by Fr. Gregory-David Jones, O.S.B.

      Jesus did the unexplainable with very little!  Five thousand people being fed with only two loaves and two fish is something that is impossible, so impossible that some scholars discount the miraculous nature of this feeding by simply concluding that the story is not about the extraordinary power of the Messiah, but the importance of our need to be generous with our resources.  Sometimes miracles can be a scary, confounding, faith challenging thing if we rely too much on our own intellect.  On the other hand, miracles can be a key that revitalizes our faith and inspire us to do things beyond what would be naturally or intellectually expected.  Defying the laws of nature and logic is not something that is foreign to our experience of God, nor should it be something that is simply discounted as superstitious belief for those who are not “theologically enlightened”.  God can do whatever He wants because He is God and his love for us knows no boundaries, whether they be spiritual, physical and logical.

     We participate in God’s nature by cooperating with Him.  By offering what we have as an offering to Him, our resources can be multiplied and do more than are expected.  A simple offering of love can change entire life of a person who has lost hope.  By cooperating with His inspiration our efforts will yield results beyond what is expected.  A little, physically frail woman can start a congregation of sisters that has fed millions of poor people throughout the world.  By opening our eyes to the miracles around us, we can see that simple bread and wine – what we offer – at the Liturgy become, through the power of God, the “bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation”!  May we always trust in God’s power by allowing Him to work through us and the gifts we have.

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