“Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.The Jewish feast of Passover was near.When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?’ He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit].’ One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,’There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?’Jesus said, ‘Have the people recline.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.’ ” John 6:3-12
The Word of today encourages us to take the first step. In the midst of great challenges, we must do our part, taking what we have.
We do not know what is the need of your life, we do not know what needs to be multiplied, but God knows and can do this multiplication. In the Gospel, Jesus asks His disciples on how to proceed in the presence of the hunger of the people; He, however, knew what to do. So it is in our life: the Lord knows what to do; so we can not rush situations or tell Him what to do, because He knows what, how and when.
How many times do we try to solve problems with solutions that do not have! This is where despair arises because we look at what we lack and think, “If I had money …” “If I had that person next to me!” “If I had finished college …”. We need to look at what we have, as well as the child who had five loaves and two fish and gave what he had.
Use what you have to solve the problems. Jesus was not looking at what He had not, but what he had. We need to do the same. The Lord invites us to hold hands what we have to thank.
Often, what we have is not ideal, but we need to embrace the situation and seek the best. From the moment we take what we have, God helps us achieve the rest. In New Song, we see it every day: we believe that the Lord works through small donations, as He did in the miracle with the loaves and fishes.
Today, the Lord causes us to manifest our trust in Him. Trust and God will do the multiplication in our lives. We can take in our hands what we have – our lives and our hearts – and thank the Lord for all the graces.
Let Him act in your life. Thank Him for the little you have and God will give you more.
Father Fabricio Andrade
Priest of the New Song Community