ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR GOD? ~ CookingFood.Org

“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”

Daily Reflections

Saturday, 11^th February 2017,

Fifth Week in the Ordinary Time

Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes

and 25^thWorld Day of the Sick

Gen 3:9-24;

Ps 90: 2-6, 12-13;

Mk 8: 1-10.

Or (Memorial Readings)

Is 66:10-14;

Jdt13: 18-19;

Jn2: 1-11.

ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR GOD?

The episode in the Gospel can be seen in different ways and reveals the compassion of Jesus. There was large gathering including Jews and gentiles, men and women adults and children. They had only one thing in common. That was they were hungry. They were hungry for the teachings of Jesus - what else would keep them at that location for three days? And due to their spiritual hunger, they were now physically hungry. Have you ever been hungry for God? Have you desired for God’s company and His fellowship more than the basic necessities of life?

The crowds were so drawn to Jesus that they were willing to spend three days with Him, listening to Him in a deserted place despite the fact that they were without food. They chose Jesus and His teaching over food and over the comfort of their own homes. It reveals how drawn they were to Him. Nothing else mattered, they simply wanted to be with Jesus. This passage also reveals Jesus’ deep concern for the people. His heart was moved with pity for them. He was grateful for their presence but He was more concerned for their physical well-being than they were. Jesus, then in identifying the problem of people being without food for so long, invites the Apostles to see the problem. He doesn’t solve the problem right away. Instead, He simply explains the problem. Perhaps, Jesus was trying to foster love and concern for the people in the hearts of the Apostles. Perhaps it was a moment in which He was testing them and training them to think about the needs of the people. Jesus wanted their hearts to be “moved with pity for the crowd” just as His was.

Let us consider today: Is Jesus the central focus of our life? Does a longing for Him flood our heart and consume our soul? Are we aware of the deep concern that Jesus has for us? Are we able to allow the love and compassion that Jesus offers to us, in turn be offered to others? Only then will we be worthy of being called one of His disciples.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be drawn to You with intensity and longing. Help me to see You as the source of all that I long for and need in life. May I choose You above all else, trusting and knowing that You will satisfy my every desire. As I turn intensely to You, fill my heart with an abundance of mercy for all. Jesus, I trust in You.. Amen.

XXV World Day of the Sick

On 11 February, the Twenty-fifth World Day of the Sick will be celebrated throughout the Church. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Amazement at what God has accomplished: ‘The Almighty has done great things for me….’” (Lk 1:49). This Day is an opportunity to reflect in particular on the needs of the sick and, more generally, of all those who suffer. It is also an occasion for those who generously assist the sick, beginning with family members, health workers and volunteers, to give thanks for their God-given vocation of accompanying our infirm brothers and sisters. This celebration likewise gives the Church renewed spiritual energy for carrying out ever more fully that fundamental part of her mission which includes serving the poor, the infirm, the suffering, the outcast and the marginalized

Like Saint Bernadette, we stand beneath the watchful gaze of Mary. The humble maiden of Lourdes tells us that the Virgin, whom she called “the Lovely Lady”, looked at her as one person looks at another. Bernadette, poor, illiterate and ill, felt that Mary was looking at her as a person. Mary gave Bernadette the vocation of serving the sick and called her to become a Sister of Charity, a mission that she carried out in so exemplary a way as to become a model for every healthcare worker. The gaze of Mary, Comfort of the Afflicted, brightens the face of the Church in her daily commitment to the suffering and those in need.

On this World Day of the Sick, may we find new incentive to work for the growth of a culture of respect for life, health and the environment. May this Day also inspire renewed efforts to defend the integrity and dignity of persons, not least through a correct approach to bioethical issues, the protection of the vulnerable and the protection of the environment.

(Extract from Pope Francis’ message for 25^th World Day of the Sick 2017)