05-08-24 Lima Roti dan Dua Ikan: Keajaiban yang Terjadi Saat Kita Berbagi

Monday 18th week in ordinary time "Mt 14:13-21" Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish." And he said, "Bring them here to me." I love to see You, my Jesus, always 'on call'. You had left for a lonely place, but souls came searching for You anyway. I imagine You exhausted, trying to rest, and Your disciples protecting You from the people, saying 'Come on! Leave Him alone for a while, for goodness' sake! He hasn't slept for ages. He needs to rest as well.' But You looked upon each person that had come; You knew how much they had searched for You; You, Lord, knew what they needed better than they did and You always had compassion on them. I want to imitate You, Lord, and be always on call when souls need me. I can't give in to tiredness and put things off because we will never know for sure if we will have another opportunity to help someone. To be a good Christian 24/7, always on duty, is very demanding. It's exhausting! But it fills us with true joy. For the salvation of souls and in order to relieve people's suffering we should be ready to do anything, anytime. There is not a second to waste! Bl Alvaro del Portillo once told how he went one day to visit St John Paul II at a rather late hour of the evening. While he was awaiting the Pope's arrival, he heard the Holy Father's steps approaching down the corridor, sounding as though he was dragging his feet. Obviously, the Pope was very fatigued. Bl Alvaro exclaimed: "Holy Father, how tired you are!" The Pope looked at him and, with a firm and friendly voice, replied: "If I were not tired at this hour of the day, it would be a sign that I hadn't fulfilled my duty." We will have a whole eternity to rest, but only a few years to save souls... Mary, my Mother, don't let me waste even a second of my life; help me to serve your Son and all souls!