Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. MT 4:4
ACTS 5:34-42
My Soul's Beloved,
The Pharisee Gamaliel was a wise man, and his counsel to the members of the Sanhedrin was prudent. The Church is also most prudent; she withholds judgment on sensational news, people, or situations. She waits and watches, and in time all becomes transparent, whether it was the work of God or the work of the devil. In this way, she does not make herself ridiculous by remarking on every bit of sensational news as most ignorant people would like her to.
Many cult leaders have come and gone, and with them all their phony claims of being a prophet or a messiah. We have only one Lord, one Savior, one Messiah, the only Son of the Living Go,d who tore the curtain between time and eternity and entered into the world not to condemn it but to redeem it. And this You did, My Lord. You established a Church with Peter as its head and the Apostles whom You gave the power to appoint successors by laying hands on them, breathing on them the Holy Spirit, and giving them Your power to do all You did and more, just as You promised.
Gemaliel was proved right; what Peter and the disciples were doing was from God, and no power could stop them then, and no power can stop the Church now. The world and the enemies of Truth have done so from the beginning when they handed You over to Pilate to be killed, and they will certainly not stop now. But the followers of the Father of Lies have still not understood that the more Christian blood is shed, the greater will be the harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God. The blood of martyrs is truly the seed of Christians, and the numbers that are becoming baptised are only increasing even as the persecution of murder of Christians is on the rise.
One member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’
They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.
PSALM 26(27):1,4,13-14
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.
One member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’
They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.
PSALM 26(27):1,4,13-14
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
JOHN 6:1-15
My Soul's Beloved,
JOHN 6:1-15
My Soul's Beloved,
The miracle of the loaves and fish is a precursor to the real miracle of the Eucharist ,which You will institute at the Last Supper. We bring what we have, our meagre resources, and offer them to You, Lord, and these You transform into Yourself, Your Body and Blood. This Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist that You instituted along with the Priesthood at the Last Supper, You consummated on the Wood of the Cross at Golgotha. On this Altar, Beloved, raised between heaven and earth, You offered Your whole Body as food for the world. The soldier pierced Your side with a lance, and just as Moses struck the rock and water gushed forth, Blood came out of Your side to quench our spiritual thirst. We eat Your Flesh and we drink Your Blood at every Eucharist and we become what we eat and drink - alter Christus.
Large crowds followed You after witnessing the many signs You performed by curing the sick, restoring sight and hearing, making whole leprous limbs, restoring mentally disturbed minds, and evil possessions to perfect health. The crowds clamored for more, and they came from everywhere to listen to Your teaching and to be touched and healed by You.
The people were hungry. You knew exactly what You would do to feed them, yet You asked Philip to test him, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ Andrew said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ All You ask of us, Beloved, is to bring our meagre resources to You and trust You to do all that is required. Give me a faith that will always approach You confidently, knowing that You can and will multiply and provide all that I need in abundance.
Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.
