OUR LADY OF LOURDES (World Day of the Sick)
FEEDING THE HUNGRY IS MERCY’S GREAT WORK
Introduction
On February 11, 1858, our Lady appeared at Lourdes to a simple girl, Bernadette Soubirous. Since then millions of pilgrims have flocked to this town and have experienced there a renewal of their faith and for some of their health. Pilgrimages are a sacred tradition for God’s pilgrim people; very many of these pilgrim journeys are to Marian sanctuaries, where many seek the restoration of their health and their faith. The greatest miracle of Lourdes lies perhaps not so much in its spectacular cures but in the atmosphere of the trusting prayer of the pilgrims and in the unity of faith of the poor and the rich, the healthy and the sick.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
the Mother of Jesus was one with her Son
in the mystery of pain
when he saved people by his suffering,
his death and resurrection.
Through her prayers help those
who journey to her sanctuaries
because their bodies are racked with pain
and their hearts are pierced with a sword.
Give them the courage of faith
to keep hoping in you,
our God for ever and ever. Amen!
1 Reading – GENESIS 3:9-24
The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!” The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” To the woman he said: “I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master.” To the man he said: “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, “Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.” The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them. Then the LORD God said: “See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is evil! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever.” The LORD God therefore banished him from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the Garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Responsorial PSALM 90:2, 3-4abc, 5-6, 12-13
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Before the mountains were begotten
and the earth and the world were brought forth,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. R.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night. R.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades. R.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants! R.
Alleluia MATTHEW 4:4b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.
Commentary
Feeding the hungry is God’s work.
To a present-day reader of the gospel, the behaviour of those four thousand people would seem absurd. They simply decide to come far away from their homes, to follow a preacher, disregarding their needs for food. The Gospel insists that the listeners of the Word of God chose to remain close to Christ and he was “moved with pity” and he sought a remedy for their hunger.
The Gospel gives us a vital lesson for life: When we persevere to “remain in him” (John 15:4), Christ himself provides for our needs. He knows our exact circumstances- how far we’ve come and how hungry we are. He provides for our every need.
As the Son of God, Jesus had the power to fix the problem of hunger. But he didn’t fix it himself. He chose to invite people to be missionaries to feed the hungry. “How many loaves do you have?” is the question. Today, Jesus asks us as well. We answer by dedicating our time, talents, and treasures to Christ.
In the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit #174 , Pope Francis appeals to the world: “Please, do not leave it to others to be protagonists of change. You are the ones who hold the future! Jesus was not a bystander. He got involved. Don’t stand aloof, but immerse yourselves in the reality of life, as Jesus did. Above all, in one way or another, fight for the common good, serve the poor, be protagonists of the revolution of charity and service, capable of resisting the pathologies of consumerism and superficial individualism.”
People who have dedicated themselves to caring for the hungry and homeless have always found what they needed, at their doorstep. There is a crucial element in today’s Gospel we cannot overlook. It was not Jesus but his disciples who distributed the food. Our world has enough resources to satisfy the hunger of all its peoples, but not enough to feed the greed of even one person. If there is hunger, malnutrition and other unmet needs in the world today, it is because we, are failing, in our task of distribution.
Hunger and suffering are not the work of God, instead it is our failure to do any work. Our everyday should be a time of giving. We could ask ourselves: To whom are we giving? Can we widen our circle of people to whom we reach out, with gifts that mean life or death for the receivers or beneficiaries who will never know who their benefactors are and who will not be able to give anything back….this is Jesus’ way of giving, so quietly/ that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
Intercessions
– For those who restlessly seek to encounter God more deeply, that they may experience God’s nearness in prayer and in good people, we pray:
– For our Christian families, that husbands and wives may take Christ as their companion through life and show their children the way to the Lord, we pray:
– For the sick and all those who suffer, that in their suffering they may be aware that God knows and that Jesus is near to them, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may remain all throughout life pilgrims on the way to God and one another, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our compassionate God,
with these gifts of bread and wine
we come to the table of your Son
to express our faith and trust in you.
through the prayers of Mary.
May those who flock to her
find faith and health of mind and body,
strength in their weakness
and joy in your love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion (Thanks to Liturgical Team, Heeswijk)
God, our Father
in your kindness you hear the prayers
of all who entrust to you with faith
their cares and their needs.
We unite ourselves in prayer with her
whom you chose to be
the mother of your Son.
Let her prayers lead us nearer to him
who came to bring us home
in the kingdom of your justice
now and for ever and ever. Amen!
Blessing
When we go on life’s pilgrimage to our permanent land and home, we are sure to arrive safely if we journey with the faith and spirit of service of Mary, and we may count on the blessing of almighty God: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen!