahoo.com)

Reflection: What miracles has the Lord done in your life?

Dearest Lord, thank You for Your miracles in my life. Help me to trust that You are always there, ready to perform another one, and another one, and another one….

Blessed Angela of Foligno, pray for us.

Faith is the knowledge of God and His goodness to us. John tells us that we know of God’s goodness to us and, thus, are inspired to give our all in being His disciples. It is important not to subject our faith to the methods of science too much or we will be very disappointed and perhaps even lose our faith. Knowledge born of faith is knowledge of the heart and soul, and not necessarily of the mind, which is subject to the rules of empirical science.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. 14 Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. 15 Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 16 We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 17 In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.

1 O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; 2 He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (R) 10 The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. (R) 12 For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. 13He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. (R)

What place does prayer have in your life? Are you always talking to God in your prayer and leaving little time to sit and listen to His response? Are you always beholden to one novena prayer after another and unable to sit in silence before the Blessed Sacrament? The true challenge of prayer is to allow it to be a dialogue where we are open to God speaking to us. I am sure this is what He desires. The trick is learning how to listen well and recognize His voice in the midst of all the “noise” in our lives.

Glory to you, O Christ, proclaimed to the Gentiles. Glory to you, O Christ, believed in throughout the world.

45 After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray. 47When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore. 48 Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. 49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. 50 They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” 51 He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely astounded. 52 They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

think:  The true challenge of prayer is to allow it to be a dialogue where we are open to God speaking to us.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR John 1-3

FACING STORMS

Today, the Gospel brings us in a boat on the Lake of Galilee, where the disciples of Jesus were struggling against a strong wind. Jesus had remained ashore to be with His Father in prayer. St. Mark illustrates the scene as if he were describing the Christian community, or us, in the boat of the Church, struggling to cross over to eternity. Was there ever a time when the winds of time and ideologies were not against the Church? Was there a period when we did not experience obstacles to our faith, to our effort to live out our Christianity in an unchristian world? Yes, the wind was, is and always will be against all that Christ and His Church stands for.

       The disciples in the boat felt abandoned. Where was Jesus? He had preached and healed the whole day, fed the crowds, and now, when His closest friends were in trouble, He was not there. We often experience this, too. We feel Christ close to us when things go well. But we feel lonely and abandoned when moments of apparent absence of Christ come.

       Our faith tells us that Christ is always close to us, that He is always with us. Did He not promise, “I will be with you always until the end of time”? The test is this: Is our faith strong enough to trust that, even in our darkest moments, God knows what we are going through and that He is near to us?

       When St. Mark writes, “Jesus could see they were worn out,” he indicates that, though physically absent, Jesus was spiritually present and knew about their situation. To assure them of His constant presence and concern, He cut short His time with His Father and showed Himself to them.      A friend of mine copied today’s Gospel passage and always carries it with him. The story of Jesus, consoling and helping His friends, gives him the strength to cling to his faith in God’s loving care and presence.

       Who is the little child born in a simple cave? Why did God become one of us in Jesus? Mark tells us, it is so that He would be our Emmanuel, our “God with us.” Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you often doubt God’s presence in your life? Is your faith still too weak to face stormy times without directly feeling God’s presence?

Lord, I thank You for reminding me today of Your constant presence. Strengthen my faith, especially in moments when it becomes difficult to trust in You.