Reflection for February 11, Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 8:1-10

Gospel: Mark 8:1-10

In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.  

His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have? They replied, “Seven.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd.  

They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets. There were about four thousand people. 

He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

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Reflection:

Do you know how it feels to be hungry? 

Having nothing to eat is an indescribable feeling of being weak. We cannot do the things that we would normally want to do. We may even limit our movement because the more we move the more that we feel the pain of hunger.  

In the gospel reading; Jesus speaks about the crowd without anything to eat: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance (Mark 8:2-3)." 

Then, He asked His disciples, "How many loaves do you have (Mark 8:5)?" They replied, "Seven." He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Afterwards He gave thanks, broke them and gave them to the disciples to give to the crowd. The same happened to the few fish that they had; the four thousand people were able to eat and they still had seven basketfuls of excess bread and fish.  

What lesson does Jesus wants us to learn from the miracle of the loaves and fish? Perhaps Jesus wants us to learn how to give, why? For the simple reason that many are going hungry. Let us not worry of the cost of giving that would bring us because the more we give the more that we would receive. – Marino J. Dasmarinas