Daily Gospel Reflection for December 5, 2018

Today's Gospel: Matthew 15:29-37 When I was in high school, I remember bringing my friends over to our house, and within minutes my mother would have a table full of food ready for us to eat. It always amazed my friends that, without any notice, my mother could produce so much food out of seemingly nowhere. In today’s gospel, we hear of Jesus feeding the multitudes with just seven loves and a few fish. My mother was born in 1925. She grew up on a farm, born to second generation immigrants from Czechoslovakia. Her childhood during the depression affected her life I am sure, yet she never directly talked about it. She was not so bad off as others. As farmers, her family had what they needed to eat.She learned to do without and learned to make do with what she had. She also stocked up when things were good. It is probably why she could magically produce a feast for my volleyball team friends in a matter of minutes! Growing up our family went through some lean years. My father was unemployed for a while. My grandparents were still farmers at the time and provided our family with milk, eggs and garden produce. One of my favorite childhood meals was something called Cloud Soup, made with milk and a simple egg flour dumpling. As a child, I never knew that we were bad off. Somehow my parents just provided for us. Christ could feed the multitudes with just few loaves and fishes. His disciples may have initially doubted Jesus, but Christ just provided. Of course, Christ continues to feed the multitude at Mass through the Eucharist. My childlike trust is what I need to bring to Christ.