314. Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)

Meditations no. 592 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

The multiplication of the loaves: it is always the Lord who acts.

THE TEXTS of today’s Mass recall two multiplications of bread, to feed a multitude. The first reading tells how, in times of great scarcity, a man presents to the prophet Elisha, as firstfruits, twenty barley loaves and a saddlebag with new wheat. The prophet said, “Give it to the people to eat.” The servant said, “What am I going to give to a hundred men with this?” But the prophet insisted, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord:”Eat, for there will be leftover.” And so it happened.

God never abandons those who trust in him. Day after day he fed the people of Israel with manna, during their pilgrimage in the desert, despite their doubts and frequent lack of fidelity; and his providence continues to watch over us today, especially in what we undertake for his service, always ready to complete what our personal lack of means and virtues does not reach. Non est abbreviata manus Domini, God’s hand has not been shortened. Faith reminds us, St. Josemaría wrote, that the Lord is constantly at work: it is He who has created us and keeps us in being; who, with His grace, leads the whole of creation towards the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Therefore, at the conclusion of a section of his Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul lifts up his heart to God, who has power over all things to grant us infinitely more than we ask or think, thanks to the power he displays in us; and he continues: to him be given glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and ever. Amen!

In the Gospel we read how Jesus, from the top of a mountain, sees a crowd approaching hungry to hear his words and asks Philip: Where are we going to buy bread for these to eat? He said this to test him, because he knew what he was going to do. Commenting on these words from the Gospel of John, our Father taught: many times throughout the history of the Work, I have thought that the Lord has foreseen things from eternity, but that on the other hand he leaves us free. The Lord sometimes seems to tempt us, that he wants to test our faith. But Jesus Christ does not let us: if we stand firm, he is ready to perform miracles, to multiply the loaves, to change wills, to give light to the darkest intelligences, to make - with extraordinary grace - capable of righteousness those who perhaps have never been so.

For this reason, our Founder continued, we should not be disturbed by the thought of need, because the Lord will come to our aid. If we ever feel that tentans eum - to prove it - of which the Holy Gospel speaks, we need not worry, because it is just that: that God our Lord plays with us (…).

I have told you so many times, my children-and you have repeated it many times-that God our Lord, in his most loving providence, in his affection for men - deliciae mese esse cum filiis hominum (Proverb 8:31), it is his delight to be with the children of men - has willed, in a certain way, to make us co-redeemers with him. Therefore, to help us understand this wonder, he has the Evangelist recount in detail this great wonder. He could draw bread from wherever he wanted, because all the beasts of the forest and the thousands of animals of the mountains are mine. And in my hand are all the birds of the air and all the animals of the field. … Mine is the world and all that fills it (Ps 49:10-12). Well, no. Seek human cooperation.

We are instruments in God’s hands.

HEARING Jesus’ question, “Where are we going to buy bread for these to eat?” Philip seems puzzled and, after making a quick calculation, replies: two hundred denarii of bread is not enough for each one to eat a little. This was an exorbitant amount for his modest means, since one denarius was equivalent to the wages of a day laborer for each day of work. To corroborate this, Andrew adds: here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what is this for so many?

Thousands of people are going to be spectators of a prodigy of love. Five barley loaves and two fish - a boy caught them in the lake - are going to be the instrument in God’s hands. Jesus needs, our Father tells us, a child, a few pieces of bread and some fish. He needs you and I, my son: and he is God! This urges us to be generous in our correspondence. He does not need any of us at all, and at the same time he needs us all. How wonderful! The little we are, the little we are worth, our few talents he asks of us, we cannot spare them. The two fish, the bread: everything.

We too find ourselves empty-handed in the face of the limitless apostolic panorama that daily presents itself before our eyes: aimless crowds, hungry for God, even if on many occasions they do not even notice it. For this reason, we turn our gaze to the Lord and listen to his words: command people to sit down.

The disciples do not distrust; they obey without delay and make about five thousand men sit. Then Jesus took the loaves and, after giving thanks, distributed them to those who were seated, and likewise gave them as many fish as they wanted. The Apostles docility collaborate in the distribution of food among the people, without fear that it will run out as soon as it begins and that the mass will cause a tumult. They have witnessed so many times the wonders wrought by Christ and, knowing themselves to be instruments, they do what the Lord tells them.

They ate until they were satisfied, and, again following Jesus’ instructions, when they had all finished, the Apostles gathered twelve baskets with the leftovers: precisely twelve, one for each disciple, as if to make us understand that the interior life and the desire of souls constitute a single whole, grow at the same time, feed each other, and would remain mere appearance if they were not always together.

We too must know that we are instruments in God’s hands to carry out his Work throughout the centuries. Our Founder has written: Power to work miracles: how many dead souls, and even rotten ones, you will rise again, if you allow Christ to act in you.

In those times, the Gospels recount, the Lord passed by, and they, the sick, called him and sought him. Christ is also passing by now with your Christian life and, if you support him, how many will know him, call him, ask him for help and their eyes will be opened to the marvellous lights of grace. And he adds almost immediately afterwards: the apostle has no other purpose than to let the Lord work, to make himself available.

On the way to holiness and in the fulfilment of the apostolic task, we must put the means at our disposal, sparing none; but, at the same time, Jesus testifies to us that all power in heaven and on earth is his and that from him comes the mission we have received. Go therefore, he says to the Apostles, and he repeats it to Christians forever, and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Even if at times the horizon appears gloomy and there is no reason for hope, we must contemplate the panorama with the optimism of a child of God, with the certainty that the fruit will come abundantly, because the word of God cannot fail - he who calls you is faithful, and therefore will fulfill it - and what Isaiah announces on behalf of the Lord will come true: as rain and snow descend from the heavens, and do not return there, but water the earth, fertilize it, make it sprout, and give seed to the sower and bread to whom he will eat, so will the word that comes out of my mouth be: he will not return to me empty, but will do what I want and carry out the mission I have entrusted to him.

With faith in the Lord and love of unity, we will be effective.

IN THE Second Reading, St. Paul exhorts the Ephesians to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the bond of peace. One Body and one Spirit, as you have been called to one hope: that of your vocation. The awareness that we know that we are instruments is inseparable from the conviction that God counts on each one of us, not as isolated elements, which proceed in an anarchic way, but as members of the same body, with a mission that we must make our own and in which we must all participate, in unity of spirit and apostolic action. Do you see? One thread and another and many, well braided, form that rope capable of lifting enormous weights.

“You and your brothers, united in your wills to fulfill God’s, will be able to overcome all obstacles.

To carry out the Work, in a special Communion of Saints, we all go in unison with the Father and with the Directors, counting on the most effective weapon at our disposal: the prayer of the whole Church and, in particular, that of our sisters and brothers, which from the four cardinal points, from morning to night, flows without interruption into the prelatic church of Santa Maria della Paz like an impetuous river and, after passing through the heart of our Father and the Father, returns to us having multiplied its flow.

If someone were to inadvertently go on his own, he would already show that some obstacle prevents him from seeing himself as an instrument, and that perhaps he trusts too much in his own strength. For this reason, our Founder advises us: in your apostolate enterprise, do not fear enemies from without, no matter how great their power. “This is the imposing enemy: your lack of ‘filiation’ and your lack of ‘fraternity.’

We are children of God. Look at what a great love the Father has shown us: that we call ourselves children of God, and we are! It is not only a title that we are allowed to use - and that would be a lot - but the reality of divine filiation in Christ. For this reason, the greatest sign of gratitude to God is to passionately love our condition as his children. Children of God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name, who also makes us know that we are children of Holy Mary and of the Holy Church, of the Pope and, in the Work, of our Father and of the Father. And, at the same time, closely united by that bond of fraternity with the faithful of Opus Dei scattered throughout the world, which makes us feel safe and well supported at all times.

Therefore, if we know that we are of one heart and one soul, no obstacle will be able to break our optimism when we hear the Lord’s invitation: lift up your eyes and see the fields that are golden for harvest. The wheat field full of ripe ears of corn extends far beyond the narrow horizon that is capable of encompassing our gaze. This is the time to remember our Father’s advice: Dream, you will fall short!, convinced that “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”. With him there is no possibility of failure, and from this persuasion is born the holy “superiority complex” to face tasks with the spirit of victors, because God grants us his strength.

We count on the effective help of the Guardian Angels, who are always great accomplices in the apostolic task. And we take refuge in the protection of our Blessed Mother to be faithful instruments in God’s hands: Do you want to live holy audacity, to get God to act through you? “Turn to Mary, and she will accompany you on the path of humility, so that, in the face of those impossible for the human mind, you will know how to respond with a”fiat!”