Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 15, 2025
In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat,
Jesus summoned the disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread
to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”
Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They replied, “Seven.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish.
He said the blessing over them
and ordered them distributed also.
They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people.
He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples
and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
“Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Awaking on a cold winter morning and anticipating the day ahead, it’s not difficult to expect a similar lack: misconnection with coworkers, long hours sitting in front of a laptop, and an evening spent trying to bring wholeness to the day. Talk about hunger.
In contrast to the disciples in this passage, the hunger in my life is, thankfully, not physical; instead, it is a hunger for love, connection, wholeness, and communion. The relationship is still the same. The fear of starvation is still the same.
The disciples’ question is charged with anxiety, incredulity, and skepticism. To their credit, they honestly share their hearts in a psalm-like, primal cry to be fed, nourished, and satisfied. In their small yet cosmic query, the disciples speak for the crowd. Echoing through time and eternity, these disciples speak for me, too. How can Jesus possibly satisfy me?
While part of me sincerely follows Jesus, another part becomes frustrated by the starvation diet that following Jesus seems to entail. As a result, cloaked beneath layers of external obedience, piety, and kindness, spiritual resentment brews interiorly. With the same skepticism as these disciples, I wonder how Jesus can possibly satisfy the infinite desires of my heart.
In this deserted place, Christ summons me and draws me out, imploring me to be honest like these disciples. When I trust him enough to open up, I’m not met with scoffing and shaming but with curiosity and guidance. He asks for what little I have, and I offer it: small conversations, a walk around the block, the emails I send to coworkers, a drive to an evening event. Somehow, mysteriously, miraculously, I’m satisfied. Abundantly and beautifully.
Prayer
Jesus, Lamb of God, you call us to walk in your footsteps, by taking up our daily crosses, and giving our lives away in love. Help us to accept our daily burdens on behalf of others as expressions of love for you and your people. Help us to see how our acts of selfless love, inspired by you, bring your saving presence into the world. Give us the strength and generosity of spirit to carry our burdens joyfully. Amen.
Saint of the Day
The example of St. Claude's life and his spiritual insight served royalty and saints—and got him into political trouble that cost him his life.
He was born to a family of French nobles in 1641, and, as he grew, felt a call to religious life. He was educated at a Jesuit school in Lyons and joined the order in 1659.
He became well-educated and took on a nun in spiritual direction—her name was Margaret Mary Alocoque. She eventually became known as a saint because of the vision of Christ she received in 1675 that established devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (One manifestation of that devotion is the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue that stands in front of the Dome on campus, shown below).
Claude took a vow to uphold the strictest rule of life in pursuit of holiness and perfection. In addition to guiding Margaret Mary, he was also assigned chaplain to Mary of Modena, Duchess of York, who would later become queen. He traveled to Protestant Britain to serve her, and converted many to Catholicism by the example of his holy life.
He was suspected of hatching “papist plots” against the king and was imprisoned. It was only the intercession of French King Louis XIV that saved his life. He was exiled and returned to France, but his health was ruined and he died not long after arriving. Though he suffered every torment except death for his faith, he is still considered a martyr.
As a prominent French saint, Claude’s relics were collected by the early members of Holy Cross and now rest in the reliquary chapel. His image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.
St. Claude de la Colombiere, you sought the perfect life of holiness and you preached to kings and queens, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Claude de la Colombiere is in the public domain. Last accessed December 5, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
