Today in the first letter of Saint John we hear that love has been revealed to us through God the Father, “Who has first loved us and has sent His only begotten Son to be an atonement for our sins”. The love we show others is actually God’s own love reaching others through us; we are but participants in His eternal, sacrificial, and life-giving love.
The disciples in today’s Gospel passage did not understand the reach of God’s love. How in their poverty could they feed so many people? The Good Shepherd answered his shepherds-in-training through a miracle. Five loaves and two fish fed over 5,000 people, with 12 baskets of remnants overflowing. All that we are and all that we have ultimately come from God. He blesses our seemingly insignificant offering and turns it into an offering, not only sufficient, but overwhelmingly-abundant.
We, the faithful, are attracted to lives of holiness because we have experienced God’s love and desire to share it. But our lives are a cycle of attraction and distraction: we are attracted to holiness but may doubt that we are spiritually prepared for what God is asking of us. Let this Advent be a time to refocus on Love, to recommit to being vessels of love and grace for God, Who sent His own Son into the world to lead us back to Himself. Let us walk with our Blessed Mother by meditating on the nativity story and imitate her words that echo through eternity, “Thy will be done,” because His will is love.
[artwork courtesy of Clara Romero]