~ by Father Ron Camarda

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

Jesus is amazing. He is informed that his cousin has been beheaded in a gruesome and diabolical act. Nowadays, we can actually witness these insults of the human being on YouTube and the such. No one deserves such treatment…no one. Jesus needs time to himself to think and grieve. He needs to be a steward of being fully human with all of its love, joy, peace, aches, pains and sorrows. But the crowd doesn’t see it. The crowd only knows of their own personal suffering and illness. Jesus sees them through the eyes of love. Jesus is a steward of a few quiet moments on a boat alone. That is enough to be able to cure thousands…and something more incredible…

When it was evening, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”

It is always a dangerous thing to tell Jesus what to do.

Jesus knows our hearts and souls better than we know ourselves.

Jesus is well aware of our anxieties.

Jesus once told the devil, who tempted him to turn stones into bread, when he hadn’t eaten for 40 days:

“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the Lord.”

But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.

Beloved, when we come to the altar of God, we cannot come empty handed. We can, however, bring our sorrows, our illnesses, our anxieties and our love. Jesus will turn it all into love, joy and peace. Then, all we need to bring to the altar is JESUS in the form of broken bread and poured out wine.

Taking the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, Jesus said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Whenever we are faced with a true dilemma or crisis in our lives, Jesus asks us to tell him what we do have. Basically, the only thing of value that we have is our broken and humble body. Jesus graciously takes our body, gives thanks to God and breaks it. He then gives us to the ones we love (even our enemies). Like our Master, Teacher and Beloved…we too carry our crosses. We are taken, blessed and broken.

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone.

Beloved, the summer vacations are coming to an end. Before it does, take some time and imitate Jesus. Let us go up to the mountain to pray. Let us be alone…but not lonely.

Have a blessed week.

Taste and see the goodness of our Beloved God.

Love, joy, peace,

Father Ron Moses +

www.tearinthedesert.com

An Interview With God

Father Ron Camarda is a retired Naval Chaplain and author of “Tear in the Desert,” a powerful book containing his memoirs of life and death at the Battle for Fallujah. Father Ron appears on EWTN and recently won the Silver Medal from the Military Writers Society of America.