AUGUST 2, 2026 FATHER ERNESTO DE CICCIO
I think I hit the jackpot today with our readings, such beautiful passages from Scripture that we have for this 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
The first reading from Isaiah, “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters,” it’s actually one of the readings that we use at the Easter Vigil, because people are being baptized and they’re thirsty. And of course, what they need is not the water from the tap but the waters of baptism that give them life. But again, they talk about how it’s God who satisfies our thirst.
Even the responsorial psalm, “You open your hand to feed us, Lord, and satisfy our needs.” So many people are hungry, and I don’t just mean for the food that goes into our stomach, but we’re hungry for love. We’re hungry for peace. We’re hungry for meaning in our lives, and again, we turn to God, who feeds us and who satisfies our every need.
The second reading from Romans is not connected to the other readings, but again, one of the most beautiful passages from Scripture that’s often read at funeral Masses. “Nothing, not even death, will separate us from the love of Christ.” Romans, chapter 8. Read it when you have time.
And then I get this gorgeous Gospel reading from the 14th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. The feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. A great miracle of Jesus. And like all his miracles, they reveal to us that this is the Son of God, not just some carpenter from Nazareth. Who else could have the power to perform such signs?
And the signs that Jesus did were never to bring attention to himself, but to lead people to faith. And no doubt, in seeing this miracle, people were able to say, “This is the Son of God. I want to follow him.”
This miracle in particular, of course, shows how Jesus always has compassion for the people. We’re told that when he came out of the boat and he saw the crowds already waiting for him, he had compassion for them. So, he cured their sick. He tended to their needs, spiritual and physical. Because again, they were hungry to hear the word of God. They were hungry for healing of their broken bodies and broken hearts. And at the end of the day, they were hungry for food. And again, Jesus comes to the rescue.
The disciples are ready to send them to the villages. “Go buy your own food.” Jesus reminds us that we have a responsibility to each other. We don’t just send people away. We feed them.
And the words of Jesus are important. Jesus says, “You give them something to eat.” Yeah. Oh, he could have made bread and fish come down from heaven. He’s God’s son. He had the power. “You give them something to eat.” In other words, it’s not just Christ’s responsibility. It’s a shared responsibility that we all have for our brothers and sisters who are hungry, who are in need, who are thirsty.
Jesus does everything already. He satisfies people’s thirst and hunger. But Jesus has called us, his disciples, to work with them, to collaborate with them, to be his hands and his mouth in our own day and age.
What have we done to feed people with the word of God? Do we share our faith, our beautiful faith with them? And if they have physical needs, if they’re suffering in some way, do we tend to them? Do we show compassion as Jesus showed compassion, always and everywhere?
2,000 years ago, the Lord Jesus worked this great miracle. We don’t have that power. But in our own way, we continue the work of Jesus Christ. We bring his word to hungry hearts. We bring his healing to broken hearts. And even when people have physical needs, we can lend a helping hand.
So, let us not just be spectators in the crowd and expect Jesus to do it all for us. “You give them something to eat” are the words of Jesus to his apostles 2,000 years ago… …and that he gives to us in our own day and age.
