STAY WITH JESUS – 02/12/22 (Saturday)

Mark 8:2-3,6

2 "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat; 3 and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way."

6 And He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks He broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd.

For the full readings, click here: 

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/daily-readings

Blessed Saturday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time! The crowd remained with Jesus for three days as they listened to His teachings even though they were hungry and had nothing to eat. Why did they have to stay with Him for this long? The people endured their sufferings and their hunger because they were simply focused on the Lord. They loved to listen to His teachings, and they knew that only Jesus could help them. As He saw their perseverance and needs, He expressed His compassion for them. He broke the bread, blessed it and gave it to the disciples. These actions foreshadowed the Institution of the Eucharist and the Mass. 

Like the 4,000 men, we can participate in the Holy Mass if we are focused on Jesus. Even if we have problems in our personal lives, we can still give our time to Him every Sunday and holy days of obligations because we recognize that we can only find strength and peace in Jesus whose Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity is present in the Blessed Sacrament. Unfortunately, not everyone gives their devotion and attention to God in the Mass because of not being able to see His presence behind the blessings and graces they receive. As such, what happens is that people simply focus on worldly things, on riches, and achievements rather than glorify the true God. And, this can lead to scandalizing other people to not come to Christ as well. 

The people who stayed with Jesus also became witnesses to the other 4,000 men to stay with Him. In the same way, if we are focused on the Lord and if we give our time to Him in the Mass, we can also be effective witnesses to people around us. May we not be distracted by the struggles that we undergo in our own lives. If we come to Jesus, especially in the Mass, He will be compassionate to us because He knows that only He can grant us strength to continue in our spiritual journey amidst our sufferings. Let's remain focused on the Lord. If we remain in Jesus, He will multiply the graces we receive, and He will bring us the radiance of eternal life as we partake of the Bread of Life. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic