AT TIMES, OUR OWN LIGHT GOES OUT AND IS REKINDLED BY A SPARK FROM ANOTHER PERSON. EACH OF US HAS CAUSE TO THINK WITH DEEP GRATITUDE OF THOSE WHO HAVE LIGHTED THE FLAME WITHIN US.

ALBERT SCHWEITZER

There are many times in the Gospels when Jesus multiplies bread. He is able to take something really small and make so much of it that it can feed a whole crowd. Now while this is an impressive miracle, what we really need is for God to multiply love in today’s society. So how do we make this happen?

The original miracle with food that Jesus did, occurred because a small boy presented Him with a small amount of food. Jesus takes the food, mostly bread and makes so much of it that there is plenty of leftovers. In some ways something similar can occur when we bring the small amount of love that we have to the people around us. When we share love, it comes back to us multiplied. Love can take many forms. Affirmations, gratitude, romance, affection and so on. We tend to consume love in the same way that we eat bread. It is yummy, it fills us up, it is easy to obtain and we take it for granted. We take what we have and think nothing more of it until we are hungry again.

If we take time to be grateful for the love that we have and are gifted with each day, we are putting it back into the hands of God so that He can work a miracle.

You will find that the more you are grateful for the ways that you have been loved, the more you notice how you are being loved. God multiplies the little that we have by changing the way that we see the world we live in. Before you know it, you will be seeing the effect of love everywhere.

Try to be grateful every day for the little ways that you have been loved, for the people that show you love, for those that you love and for the moments in your day that you have seen love in others.

Share these moments with others and watch the love spread.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What are you most grateful for today?

Has there been a time where you have noticed a difference in yourself after spending time with someone you love?

From: Firewood for the soul, vol. 1, A Reflexion Book for the Whole Vincentian Family
St. Vincent de Paul Society, Queensland, Australia.
Text by: Samantha Hill.