Reflection 4/24/20: Five + Two = Provided:

Today’s Gospel reading from John is the story of Jesus feeding the people on the other side of the Sea of Galilee with only five barley loaves and two fish.  Like you, I can picture in my mind the Lord standing in front of the people who are all sitting on the grass on the side of the hill.  I can almost hear him asking the Philip where they were going to buy bread to feed the multitude of people, and likewise, the panic in the voice of Philip and the other disciples, who are already convinced that this is impossible.  I can see Jesus smirk a little bit when he takes the bread and fish from the boy as if to say “now watch this.”

This Gospel has always been one of my very favorites because it shows the ability of Jesus to provide in anyway at any time.  I think what is most telling from today’s Gospel is that the Lord asked Philip about the bread because “for he himself knew what he was going to do.”  Make no mistake, God knows at ALL TIMES what He is going to do but allows us to be part of the process.  Today, we are faced with seemingly an unexplained and uncertain time in our lives with the COVID-19 pandemic.  Many people in today’s world, just as the disciples in today’s Gospel, have forgotten our Lord’s ability to provide in any situation. 

The Gospel highlights Jesus’s intent not only then, but still today.  Jesus intended to feed ALL the people that were there that day just as he intends to take care of us.  We need to have the same intent with our faith that He will do that very thing.  Throughout this pandemic, there has been fear, confusion, and anxiety all swirling around the unknown.  Wouldn’t it make sense to focus our attention on the one truth above all other truths that we do know?  Jesus knows what He is going to do and, although we may not understand it, we need to respond the way the disciples did, and follow Him.

My second favorite part to today’s Gospel is the extent to which God provided: “Gather up the fragments left over so that nothing may be lost. So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five loaves left, they filled twelve baskets.”  God isn’t going to provide for us “just enough”.  God will provide so much that we can live off of the left-overs!  Know this; we are the people on the hill who have gathered to see Him.  We are sitting there, unsure, uncertain, and hungry and at this moment, Jesus is asking us the question because “He Himself knows what He is going to do.”

 

He WILL provide.

 

Mr. Swann – Principal

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Reflection April 14, 2020:

The last several days have been busy with administrative work and, although I am thankful that our job still requires our focus and effort during a time when so many are out of work, I am beginning to see the hours and days blend together.  As many of you did I’m sure, I had to put some things aside in order to allow myself to focus on the great blessing and foundation of our Christianity that is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter.  Much like you all, I am simply trying to do my very best to keep things moving forward in the face of a most unprecedented and confusing time. 

What I have realized is that there is no slowing down, no rest, and no end to what can be thrown at any person regardless of what may be going on in the world.  Perhaps many of you are feeling this way as well.  To that I would say, it’s okay, it’s acceptable, and it is normal to feel overwhelmed.  At the same time, and if this Lenten journey has shown us anything, it is important to slow down in the face of so much uncertainty and focus on what we know to be certain – Jesus.  Today’s Gospel reminds us that we are not to spend time in fear or pain; to not be self-absorbed in our anxiety and to not waste our gifts by focusing too long on “us”.  It is understandable that each of us must have our “moment” but then we must remember our purpose and, if we are to fall, get back in the race.

In today’s Gospel, the angels said to Mary Magdalene, “Woman, why are you weeping?” to which she answered, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”  At that moment Jesus stood behind Mary and asked her Himself why she was weeping and, as He so often did, didn’t share in her despair yet instructed her go to His brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”  How many times has Jesus walked up behind you in your “moment” and transforms your sorrow, anxiety, confusion into wonder at the power of God?

If this current time has reminded us of anything, it has shown us that we do not need as much, we need to put our lives back in order, we need to focus on our families, we have the ability to adapt even if we don’t want to, we can survive change, we are much stronger than we realized before, we are not the most important thing in the world, we have a much greater purpose than we thought, we must lift each other up, and….Jesus is the answer. 

I pray that we all may recognize and respond to Jesus in all of His surprising moments in our lives.  I pray that we, like Mary in today’s Gospel, will allow the hope and promise of Easter to transform our “moments” into accepted action that reflects our Father’s will.  Amen.

Mr. Swann - Principal