April 17, 2015
Friday, 2nd Week of Easter 1st Reading: Acts 5:34–42
Gospel: Jn 6:1–15
(…) Then lifting up his eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to him and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”
Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there so the people, about five thousand men, sat down to rest. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish and gave them as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten enough, he told his disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.”
So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is, with pieces of the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. (…)
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Philip was overwhelmed by the number of people to feed. But Jesus made it clear it was his duty to answer their need. He could have instructed Philip to reduce those people in number. Few would have been left if they sent home the stronger. But Jesus wanted every person fed. Overwhelmed Philip said: Where in this deserted place can we buy enough loaves of bread?
They found a little boy with loaves and fish to share. But with so many people there, Philip could only wish heaven still had manna to spare. Imagine the kind of crisis Philip and the Apostles had to go through, as their faith was kind of beaten black and blue. But it turned out to be a big eye opener for them: the synergy of human generosity and God’s Providence solved the big problem.
Today the world would like to control the number of people. But ‘the end does not justify the means’ is still a binding moral principle. If we must control population growth that has become runaway, no not contraceptives but discipline is the moral way. There is no such thing as free lunch, we are told; as we got freely to this world, so must we allow others to live in God’s fold.
We panic and support contraceptives as easy way to control population growth. We forget that God gets to work if we remain true to our baptismal oath. Let’s tell the world that in this country, human beings and God can still work efficiently. Let the Philippines stand before the world as man and God’s laboratory. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
q q q
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.