The Grace to Understand

Homily for Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Once again, we run into a Gospel story that speaks of the inability of the apostles to understand their Master. These men walked with Jesus. They witness many of his miracles including the feeding of the four thousand and a second story of feeding five thousand. In each instance, much was left over. They collected the scraps and filled seven and twelve baskets of the fragments left over. Why could they not understand that God cared for them and would always provide for them. The Gospel story begins with them fretting because they only have one loaf.

In the first reading, we heard how God cared for Noah and his family. This very God sent his only Son to inaugurate the new covenant, to teach the disciples, and to walk with them in their confusion. God walks with us still.

We meet this God every day through our celebration of the Eucharist. God is here and he invites us to touch and here, to taste and see, his miraculous presence. Whether we are in a moment of confidence and hope, or a moment of doubt or struggle, God knows our hearts and meets us there. God offers us love and grace in this Blessed Sacrament and invites us more fully into God’s glory. May we be given the grace today to understand.