Daily Gospel Reflection for April 16, 2021

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: John 6:1-15

We can draw several reflections from today's passage on the multiplication of bread and fish. The first is Jesus' provocation of Philip: “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He already knew He was going to do the miracle, but He wanted to show Philip that there was a large hungry crowd and that the apostles should do something about it, they should act with charity. Philip replies that, humanly speaking, they would not be able to help so many people. Jesus also wanted to see if Philip had faith that He could solve the problem.

Andrew, realizing what was happening, took an initiative and looked for what he could offer. He found a boy with five loaves and two fish and took him to Jesus. This gesture teaches us that, in the face of a big problem, we must take Jesus everything we can to resolve the situation, even if it seems to be insufficient. We must do our part, our 1%, so that Jesus can take care of what is missing.

In offering our gifts to Jesus, He multiplies them in a way we can't even imagine. Those few loaves and fish were enough to satisfy more than 5,000 people, and twelve baskets filled with what was left were collected. Alone, we can do almost nothing; but united with Jesus, if we have faith, if we trust in Divine Providence, we can face any challenge.

It is important to know that God the Father does not give us a bigger cross than we can carry. So, any difficulty in our life is allowed so that one day we can reach Heaven. He also sends us people to help us in our needs, so we need to be attentive to try to alleviate the sufferings of those around us and thus, be Jesus' hands to these people.

Ponder:

How can I help someone in need today?

Pray:

Dear Jesus, help me face all my problems with faith and serenity, doing everything in my power to solve them, but trusting that all things work for good for those who love God.