Tuesday, February 14, 2017
6th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading:
Gen. 6:5-8;7:1-5.10
Gospel: Mk 8:14–21
The disciples had forgotten to bring more bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then Jesus warned them, “Keep your eyes open and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” And they said to one another, “He saw that we have no bread.”
Aware of this, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about the loaves you are short of? Do you not see or understand? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that don’t see and ears that don’t hear? And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves among five thousand? How many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?” They answered, “Twelve.” “And having seven loaves for the four thousand, how many wicker baskets of leftovers did you collect?” They answered, “Seven.” Then Jesus said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
While Jesus was preoccupied with matters of salvation, the disciples were worried about provision. I understand the preoccupation of the disciples. Once upon a time I was similarly preoccupied. I was six years old when I went alone for a Sunday evening Mass at a chapel nearby. When the priest said, “Kordero sa Dyos”, I thought I heard the word “kaldero” (cauldron). It triggered my hunger. I ran outside the chapel to buy food, thinking that the priest was saying it was now dinnertime. While I was thinking about food, I was not aware of the greater food at the altar – Jesus the Bread of Life.
The mistake was understandable. I was only a child. Things go serious when adults behave the same way. Concern for food is legitimate. However, if it becomes the sole preoccupation of adults it could be a symptom of the reign of the flesh. When the flesh reigns, the soul starves. On Valentines Day, for example, if we allow the flesh to get the upper hand our concept of love gets adulterated. The Greeks have three terms for love, namely, eros (what we now understand as erotic love), philia (fellowship) and agape (laying down one’s life for someone). Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his Encyclical Deus Caritas Est clarified that eros need not end up in sin because it can be purified so that the attention shifts from self satisfaction to the well being of the beloved. This is not impossible if we shift our preoccupation from the sensual to the spiritual.
We should not be too preoccupied with food and other basic necessities because such can create a slippery slope that pushes us down the ravine of spiritual destruction. We have a God, after all, who takes care of us more than we can take care of ourselves. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
***
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA REACT <message/ name/age/address> at i-send sa 4467.