Homily on the Gospel of John 6:1-15 | July 29, 2024
Fr. Jason Laguerta
Today is declared by Pope Francis as the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. Four years ago, Pope Francis declared that the Sunday nearest the Feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary and the grandparents of Jesus, will be a day for the grandparents and the elderly.
One of the more interesting experiences I have in this parish is to be asked to go for an anointing of the sick, which I often oblige. I was once asked to anoint an old lady and I was warned by her daughter that her mother is not in a very good condition and always irritable and upset. She is physically strong, but no longer lucid, so at times she tends to be restless, but whenever she sees me on TV, she is calmed. I was properly warned before we entered the house and indeed, when the mother saw me, her mood changed and she was very happy. I was with her for almost half a day, despite my full schedule, but it was all worth it.
I think many of our elderly are in the same situation; maybe not as extreme, but many of them feel a lot of loneliness, as Pope Francis would say in his message. The bitter lot of many of our elderly today is loneliness. A lot of them are longing for attention and care from their children and grandchildren. Some elderly even tend to become hoarders and keep things to themselves thinking that they will run out of supplies or their basic needs. Even some of us may think that when we grow old, we will be forgotten and no one would care, so we safety ourselves. We prepare for old age and make sure that everything is afforded or made available for us, so we tend to hoard.
Our readings today talk about Divine Providence. In the First Reading, Elisha fed 100 people, and in our gospel, Jesus fed 5000 men from five loaves and two pieces of fish. Yet, many of us, even if we are not elderly, there is a tendency for us not to rely on the providence of God. We think that we are deprived and we are forsaken or abandoned. Many times, we think there is not enough for our needs and we worry about so many things – what if I use up all my savings? What if my business goes bankrupt, what will happen to my family? What happens to my family if my money is all gone? Yes, it is natural to think about these things and it is practical to work hard so that we have enough savings for the rainy days, but it should not be in the sense that we own the load, ourselves, because the gospel tells us that the Lord provides.
Philip and Andrew thought that there is not enough resources for so many, and this is how, we, people think – that we are always lacking, that it is never enough. We do not realize that the Hand of God is so big that He can feed us all. He will respond to our needs, so we shall never think that we will be abandoned by God. We have to believe in the Divine Providence – if Jesus can multiply the five loaves and feed the 5000 men, then He can do that for us, as well. In the end, we have to rely on His Providence.
So, for our elderly, do not ever think that you are forsaken. God will take care of you. God will make it sure that you are cared for. And in our mass, we pray for the elderly and the grandparents, and we entrust our family to the Divine Providence – God will take care of us. If we are distracted by worries that we do not have enough money or that we are lacking at this and that, resist the thought and believe in the Providence that God can and will do miracles in our lives. He will provide and we have to believe in that.
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