Year of the Priest: Homilies

Greetings to you! I always want to post more on this blog and wish at times that every priestly experience and encounter that I have, could suddenly appear in print on this Blog. But until that can happen, you just need to trust me and believe How wonderful is the Gift of the Priesthood! It truly is a Life Worth Living, A Call Worth Considering.

In an effort to share more of my priesthood thru this blog, I'm going to attempt to share my Sunday Homilies during this Year of the Priest. I hope they are a blessing to those patient enough to read them.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, B.
Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fish.

Of all the various reality T.V. Shows out there today, one of the Original's is America's Funniest Videos. Some of the videos submited to the show are obviously contrived/staged. Others are dangerous and downright stupid. But occassionally, one can find one that really is funny. A real life, life as it is moment...unscripted, unexpected and un-edited.

In some way, I think we have one such moment in today's Gospel and as familiaras we may be with this story, of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, it's worth taking a second look.

We see today, a huge crowd following Jesus because He has cured the sick. It must have been cool to follow Jesus up to this point. To be part of that 5,000 member crowd, following him up the mountain, a modern-day parade of sorts! But suddenly Jesus raises the question of food, and like a rain-cloud, panic sets in with the apostles. Jesus is asking them how to feed the 5,000!

Philip says, "not even 200 days wages would be enough for all to have a little"
Andrew points out a young boy who has "5 barely loaves and a few fish." And Jesus smiles as he listens to their bright ideas.

Of course, Jesus has another idea and we see that he is using this opportunity to teach his friends a valuable lesson. You see Jesus raises the "food question" cause he knows exactly what he is going to do. St. John tells us just that. Jesus had a plan. What was that plan? To Provide for them. Namely, to tell the people to recline, as he gave thanks and distributed what they had. As we see, Jesus PROVIDED for the people.

He provides not just fish and bread but he provides Himself, as an example and as Provider. And he invites His followers, to climb the mountain with him, to pass-over the old way of thinking, and to radically rely on Him, as Provider. To be Generous in Faith, Hope and Love.

We hear similar lessons in the First Reading and Psalm, as well, that yes, the hand of the Lord feeds us, and gives us all we need.

Friends, in some ways, we can appreciate the difficulty of this scene. While we might not be faced with feeding 5,000 this week, sometimes it can be tough even to feed the 5 that are at our table. The LACKS that we find in the world, (lack of resources, talent, money) or in ourselves can create a panicky situations. And all of us know what they are, situations that are out of our contraol, desert situations, "steep climb" situations. But the Gospel reminds us that the Lord is there. And we need to keep on following Him, keep on turning to the Lord, with all we have and see what he does. St. Paul urges the Ephesians of yesterday to do just that, and we the people of today need to do the same, namely to live in a manner worthy of the call we have received. i.e. to stick with Jesus.

As we do so, He will provide. We will find ourselves becoming more and more confident in Him, relying on Him more and more, becoming more and more like Jesus.

Like a good episode of America's Funniest Videos, in so many ways, our lives are unscripted. But we can always choose Jesus. And in choosing Him, we will have all we need. Let's make HIS Life our own, this week, and see what miracles can happen.