EXCERPT: The secret of happiness, the wisest of wise men says, is to see all the marvels of the world, without forgetting the two drops of oil on the spoon.

In other words, we need to start seeing beyond the superficial (1Sam.16:7), by maintaining a constant balance between our spiritual and human selves. We need to develop spiritual insight.

Spirituality is wisdom of the spirit; it provides a kind of sixth sense which helps us to intuitively see and appreciate the movement of God in our ordinary human lives. 

How might we achieve that? 

By cultivating a life nourished by prayer, meditation, and the Holy Eucharist. 

EXCERPT: What mankind needs more than a miracle worker or a philanthropist is a Saviour, because our greatest problem is not poverty, hunger or war, it is sin. And the Saviour chooses to enlist us in this grand work of salvation.

But what kind of people does He use? You would imagine that He would zoom in on the gifted, the resourceful or the rich. But He doesn’t. Instead, He takes anyone who is willing to risk sharing and trusting.

EXCERPT: Ministering to others includes providing leadership. For us, that could mean leadership in the church, including vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. Alternatively, it could mean active participation in the life of the parish. Also, it could mean providing leadership in the communities in which we live. For the laity, there is the option of entering local politics, or even national or international politics… There certainly is a need for politicians motivated by faith to speak up for the real needs of the crowd.

EXCERPT: I’m left feeling even more helpless in the face of all that’s in the news these days. Jesus saw the hungry thousands and he said, “This will not do.”

We see them, too, and he calls us to declare the same: “This will not do.” So here’s something I’ve decided to do… I’m going to total up what I spent on my vacation and make an offering equal to 20% of that to organizations that feed the hungry, care for the exiled and immigrants and work for peace. Doing this wasn’t in my vacation budget. But here’s the point: I had a vacation budget – in a world of people who have neither budgets nor vacations. My small gesture won’t solve the world’s problems but it might begin to resolve one of mine: my insulated exile from the suffering of others.

EXCERPT: We just heard: “Thus says the LORD: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.”

Observers of the American scene tell us that we are a nation of overfed and overweight people. When you go to a shopping mall and look that the shapes of the people there you will see that. What you won’t see are those who have a hidden hunger– a hunger for acceptance, a hunger for respect, for love, and for lives that matter…

Years ago a famous English poet, T.S. Eliot, wrote a magnificent poem he titled “The Wasteland.” It was a devastating look into, and commentary upon, our present day culture. He showed us how we are spiritually living in a modern desert, a wasteland, and deserted place. Eliot was echoing the cry of Isaiah: Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy?…

We need to ask ourselves: “What really sustains us? What is our true sustenance? Just what sort of food is feeding us? Junk food? Food that doesn’t nourish us? Are our bodies bloated and fat while our souls are lean and hungry? Why should we go on living in spiritual starvation?

EXCERPT: We so often rely only on material food that so very often only yields illusions in a safe and a carefully guarded version of ourselves. It’s so much easier and enjoyable to eat a hamburger than to prayerfully delve deeper into your spiritual life and personal behavior.

“Food that perishes,” that’s a polite word for our bathroom visits. Or, is the food we need one that prompts us to be better Christians, a complete person; the person God created each of us to be. A welcome digestion to reside and live in your soul.

EXCERPT: All throughout history, God has been providing food to his people. He gave them manna, quails and water in the desert (Exodus 16; Numbers 11). In effect, this gave them strength during the 40 years they spent in the desert. “The Israelites ate this manna for forty years, until they came to the settled land; they ate manna until they reached the borders of Canaan” (Ex 16: 35). God fed his people through the Prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:42-44). 

After taking care of the spiritual needs of people, Jesus, in our Gospel today encourages us to be Generous. The Apostles were trying to send the people away to look for food: When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.’

Jesus could make manna fall from heaven at that instance, but he challenged the apostles: ‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves. The foundation paradise as a friend of mine will always say is SHARING. This sharing is at three levels: sharing one’s doing, one’s being, and one’s having: Sharing what we do – Sharing who we are – Sharing what we have

EXCERPT: We say, “I don’t have enough.” And God says, “Oh yes, you do. Look at what you have, accept it, be grateful for it, and you will be amazed that there is enough for you and for everyone else.” Then comes the great miracle.

They call it the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, but we should rather call it the miracle of the division of the loaves. Jesus does not wave a magic hand and produce thousands of loaves of bread on the spot; what He did was divide.

What was there—the miracle of multiplication—came through the division. What an amazing mathematician God is; multiplication comes when we divide. It is when we subtract from what we have that something is added to it through this division.

Romans 8:35, 37-39

EXCERPT: Many people who want to market Christianity will try to make it into a bargain. “If you do this, God will do that. If you believe and pray, you will be wealthy or healthy. If you believe in Jesus you will not have to experience sickness or worry or pain.” But in Paul’s expression there is no sign of such bargaining. In fact, Paul admits painfully that we as believers in Christ undergo the same trials and tribulations as everyone else in the world. Believing in Christ does not insure us that we can avoid cancer, or that our marriage will last, or that we will be able to protect the people we love. Believing in Christ is not a guarantee to a charmed and easy life. What faith is, is the acceptance of a relationship. What faith is, is believing in a God who caresses us with blessings and who gently strokes us in our pain. Believing in Christ is admitting that there is a God who will never stop loving us.