'You give them something to eat.' Sunday Reflections, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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Rockox House, Antwerp [Web Gallery of Art]
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) 
Gospel Matthew 14:13-21 (New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Canada)  

Now when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Stamps issued in Chile for the beatification of Fr Alberto Hurtado SJ, 16 October 1994

Fr John Griffin, a Columban colleague from New Zealand, who after many years in the Philippines went to work in Chile wrote about a great saint of our times, San Alberto Hurtado SJ, a native of that country, in the last printed edition of Misyon, the Columban magazine I edit in the Philippines, March-April 2008.

One story he told in that article is a perfect expression of what happened in today's gospel. But first a little background in that same article:

Overall, Fr Hurtado is best known and remembered throughout Chile for his Hogar de Cristo (Christ’s Home) Foundation. The seed for this was sown late one night when he was on his way home to San Ignacio. He met a man who was in poor health, had eaten nothing all day and had nowhere to go.
Full post here.

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