“Receiving consolation and comfort from Jesus, our Master, and in turn, being a good shepherd to one another!”
(Based on Heb 13:15-21 and Mk 6:30-34 – Saturday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1)
The French have a proverb, which states: “A good meal ought to begin with hunger.”
It is usually pretty hard to enjoy a meal when one is not yet hungry.
But, when one is hungry…
… anything tastes good.
This hunger is of course, not only about physical hunger.
There are many other areas of life where we experience hunger…
Hunger for love…
Hunger for being wanted…
Hunger on emotional counts…
Hunger of the spiritual order…
These aspects of hunger…
… may never have a scientific statistic
… may never have flowcharts and pie diagrams to measure them
But these areas of hunger are a great reality and challenge, especially in our world today!
The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus who addresses not just “statistical” hunger but also such hunger of human needs which “may never get numerically counted”…
… with an invitation to always “hunger for God and to serve His people!”
“When He disembarked and saw the vast crowd, His Heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things” (Mk 6:34)
The Apostles, who were sent on the mission (Mk 6: 7-13) had returned back and reported all that they had done (Mk 6:30)
They had driven out many demons…
They had anointed many with oil who were sick and cured them… (Mk 6:13)
They would have rejoiced greatly, but they were also physically tired.
They would have been satisfied with their works, but they did not have even the time to eat (Mk 6:31)
The Apostles had done many works, but Jesus sensed that they were tired
The Apostles were happy with their ministry, but Jesus sensed that they were hungry.
And so the Good Shepherd invites them to come away to a deserted place and rest (Mk 6:31)
Like these Apostles, many times, this can be our case too…
We may be doing a lot of things…
… but are we still feeling spiritually tired?We may be happy with what we are doing…
… but are we still hungry deep within?
The Good Shepherd invites us…
… to take some rest in Him
… to relax in His Holy Heart
As in the case of the Apostles, so is the case of the people…
The people had seen many miracles, but Jesus sensed that they were still not truly filled
The people had witnessed many wonders, but Jesus sensed that they were still lost and unguided.
And so the Good Shepherd, with a moved Heart, feels compassion on them (Mk 6:34)
Like these people, many times this can be our case too…
We may have witnessed God’s wonders…
… but are we still spiritually found wanting?We may be glad to doing the minimum in our spiritual life…
… but are we still missing something?
The Good Shepherd encourages us…
… with His Divine Word
… by His Compassionate Love
There is indeed a great hunger in the world.
Saint Mother Teresa said: “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty, than the person who has nothing to eat”
We may be people who hunger for love and acceptance…
Let us go to Jesus, the Supreme Lover of our lives
We may be people dejected and depressed in life…
Let us go to Jesus, the Ultimate Happiness of our lives
We may be people feeling unlucky and ill-fated in life…
Let us go to Jesus, the Absolute Destiny of our lives
In turn, we also meet people who go through such “hunger”…
…for love, for acceptance, for encouragement, for hope, for basics of life etc…
Do I recognise, in the first place, such requirements of needy people?
Does my heart move in loving compassion for them?
Can I be a Good Shepherd, like Jesus, to them?
May the prayer in Heb 13:20-21 (1st Reading) be our personal prayer: “May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do His Will.
May He carry out, in you, what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, forever, Amen!”
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
IMPORTANCE AND NECESSITY OF SACRED SCRIPTURE AND HOLY TRADITION
Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.
[Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles…
… so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching.
As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the Holy Scriptures alone…
Reflection Capsules 