Saturday February 10, 2024
Good News Reflections:
Making scripture meaningful to your daily life
by Terry Modica
They ate and were satisfied. (From Mark 8:1-10)
Good News Reflection for:
Saturday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
February 10, 2024
Today’s Readings:
1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34
Psalm 106:6-7, 19-22
Mark 8:1-10
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021024.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-february-10-2024
Does Jesus multiply what you need?
How does Jesus multiply what you need? In the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, Jesus made three gestures that can make our lives more fulfilling.
(1) He takes a little bread and fish.
Jesus doesn’t give us everything we need, by himself, with no effort from us. He says, “What can you give me? What do you have right now?” And he gladly accepts whatever we give him, no matter how small and seemingly insufficient.
He takes our offering very seriously, believing in its importance. Jesus knows its potential. He knows the good that can be done with it. He knows how he can build on it and multiply it.
(2) He blesses them.
After receiving from us what we offer to him, Jesus blesses our heavenly Father with it. With this gesture, which is also a prayer, he is saying that what we have offered to him is good enough — it is wonderful enough to please the Father and to honor him with it.
Furthermore, because every good thing we have — every good thought, every good desire, every good deed — originally came from God, Jesus is saying that we are blessed by the gifts the Father has given to us.
We participate in the miracle power of God by giving to Jesus what we have and letting him do with it whatever he knows is best.
(3) He gives them to his disciples to share with others.
Jesus never takes from us without blessing what we give him, and he never blesses it without multiplying it into something much bigger than we need.
Love is the power that multiplies small blessings into big ones. Love begins with God, bears fruit in us, and becomes a gift for others. This is why children are a sign that we are open to God’s power to multiply a little into a lot: A love between a husband and wife becomes love shared with a family.
Whatever we offer to God, in the hands of Jesus it will multiply. God never neglects our needs; quite the opposite — he makes everything multiply. In abundance. Overflowing. But why do we need the overflow? We don’t, but others do. Blessings always come with a purpose that’s bigger than us. Jesus takes what we give him, blesses it, and gives it back to us in abundance so that we have something to share with others.
The Miracle of Multiplication in the Catholic Mass:
During the Offertory, we are offering back to God the gifts and blessings that he has given to us. In thanksgiving, we give God the gift of money to help the Church do the works of Jesus. We give the gift of the fruits of our labors. What has he given you? What are your personality traits, the good ones, which God designed you to have? These are gifts from the God — you were made in his image — and at this point in the Mass, now is the time to thank him for what makes you the wonderful you that you are.
You can supernaturally place any of the giftedness of your life on the altar when the priest accepts (when Jesus accepts) the monetary collection. Now is the time to thank God for the blessings in your life by offering them back to him for his use. And thus the gifts are multiplied! How does Jesus multiply what you need? Well, it starts by you offering him what you have!
For more on this, listen to Part 6 of the podcast series entitled Go Deeper into Holy Mass @ gnm.org/FtoH/HolyMass.
© 2024 by Terry A. Modica
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