17th Sunday Ordinary Time (B) 28 July 2024 Miracles
This was an extraordinary miracle, the feeding of the five thousand. It was a real miracle, with the bread being actually multiplied. It was not just that everybody started sharing their lunch, as some interpret this event.
The miracle shows God's desire and ability to feed His people, to give them what they need, beginning with food, but going beyond to any miracle or any level. This miracle clearly foreshadows the Eucharist.
Jesus makes it look easy. His miracles always seemed effortless. Sometimes He would sigh or show vexation, but that was at the difficulty of getting through to hard hearts, rather than any difficulty in working the miracle. He has command of all creation. Even the wind and the sea obey Him (Mt 8,27). So do bread and fish obey Him!
The supply of bread miraculously continued. There was always more to come. God does not run out of power. He will give us what we need when we need it – our ‘daily bread’.
He can do things by natural or supernatural means. He makes the natural and supernatural work together fluently. It is all one to Him.
We should not seek miraculous intervention to do what we could do ourselves. eg chores, obligations. We understand that Jesus most of the time operated on normal natural laws. For example, He would walk for miles and get tired, when He could have just moved Himself miraculously.
However, there is nothing wrong with asking for a miracle if there is a serious need and there is no other obvious solution. We can work at both levels, natural and supernatural, doing what we can while asking God to intervene.
Miracles are not always obvious. It could be just something that appears natural, like a chance meeting or some twist of circumstances. We get a few of those probably and may not be sure if it was a miracle or not, but we keep asking anyway.
eg praying to St Anthony for lost objects. Or to avert trouble eg for a safe trip. Natural or Supernatural it is all under God’s providence.
We can call directly on Almighty God, or Our Lady, or any angel or saint. The lesser beings will take our prayers to higher regions. It all goes to God eventually.
Nor should we see miracles as just a novelty (like Herod on Good Friday Lk 23,7-15)
Through miracles God shows us what He is like, how much power He has, and how much desire to help us.
Sometimes we need a miracle but it cannot be attained all at once, due to the level of difficulty involved. For example, praying for the conversion of a sinner. Or world peace. We have to chip away at the big issues. Every prayer helps.
God makes it clear that we can influence what happens. We do not believe in an immovable fate. The future is flexible. We can make it go one way rather than another.
We have access to the throne of grace, a treasury of grace and mercy.
There is much to pray for, if we are to turn this earth into the visible kingdom of God, to heal the disorder caused by sin.
We are not telling God what to do, as it may seem. We are doing what Our Lady did at Cana: a simple statement of the need, and the rest is trust in God.
He will know what to do, and whether or not our prayer fits in with His plans.
There was enough left over to feed others. That detail is for our benefit. We can feed ourselves and others with this inexhaustible supply of good.
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