THE FEEDING OF FIVE THOUSAND

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS    

Act of Love before Mass

O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.  Mass Readings  Lectures du jour Reflection

First Reading  2 kings 4:42-44

They will eat and have some left over

A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing Elisha, the man of God, bread from the first-fruits, twenty barley loaves and fresh grain in the ear.’ ‘Give it to the people to eat’, Elisha said. But his servant replied, ‘How can I serve this to a hundred men?’ ‘Give it to the people to eat’ he insisted ‘for the Lord says this, “They will eat and have some left over.”’ He served them; they ate and had some left over, as the Lord had said.

Responsorial Psalm

You open wide your hand O Lord and grant our desire

Second Reading Eph. 4:1-6

One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one faith, one God

I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

A great prophet has appeared among us;

God has visited his people.

Alleluia!  Lk. 7:16

Gospel  John 6:1-15

The Feeding of five thousand

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover. 

Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.

My God, my loving Father, your love, your mercy, your generosity, your faithfulness is beyond beyond our imagination. Beyond our understanding.  Father thank you for you alone are God.  To you my God be all glory, honor, adoration and thanksgiving through Jesus Christ our Lord. Father you open wide your hands and grant us our desire for you are full of generosity. Your mercy goodness covers all your creatures. 

Father give me a generous heart. May I lead a life worthy of my vocation. Give me patience and forebearance. Give me a charitable heart. Make me  selfless in my serving you and my fellow creatures. Give me a gentle heart, and patience. May I strive to preserve the unity of the Spirit through peace that binds me together with my fellow brethren. Father you are God and Father of all, this makes us one body, and one Spirit in Christ Jesus your Son, and this is our calling into one and same hope, faith and baptism into Your family our God and Father of all.

Elisha fed hundreds, Lord Jesus Christ you fed five thousand men. Lord Christ Jesus, true image of God the Father, you open wide your hands and grant our desire. Jesus I trust in you. Blessed Virgin Mary pray for us. Saint Joseph pray for us