HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: There is much hunger in many parts of the world: for food, for love, for peace, for healing. Jesus had compassion on his people and satisfied their hunger.
He invites us, his disciples today, to have compassion and to give ourselves to satisfy the hunger of our society and world. We ask the Lord for the courage to share ourselves with those in need.
Penitential Rite
L: For the times we have not been compassionate, for not sharing ourselves, we ask the Lord to forgive us.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you had compassion on the people:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you refused to send the crowds away:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you fed the crowds, they ate and were satisfied:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: Bountiful and compassionate God,
you place in the hands of your disciples
the bread of life.
Nourish us with your word,
that we may bear Christ to others
and share with them
the gifts we have so richly received.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever .
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Isaiah 55:1-3
Psalm Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18
Response The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Reading 2 Romans 8:35, 37-39
Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
Gospel Matthew 14:13-21
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Pick a phrase or sentence that strikes you (For instance: Come to the water! Come, receive grain and eat/ The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs/ The Lord is near to all who call upon him/ What will separate us from the love of Christ/ His heart was moved with pity for them/ Give them some food yourselves/ They all ate and were satisfied/ They picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full).
Silently repeat the phrase. Meditate on what this phrase means to you; or on what God is telling you through his word.
Sunday Snippets
Amid the devastation caused by the recent Assam floods, there are touching stories of compassion. While volunteers were distributing relief material across villages, a woman invited them home to have a cup of tea and to share a simple meal despite her own hardships. Another family served the volunteers lime juice despite losing almost everything in the floods.
We see such compassion in the readings of today.
The gospel opens with Jesus withdrawing to a lonely place after he hears of John’s beheading. But he has no time to be “by himself” for the crowds follow him. He is faced with an unexpected demand on himself.
There are two usual responses to such a situation. One: I ignore such demands because they conflict with my plans/needs. Two: I always put aside my plans and respond beyond the call of duty; the result is eventual burnout/frustration. Neither response is appropriate.
Jesus’ response? He “had compassion on them”. The “great crowd,” the “lonely place,” and the feeding with “bread” remind us of the way God fed his people in the desert with manna and assure us that God still satisfies his people’s hunger. BUT it is important to note that in John’s version of this episode, Jesus goes away after satiating the people’s hunger because he does not want to make them dependent!
Sometimes, compassion is helping people by giving them resources and myself; at other moments, compassion is helping people find their own resources and themselves.
There is so much hunger. Is it possible to satiate this hunger?
The first reading asks an important question: “Why do you spend money for that which is not bread…?” If, instead of spending on our wants and whims, we use money for ours and others’ basic needs, we will help alleviate people’s hunger.
Remember the disciples had “only five loaves and two fish”. Jesus multiplied this “only five loaves and two fish” and it became enough to feed the multitude.
Today’s liturgy reassures us: God cares for us; he can and will satisfy all our hungers. But he needs me to mediate his compassion.
Am I ready to be compassionate – to share my resources sometimes and help people find their own resources at other moments? Will I give my “five loaves and two fish” and allow the Lord to multiply them? Am I willing to buy only what I need and to give the surplus so others can meet their needs?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: What must I do to share in God’s abundant banquet? What satisfies my deepest hunger?
Reading 2: “What will separate us from the love of Christ”” Does anything separate me completely from my loved ones, from God? How can I overcome such separation?
Gospel: How do I look at “insurmountable” tasks in my life? Do I take my “five loaves and two fish” to Jesus? If not, what prevents me?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: The Lord’s heart was moved with compassion when he saw the crowds that followed him. Let us bring the cares and hunger of our brothers and sisters to him, and pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we may satisfy the people’s hunger for love and justice, truth and hope, we pray…
R: For our leaders: that God may transform their hearts so that violence may end and dialogue expanded in areas of conflict, we pray…
R: For all who are hungry, facing famine, or struggling with failed crops: that God may ease their suffering and touch the hearts of many to share with them, we pray…
R: For the sick: that God may relieve their pain, restore them to wholeness, and sustain all who are caring for them, we pray…
R: For all who work in or support relief measures: that their efforts may show the love and compassion of God to hungry children and families, we pray…
R: For ourselves: we may appreciate the gifts God has given us, and share ourselves and our resources with others, we pray…
L: Gracious Lord, you feed us and answer all our needs. Help us to imitate your compassion towards us and reach out to people in need. Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Lord, you were aching!
You heard about the death of John the Baptist,
and wanted to get away from people to grieve your loss.
But look what happened!
The crowds tracked your boat, ran around the lake,
and waited for you to pull up to shore.
Gone was your chance to rest, to mourn, to be alone.
Maybe you should have told them to go away!
But your “heart was moved with pity for them…”
You cured their sick.
You gave them food,
food enough so that “all ate and were satisfied”,
food which was a precursor of the Eucharist which satisfies us.
Lord, give us your compassionate heart
to reach out to people
even when we are aching,
even when we want to withdraw to a deserted place.
We trust that you will multiply our “five loaves and two fish”
to satiate the needs of those who come to us.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Our God and Father,
through your Son Jesus Christ
multiply in us our capacity to love.
Help us to share ourselves,
our joy and our compassion,
our hopes and our love
with those in need.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
