Archbishop of Sydney

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney
Is 55:1-3; Rom 8:35, 37-39; Mt 14:13-21

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
3/8/2008

Three out of four readings today take up the theme of food.  The Psalm tells us that the hand of the Lord feeds us and answers all our needs, because He is kind and full of compassion.

In our blacker moments when we are tempted to debate the Scriptures, even when we would not dare to debate with God, we can list those moments of tragedy and catastrophe when God does not seem to be watching and terrible things happen to some people.

Such calamities are part of the mystery of life of suffering and evil, but they are outweighed by the beauty and goodness of life, which we often take for granted.  God is kind and compassionate and will be especially kind in the next life to those who suffered disproportionally.

Isaiah urges us to eat and drink at no expense, offering wine and milk and corn.  Those who are party to the everlasting covenant will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy; they will be partaking of the Messianic Banquet.

The gospel reading takes up this food theme with the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand men with five loaves and two fish, an incident recounted in each of the four gospels.  Indeed Matthew and Mark have two such accounts; either two incidents or two different accounts of the same incident.

The miracle is consoling at a number of levels.  As Jesus is the Son of God as well as the son of Mary, we see God at work through Him and it is consoling to see God as so compassionate and practically helpful.

At another level Jesus’ example in feeding his listeners reminds us of our obligations to the less fortunate.  So today we have a special collection for the Charitable Works Fund, an important collection which is regularly supported generously.  So too we have our St. Vincent de Paul groups, with one in almost every parish as well as regular initiatives from groups like Caritas Australia, who work for development and relief overseas, especially through Project Compassion at Lent.

The gospel acclamation tells us that we cannot live on bread alone, but need to be nourished by words that come from the mouth of God.  If we are to remain faithful and good, and even more importantly when we must repent or find our way back to faith, we need genuine spiritual food.  We obtain this through prayer and worship especially in the sacraments and through listening to God’s word.

Not every religious enthusiasm is equally worthwhile and spiritual junk food is available on the market, often pushed through New Age outlets.  These promote a reverence for the impersonal forces of nature, so that God is no longer personal and loving, no longer a judge of our actions, but vague, undemanding and distant.  Love does not enter into this picture, which regularly disregards the dark side of nature, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, cyclones, and bushfires.

These remote and mysterious forces also leave us free to organize our personal lives in any way we choose.  While this is attractive at first sight, especially to the young, it often results in unhappiness and personal disasters.

Last week we celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish nobleman, who died in 1556 after founding the Jesuits.  He was a typical rich young man about town and was wounded in the defence of Pamplona in Navarre, Northern Spain.

During the period of forced recuperation he could not find the type of book he preferred about the battles, struggles and adventures of famous figures from the past.  The only books near at hand were the “Life of Christ” and “The Flower of the Saints” and he was mightily impressed by the achievements of St. Dominic and St. Francis of Assisi.

With time on his hands he had plenty of opportunity to think, both about Christ and the saints and about his worldly heroes.  And he discovered a difference.

He still enjoyed to read about the great deeds of the worldly but afterwards he felt dejected and empty.  He also enjoyed reading about the struggles and the penances practised by the saints, but when he stopped thinking about them, he still felt joyful and peaceful.  He was not dejected or depressed.

Later on as a great spiritual writer he taught wisely about the discernment of spirits, because not every religious impulse we have is good or wise.  Even with the best motives they can be foolish and mistaken.  We need to be able to tell the difference.

In his convalescence Ignatius had discovered an important difference between spiritual junk food and what is genuinely nourishing for our hearts and minds.  We also need to be careful and discriminating in what we read and how we pray and worship.  Only the bread of life is truly nourishing.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.