August 2, 2026

Weekly Reflection by Fr. Moe On The Sunday Gospel

In the Gospel today we hear the miracle story of the loaves and fishes. A vast crowd follows Jesus; he has compassion for them. As evening draws near the apostles suggest to Jesus that the crowd be dismissed so that they may fend for themselves and find food. Jesus states “No, give them some food yourselves.” The apostles respond, “but we have so little.”
Jesus has compassion, especially on the sick in the vast crowd. Who do we need to have compassion for? Who moves our heart to pity them? For Jesus it was the sick and the lost. Who is it for you?
Like the apostles, we may have the tendency to send those in need away and let them fend for themselves. Jesus encouraged the apostles to give them something themselves and urges us to do the same. We may think and feel as the apostles did, that what we have is inadequate or insufficient to meet the demand. We are called, however, to trust that God can work a miracle for us, too. We must set aside our hesitation, put the little we have at the service of God and our neighbor in need, and let God do the rest.