The Word Among Us: A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Wednesday, December 2, 2015

The Word Among Us: A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily 
Mass Reading & Meditation for Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Meditation: Matthew 15:29 Yeshua left there and went along the shore of Lake Kinneret. He climbed a hill and sat down; 30 and large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed as they saw mute people speaking, crippled people cured, lame people walking and blind people seeing; and they said a b’rakhah to the God of Isra’el.

32 Yeshua called his talmidim to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, because they might collapse on the way home.” 33 The talmidim said to him, “Where will we find enough loaves of bread in this remote place to satisfy so big a crowd?” 34 Yeshua asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few fish.” 35 After telling the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, made a b’rakhah, broke the loaves and gave them to the talmidim, who gave them to the people. 37 Everyone ate his fill, and they took seven large baskets full of the leftover pieces.

1st Week of Advent
He broke the loaves and gave them to the crowds. (Matthew 15:36)
Ruth Stull was a woman given to a cause—the natives of Peru. Originally from Ohio, Ruth traveled to Peru to share the gospel with them. It wasn’t an easy vocation, and there were times that she must have felt as crumbly as the bread that Jesus held in his hands in today’s Gospel reading. But Ruth saw great hope and consolation in this story, not an occasion to worry about herself. “If my life is broken when given to Jesus,” she once said, “it is because pieces will feed a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a little lad.”
What a wonderful perspective! Of course, very few of us are called to share the gospel in a Peruvian jungle, but we have all experienced what it’s like to be tested and tried—and divided into many pieces—in the course of doing God’s will. Parents experience this as they pour themselves out for their children. Priests experience it as they minister to their many parishioners. Everyone experiences it with the everyday demands of life! We know that we are able to touch so many more people if we allow ourselves to be “broken and scattered” than if we remain safe in our comfort zones.
We all face situations in which we feel fragile or unsure as to whether there is enough of us to go around. But here’s the miracle and the paradox. If we can place ourselves in Jesus’ hands as we keep moving forward, we’ll find his comfort and strength—and we’ll end up bearing much more fruit than we ever thought we could.
We may think that we are most suited to help people when we feel strong and capable. And of course we need to take care of ourselves so that we don’t become exhausted or dispirited. But many times, it’s when we feel weak that God works most powerfully through us.
Ruth Stull learned to “boast most gladly” in her weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). We can, too.
Today, keep repeating these simple words: “When I am weak within myself, then Jesus will be strong in me.” It’s not a paradox. It is a simple statement of faith in God’s grace and strength.
“Lord, give me the strength to work hard, the peace to survive my demands, and the desire to give myself generously to others.” Amen
Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain Adonai-Tzva’ot

will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food and superb wines,

delicious, rich food and superb, elegant wines.

7 On this mountain he will destroy

the veil which covers the face of all peoples,

the veil enshrouding all the nations.

8 He will swallow up death forever.

Adonai Elohim will wipe away

the tears from every face,

and he will remove from all the earth

the disgrace his people suffer.

For Adonai has spoken.

9 On that day they will say,

“See! This is our God!

We waited for him to save us.

This is Adonai ; we put our hope in him.

We are full of joy, so glad he saved us!”

10 For on this mountain

the hand of Adonai will rest.

But Mo’av will be trampled down where they are,

like straw trampled into a pile of manure.

Psalm 23:(0) A psalm of David:

(1) Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.

2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures,

he leads me by quiet water,

3 he restores my inner person.

He guides me in right paths

for the sake of his own name.

4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,

I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;

your rod and staff reassure me.

5 You prepare a table for me,

even as my enemies watch;

you anoint my head with oil

from an overflowing cup.

6 Goodness and grace will pursue me

every day of my life;

and I will live in the house of Adonai

for years and years to come.

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