15.02.25 Jangan Batasi Tuhan: Pelajaran dari Mukjizat di Padang Gurun

Saturday 5th week in ordinary time "Mk 8:1-10" In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him, and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; 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." And his disciples answered him, "How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?" And he asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven." 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. And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them. And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanutha. "How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?" the disciples asked Jesus. Yes. It was one against 4,000. Certainly not everyone can... In fact, only One: Jesus is the One. 'How could it be possible?' they were wondering. It was possible because Jesus is God and God is Almighty. Four thousand people ate their fill of fish and bread and, at the end, the disciples collected seven baskets full of scraps. "How can one feed these men...?" they asked. God can feed all those - and many more. Jesus' power has no limits; that's the meaning of Almighty. If there were 7,000 or 100,000, it would be the same. It makes no difference for an Almighty God to perform a miracle multiplying a piece of bread by two... or by two million. When we pray, when we offer the Mass for the conversion of a sinner or for a particular deceased, it is the same for God whether we pray for one or for 10,000. Some people may think that if you offer the Mass for two souls, each one gets 'half of a Mass'. That's nonsense. If you offer a Mass for a million souls, they all get 'a Mass'. Just as, when we bathe in the ocean we all get 100% wet regardless of how many are in the water. Let's not put limits when we ask, since God's power is limitless. They say of St Bernard that, when he was about to die, someone asked him if he regretted anything about his life. "After all that God has given me," said the saint, "I regret not having had more desires!" He knew that, if he had asked for more, he would have received even more. Mary, Virgin Most Faithful, may I never set limits when I pray, may I never be mean in prayers or in demands.