Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 1, 2021
At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way.”
The disciples said to him,
“Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?”
Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.
All are welcome!
Imagine being invited up the mountain to be with Jesus. No applications to complete, no dues to pay, no club to join—just yourself. And when you get there, Jesus cures all your ills and feeds you. The only qualification: you are a child of God.
As children of God, we are made in his likeness. There is never any discrimination or prejudice. Jesus always invites his children to be with him. We do not even need to climb a mountain; we can talk to him from right where we are.
In this passage, Jesus was not only concerned for the physical well-being of those gathered after curing them. They were starving and yearned for food. He fed them bread and fish but, more importantly, he gave them spiritual nourishment.
Have you ever had a family gathering where bread is on the menu, and you have been asked to supply it for dinner? After counting how many people to expect, you multiply how much bread each will eat, and you purchase that exact amount. When you see how much you have gathered, you might think it’s not enough. So back to the bakery. Of course, after the party, you may end up with leftovers, but you do not mind because you know you are blessed to provide provisions for your family.
Even more abundant in generosity, we are all welcome to eat with Jesus.
When we yearn and hunger for his love and mercy, all we need to do is speak to him and ask. When we take time to reflect, we realize the many blessings he has already given us in the past, all that he gives us today, and all that he will give us in the days to come.
Prayer
Lord, you fed the hungry crowd with ample servings of bread and fish. But you gave them other nourishment as well—the beautiful words you spoke and the miracles you worked. Look on us today in need of such nourishment, food for the body and food for the soul. Be with us in our needs. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Eligius was a seventh-century saint who lived in France. He was born around 588 AD in France, near Limoges. Eligius' father, Eucherius, apprenticed his young son to a goldsmith. Eligius took to smithing with gusto and, once he had finished his apprenticeship, he gained enough of a reputation that his name caught the ear of King Clotaire II of the Franks, who resided in Paris. Eligius crossed the Loire into the neighboring kingdom of the Franks, and Clotaire hired Elgius to make him a throne and provided him with the necessary gold and gems to construct something suitably grand. Eligius was such a skilled smith that he used the material Clotaire had given him for one throne and constructed two magnificent thrones out of them.
Clotaire was suitably impressed both by Eligius' designing ability and his honesty: Eligius could have simply pocketed the additional gold and precious jewels, but instead gave back the surplus to the king. Subsequently, Clotaire invited him to join the court as the master of the mint. Their honeymoon period did not last long, unfortunately, as Clotaire asked Eligius to swear an oath of allegiance. Eligius hesitated, as he was unsure whether or not Clotaire was going to use this oath for nefarious purposes. Eligius, as a member of the kingdom of the Merovingians, was not a subject of Clotaire who owed him his allegiance. Clotaire continued to press Eligius, annoyed that this otherwise loyal master of mint was resisting his will. Finally, Clotaire came to see that Eligius' refusal was not a matter of resistance, but a matter of conscience, as Eligius wanted nothing to stand in the way of his commitment to doing what he knew was his Christian duty, even his duty to his employer. King Clotaire was so impressed by Eligius' integrity, he embraced him, declaring to Eligius that his conscience was "a better pledge of fidelity than other men's oaths."
King Clotaire's son, Dagobert I, also admired Eligius and kept him in the royal household when his father died. Eligius became such a trusted advisor that he became sort of a gatekeeper to the royal presence. Many visitors stopped to see Eligius and ask for his counsel before reaching the king. The legend of St. Eligius' life details the many splendid monuments in Paris that Eligius crafted out of gold, including reliquaries for St. Martin of Tours and St. Denys.
Eligius dealt in fine things and became rich enough to acquire many fine things and great wealth of his own. Yet, he often gave away his riches in large sums. His home was identified by the crowds of the poor around his house. Eligius' desire to forswear worldly goods for the poor grew into a great desire to join the monastic life. Eligius and his fellow courtier, St. Audoneus, began to contemplate leaving the court to found monasteries. King Dagobert was reluctant to let them go, but eventually, he bequeathed to them estates that they could use to house their monastic communities.
Eligius founded the monastery of Solignac, which followed the joint rules of St. Columban and St. Benedict. Eligius realized that he needed less land than he originally had asked for from the king to complete his building projects, and returned to Dagobert, mortally contrite and begged his forgiveness for swindling him while asking him to take back the land. Dagobert responded: "Some of my officers do not scruple to rob me of whole estates, whereas Eligius is afraid of having one inch of ground which is not his."
Eligius and Audoneus became bishops of Noyon and Rouen, respectively and were consecrated in the year 635 or 641. Eligius' conscientiousness became a hallmark of his episcopacy, and he was highly regarded for his thoughtful pastoral care. He began missionary work into central Europe and cared for the poor and sick wherever he went.
St. Eligius died on December 1, 660. St. Eligius was a widely venerated saint during the middle ages throughout Europe. He is the patron saint of goldsmiths and blacksmiths and is especially honored by the guild of goldsmiths in Paris, where he spent much of his secular smithing career. Eligius provides an admirable model of how a Christian can work in and with the material world and yet continue to always serve God, not mammon.
St. Eligius, honest smith and conscientious steward of Christ's flock—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Eligius is in the public domain. Last accessed November 21, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
