Homilies and Other Writings

  Before multiplying the bread for 5,000 men, Jesus asked Philip, "‘ Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?’ He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little’ " ( John 6:5-7). Philip realizes Jesus is making big plans and that he, Philip, appears to have a certain role to play in Jesus’ plan. But Philip realizes there is no way that plan can work and no way he can help. “Jesus, my Lord, they are too many, and we have no money. All I can give you is my acknowledgment that this is impossible and I can do nothing for you.” I think this is what Jesus wanted: that Philip realized that feeding those people with the bread of Life was impossible... for human beings. This is an important point. God can work great things through us when we realize that, by ourselves, we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5). Only a humble human being can be...

  These are Jesus’ instructions for those who preach the Gospel. They apply, to some extent, to all those who realize their mission to share the good news with their brothers and sisters. “ He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic .” “ Take nothing for the journey ” is said in order to prevent anxiety about temporal things, “lest whilst the apostle’s mind is taken up with temporal things, he should provide less of eternal things to others,” as Saint Bede explains. [1] “ Take nothing ” he said, “ but a walking stick ,” which is a sign of their God given authority. That is, they must not be anxious about temporal things because, thanks to their God given authority, nothing will be wanting to them, as Saint Augustine explains. God provides for the ministers of His Gospel! Saint Augustine explains that, “by saying that they are to be shod with ...