This weekend, the Church celebrates the Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time and in the Gospel reading, it is dusk and Jesus has finished teaching the crowds, so the disciples tell them to leave and buy food to eat. But even though the disciples have only five loaves and two fish, Jesus says it is enough to feed the crowds, so He tells them all to sit and like the host of a feast, blesses the bread, breaks it, and gives it to His disciples to feed the crowds. Shockingly, the bread and fish do not run out. God throughout history uses various ways to care for His people, such as the manna in the desert, the miraculous food that the Prophet Elijah fed the widow, and the twelve loaves with which the Prophet Elisha fed one hundred people. Jesus worked this miracle to not only show that He was greater than all the Old Testament prophets, but also to foreshadow the coming Holy Eucharist. Just as Jesus fed the crowds at dusk, He also fed His disciples during the Last Supper at dusk. And after all were fed, twelve baskets were left, symbolizing how Jesus would use His twelve Apostles to save the twelve Tribes of Israel. Only when the Apostles gave what little food they had to Jesus did He work the miracle to feed the crowds. We must also accommodate God’s saving grace and whole-heartedly give all our prayers, works, and sacrifices to God in order to help many souls.
「Spiritual Talk」Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Fr. Anthony Ho
