THE COMPASSION OF JESUS FOR US - 02/11/23 (Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes)

Mark 8:2–3

“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.”  

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021123.cfm

Blessed Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes! In the gospel reading, we witness the feeding of the multitude. The crowd stayed with Jesus and listened to Him for three days even though they had nothing to eat. He was compassionate with them that He wanted to feed them because if He did not, they would collapse on their way home. What we can see here is the love of Christ for His people. Besides physical needs, we should remember that Jesus is concerned primarily with our spiritual needs, with our salvation. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve due to original sin, humanity became separated from God. We received from our first parents the stains of original sins, and because of this, we are conceived with a fallen nature. Because of God's love for us, He has given us the sacrament of baptism to wash away the original sin in the souls of the infants and all sins, both personal sins and original sin, to those who are baptized as adults. Still, when we commit grave sins knowingly, we are breaking the relationship that we have with God, and we endanger our salvation. Despite our dark past, Jesus remains compassionate with us because He is concerned for our salvation. He did not want us to fall down in a state of sin in our journey and to experience spiritual and eternal death. All He desires for us is His grace and mercy, which is why He has given us the sacrament of confession and the Mass. Let's ponder on how we can accept God's love for us by choosing to love Him always. 

At the same time, it's not enough for us to think solely of our needs or solely of our salvation. In the gospel reading, the disciples contributed in the feeding of the seven thousand. On their own, they could not feed everyone because they only had seven pieces of bread. But, when they united their work with Christ, the miracle occured. In the same way, we cannot help other people in their spiritual life if we will just depend on our own actions.  What will make it only possible is if we depend on the mercy of God, and this can take place through our prayers. It's not wrong to pray for the intentions of other people when it comes to temporal goods like finance, jobs, grades, etc, provided that we use everything in accordance to God's will. Still, what's most important is our prayer for conversion and salvation of sinners. This was the core of the message that St. Bernadette received from the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes. Let's not dismiss the importance of prayers because even if we see our unworthiness and weaknesses, let's remember that we have a loving Mother who brings our intentions to Christ, and our prayers become instruments for God's mercy. May we persevere in praying the rosary, even if our prayers may not be perfect, and we can have the hope for the conversion of the multitude. As we celebrate this memorial, the Blessed Virgin Mary will help us rise above our human weaknesses and receive eternal life from God because of His compassion and concern for us. 

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

Our Lady of Lourdes— Memorial:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/february-11---our-lady-of-lourdes/

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth