“Have you ever thought of why Jesus took the young boy’s lunch to feed the 5,000 men and more.”

Loaves and Fishes – God’s Love Forever – The Best Sermon – Walking on Water

Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast – August 12, 2014

Dear Vincentian Brothers and Sisters:  May your week be filled with mystery, love, holiness and peace.  Be Christ and see Christ in each person you meet.  Stop to notice the joy and richness which surrounds you.  Each one of you is in my prayers and we have a new person joining us to pray together on Tuesdays for all those in need.  What a joy it is to have so many praying for others.  May God grant you wisdom, sincerity, and a true relationship with God, who gave us Jesus, the true source of joy.  Amen.  “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my salvation”. (Psalm 19:14)

Loaves and Fishes – (Matthew 14) – Have you ever thought of why Jesus took the young boy’s lunch to feed the 5,000 men and more. He could have held up a blade of grass or stone to God for the miracle, but instead he used the boy and his lunch given freely to Jesus to serve the hungry.  I see this as a lesson for us to feed the hungry.  We are called to share what we have with those who do not have.  This is our duty as Vincentians.  Feeding the hungry is the humanity of Jesus.  It is what He calls us to do.  This is our mission.  He called and we answered.  When we tend to the poor and feed the hungry we are feeding and tending Jesus.  He gives us the power and passion to personally serve those He places before us and use His teachings we serve Him.  When we do it for others we are also doing so for Jesus.  The people were in awe of the power of Christ.  Did they get the message?  When we look at this miracle we have to realize, Jesus did not need the young boys food.  Do we get the message?      We often do not give because we are afraid of running out.  Jesus is calling us to share our lunch with others.  This is a very powerful Gospel to reflect on.  It takes away our fear of not having enough and challenges us to follow Christ by sharing with the hungry.  If we understand and know Charity and Justice is one as both St. Vincent and Blessed Frederic Ozanam lived and understood. We are brought closer to God and closer to sharing the Kingdom when we believe and follow.  We become more like Jesus, when our actions reflect the many lessons we are given.  It is not about us, it is about God and the goodness which comes from serving.

God’s Love Forever – We truly deserve God’s love.  Do not doubt about His love.  He loves us and has marvelous dreams for us.  Putting God first!  It is the thing to do.  Let go of our selfish desires to better ourselves unless it is pleasing to God.  Our desire to succeed is not as important as serving those in need and seeing Christ in them.  This pleases God.  Prayer helps us to prepare for everything that will come before us.  God calls you to sainthood.  We cannot pretend to be saints; we have to intend to be saints.  God’s love is forever.  He gave us His Son, and the Holy Spirit.  This is all we need.  Take the time to quiet yourself and talk to God, especially when you don’t want to.  This is the best time, because then we listen and we feel the love flow.  Children seem to find peace amid the noise of this world. They can block out all the things that tend to irritate the adults and find in their hearts the place meant for hearing, for listening, for loving.  We all experience tension; we have to let it go and let God handle things.  Listen to Him and feel His love.

The Best Sermon – We hear a great deal of sermons and try to follow them.  However the best sermons ever are lived, not preached.  We know this and I think we have to hear it often because we tend to forget.  We learn to respect those around us.  St. Francis did not draw lines between himself and society’s outcasts. He stepped into their shoes, at times quite literally. This both enabled him to help and enabled people to trust him. He did this without thinking of his social status.  Follow Frederic Ozanam who truly loved the poor.  They were his friends.  Think of St. Vincent de Paul and power he has today.  Many people in modern times lived the sermons.  I think of Dorothy Day an ordinary person doing extra ordinary thing for workers.  Mother Theresa certainly walked and lived the Gospel.  We know it; we just have to do it.  We love – We serve – We pray.  This is evangelization and the best sermon ever.  Pray for each other always.

Walking on Water – Jesus called Peter to walk on the water in the storm.  Peter did it and then became afraid, he let fear control him.  He let doubt get in the way.   Doubt comes from being uncertain about God’s plan for us. The reading from Matthew 14:22-36 teaches us that to stay above water we have to keep our eyes on Jesus instead of the problems that are drowning us. Have you ever wondered why just believing in Jesus isn’t enough?  So, of course we sink in troubled waters!   What we don’t realize is that as God’s children, we have His love and concern whether we deserve it or not. And as followers of Jesus, we belong on the waves. As followers of Jesus, we have to get out of the boat and walk on water, following Him wherever He goes, doing whatever He tells us. Be not afraid, enjoy the adventure.  Do not fear the fall.  It is staying down we should fear.  God is always with us, so we must continue the journey.  Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit so that we could be His witnesses to the ends of the earth boldly, visibly, confidently.  We continue the path laid for us.  We live His word and we convert by our actions.  This is truly living the Gospel and staying afloat as we walk on the water to bring Jesus to others.

Blessings,

Lynn