Give them something to eat.

XVIII Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 14:13-21 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. When it was evening, the disciples approached him 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.” 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. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he 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.

Jesus is never going to send us away empty. Today's gospel speaks of Jesus' compassion for the people. It says that when he got out of the boat, he saw the crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them and he cured their sick. But Jesus didn´t just feel compassion for their spiritual needs, but for their human and physical needs. They were in an unpopulated place, there were no stores nearby, it was getting dark, and the disciples wanted to send people away. "dismiss the crowds so they can go to buy something to eat." But Jesus was not going to send anyone empty. Jesus was not going to send people with empty bellies in the evening. No, Jesus said to the disciples, "You give them something to eat." But they protested, "We only have 5 pieces of bread and two fish." The disciples don't want to give anything to the people. They probably figured that it was enough just for themselves. But Jesus didn't listen to their excuse. Quite the contrary, Jesus commands them to give the people something to eat. I want to change the picture a little. Try to imagine this scene in your mind. Jesus is still Jesus. The crowd is you, and the disciples... They are the bishops, the priests, the religious. The needs are many, in our time as in the time of Jesus. And Jesus only does two things in today's gospel: heal the sick and feed them. Jesus does not preach, much less scold people or teach them catechism. And what is Jesus saying to the hierarchy today? Give them something to eat, let it be a church that helps those who are in need, those who suffer, the poor the excluded. I was in the United States last week and in a newstand I saw a secular magazine, Harper’s Weekly. It had Pope Leo’s picture of the cover so it caught my eye. The article was Radical Reformation: The Catholic Church’s Progressive Revival by Jack Hanson. The author maintains that for a long time the church was more concerned with protecting the rich and their wealth, but now, with Pope Leo, following the example of Francis, the Church has taken up its vocation as protector of the poor, vulnerable and impoverished, and enemy of the powerful. Don’t be fooled by the excommunication of SSPX. It isn’t about Mass in Latin in the extraordinary form. That mass is still permited to be celebrated in every diocese in America. It is no secret that there name is Pius X. They wish to go back to a Church not more faithful to Jesus Christ but to a time when Pius X was pope. The beginning of the 20th century. They don’t want a Church of the poor and inclusion, they want a Church of the elite and bourgeoisie. They have churches here in Mexico but they are really only interested in the United States and Europe. This is a constant tension in the church, obviously the church doesn't exclude anyone, but we must remember that Jesus always put the sick, the widows, the orphans, and the excluded first. Today I want to offer you an example of someone who reminds us of this truth: St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, our founder, yesterday was his feast. St. Alphonsus was an excellent missionary and founded our congregation to be with the poor, so that Redemptorists would be a sign of mercy to the poor and the most abandoned. Before St. Alphonsus formed the congregation, he worked at the Ospedale degli Incurabili (Hospital of the Incurable) in Naples. As a student, a lawyer and later as a secular priest. One of his companions Gennaro Sarnelli worked in this hospital until his death. His experience in the hospital shaped his understanding of ministry and the beginning of his spiritual conversion. It was there that he heard the call from God, “Leave the world and give yourself entirely to me.” The hospital of the incurables was not so much for people at the time of death, but a hospital dedicated to caring for those suffering from chronic, or supposedly "incurable" diseases. Those who found themselves in that hospital often times had nowhere else to go. Many of the patients suffered from what was called the "French disease," syphilis, and other sexually transmitted infections. Of course, sexually transmitted diseases had a strong social stigma. Many people assumed that it was because of immoral behaviors, although in reality they could acquired in many ways. St. Alphonsus feed these patients, bathed them cleaned their wounds, changed their sheets and would offer spiritual consolation. I am sure he didn’t ask them how they go sick. He sought to care for patients no matter how they became ill. This emphasis on caring for people without judging them first fits well with what is known about Alphonsus' ministry. Later in his life, he became known for encouraging confessors to combine fidelity to moral teaching with compassion and mercy toward those who were suffering and burdened with guilt. His experiences among the sick in Naples likely reinforced that pastoral approach. As in Jesus' time, Alphonsus' time, and ours, the Church is called to follow this example. We have to heal the sick, feed the hungry, comfort all those in need. We may say what the disciples said, “we can't or we won't,” but Jesus keeps sending us saying, "You give them something to eat." Because Jesus is never going to send those who come to him empty away. So we, like the people on the shore of the Lake of Galilee. We are sick and wounded and hungry. We are longing to be feed and don’t deserve to be sent away hungry. What are we asking for? It is quite simple. We want to be feed, we want to celebrate the sacraments We will continue to hear those words of rejection. Priests and bishops will continue to say, “Send them away!” But Jesus says no. You feed them! And since we are the Church we will feed others as well. Each one of us represents hundreds of others many who feel excluded from the Church because they are poor, gay, divorced or live life on the margins. Like the disciples of old we won’t send them away. Remember Jesus didn’t just say to the 12 feed them, he blessed what they had. Jesus will bless what we have and he will multiply our gifts. Jesus will never send anyone away empty. Jesus will always fill their needs.