How Many Loaves Have You?

Beads of Joy 12-02-09

How Many Loaves Have You?
©2009 James Dacey, Jr. SFO

Hello Everyone,

Today's gospel fulfills a hunger we all have, not only for food but more importantly for God. The gospel today is: Matthew 15:29-37 (The Healing of Many / Feeding of the 4,000). All of God's children long and desire Him. Sometimes we don't realize that it's Him, we are aching for. Once we do realize it's Him, we begin to understand. Before you knew Jesus like you do today, don't you remember that empty pit in your soul that always felt like it needed to be filled. It's a space inside our soul, that only Jesus can fill.

In the gospel the disciples were faced with the dilemma of feeding the 4,000 and questioned Jesus where they'd, "ever get enough bread in this deserted place." It was Jesus that asked them what do you have, and He took what they had and from that He fulfilled the needs of the 4,000. And it's said in the gospel that, "They all ate and were satisfied." It's when Jesus and only Jesus fills our every need, that we need nothing, except what we have, and with that we give it to Him, and He multiples it in our lives.

God alone knows our needs, and it is He who cares for us. And when God gives us those needs, He gives it to us in abundance. The leftovers in this gospel are expressed as being seven times what they started with. Seven is a symbol in our faith, it usually refers to wholeness. We must trust in God that He alone will see to our needs; not only to the exact amount but that He will give us far beyond our needs.

This reading has me thinking: Are we satisfied by the way our Lord provides for us? Do we look at our life, our trials, our short comings; and then in our prayers feel that God is meeting our needs in an abundance that far exceeds our request? I realize that that's a lot to take in, but what are we asking for? I believe in order to be fulfilled by God our requests must be in His love and His compassion and what directs our life to do His will. I personally ask God to fill my heart with His Joy, and believe you me, He over does it to me in my life to the point that it never stops overflowing. My life is the perfect example, I have had challenges my whole life in all capacities, all I have honestly ever asked for was this: Please Lord keep me loyal to you through this, keep my heart next to yours and please fill my heart with so much joy that I can never ever contain it, and from that I can get through anything that happens in my life. Amen.... It has happened a bazillion fold to me in my life.

Allow Jesus to satisfy the deepest hunger and longing for Him that you have in your heart.


Your brother in Christ Jesus & His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr SFO