HOMILY WEEK 18 01 – Year II
Multiplication of the Loaves:
Memorial of Blessed Frédéric Janssoone
(Jer 28:1-17; Psalm 119; Mat 14:13-21)
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Give them some food yourselves (Mt 14:16)
Forty-two years ago, the Holy Spirit brought these words alive for Joe Difato and his colleagues, who founded the magazine The Word Among Us. This homily is taken from that same magazine as an anniversary tribute.
Together, Joe and his colleagues sensed a call from the Lord to help “feed” his people with daily encouragement from Scripture. At that time, they felt as ill-equipped to start a magazine as the disciples felt to feed five thousand people with a few loaves and fishes. But Jesus blessed them and multiplied their efforts just as he blessed the disciples’ meagre rations.
Today, Jesus speaks these same words to all of us: Give them some food yourselves. He sees the hunger in each heart – a hunger for food, for love and for him. And he calls us to feed his people, both materially and spiritually.
Now, we might feel as baffled as the first disciples and think, “How can I feed all the hungry people in the world, let alone give them spiritual food? I don’t have the money or the faith or the training.” What we have seems so inadequate. But we can follow the disciples’ example and bring the little we have to Jesus. He will bless our efforts and use them to meet the needs of his people.
You don’t have to feed every person; just start by caring for the people right in front of you. The Holy Spirit can alert you to someone’s need. Does he need a listening ear? Is she short on cash in the checkout line? Are the husband and wife in the next pew struggling with their children, wondering if it’s worth coming to Mass? You may have only a little courage or resources, but you can reach out. Ask Jesus to bless your efforts as you “feed” them with whatever kindness, food, money or encouragement you can muster.
You will be amazed at what God can do through you! And you can pray, “Lord, I give all that I have. Use me to feed your people.”
Blessed Frédéric Janssoone
Today, the church honours Blessed Frédéric Janssoone, someone who lived these readings in an exemplary way. Born in 1838 in Flanders, Frédéric was the 13th and last child of well-to-do farmers. In 1856, Frédéric left school to support his widowed mother. After his mother died in 1861, he completed his studies and joined the Franciscans. Ordained in 1870, he was assigned as military chaplain during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1876, he was sent to the Holy Land, where he reinstated the Stations of the Cross through the streets of Jerusalem, built a church in Bethlehem and negotiated an accord among the Roman, Greek and Armenian Christians concerning the use and maintenance of the sanctuaries of Bethlehem and of the Holy Sepulchre. When he came to Canada in 1881 on a fundraising tour, Frédéric’s skill as a businessman, diplomat and preacher assured him a successful mission. He moved to Canada permanently in 1888 and set about helping organizers develop the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary (Notre-Dame-du-Cap) at Cap-de-la-Madeleine near Trois-Rivières. Frédéric died in Montreal on August 4, 1916. Buried in the crypt of the Franciscan chapel at Trois-Rivières, he was beatified in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. I feel a particular attachment to this saintly person for two reasons – he helped build the shrine my missionary order runs, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and also was involved in the present arrangement of the holy sites in Jerusalem, where our pilgrimage groups worshipped.
The Eucharist we celebrate now is God feeding and nourishing us through Word and Sacrament. May our celebration empower us to share our faith and love with others as did Blessed Frédéric Janssoone.
