First reading 1 John 4:7-10
Let us love one another, since love comes from God
My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
God’s love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God,
but God’s love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
Responsorial Psalm 71(72):1-4,7-8
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
O God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
May the mountains bring forth peace for the people
and the hills, justice.
May he defend the poor of the people
and save the children of the needy.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
Gospel Mark 6:34-44
The feeding of the five thousand
As Jesus stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length. By now it was getting very late, and his disciples came up to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place and it is getting very late. So send them away, and they can go to the farms and villages round about, to buy themselves something to eat.’ He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’ They answered, ‘Are we to go and spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to eat?’ ‘How many loaves have you?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’ And when they had found out they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ Then he ordered them to get all the people together in groups on the green grass, and they sat down on the ground in squares of hundreds and fifties. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the people. He also shared out the two fish among them all. They all ate as much as they wanted. They collected twelve basketfuls of scraps of bread and pieces of fish. Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.
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Love in action
“My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love” (1st reading). God is love, and love reveals His true nature. Today, let us pause and reflect on this truth. God’s love is not an abstract idea but love in action. In today’s gospel, we can see the powerful example of God’s love through Jesus, who addressed the needs of the hungry crowd.
Jesus saw the spiritual hunger of the crowd and did not turn them away. He spoke to them about God and His boundless love for them. Later, as it was getting late, He also noticed their physical hunger as well. His disciples told Him to send the crowd away to find food for themselves. However, Jesus, moved by their needs, could not turn them away. Instead, He invited His disciples to join Him to involve themselves in showing practical care for the people by sharing the little they had. Today, Jesus invites us to embrace His shepherd’s heart and put love into action by reaching out to those in need.
Reflective question:
How can I put love into action today?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
