Father David Herrera - Aug 2

St. Philip Catholic Church: During my time in seminary, we have this pastoral activities that we have to do throughout the semesters. They go from doing things like homeless ministry to jail ministry to teaching OCIA classes to being with different groups, helping them out, and different things. My first semester in semin, my first year in seminary, and my last year in seminary was doing homeless ministry. It was a great opportunity to show Jesus to others, but also create this discomfort inside of me. One of the biggest things that we know is how to pray. However, I am not the greatest at at a spontaneous praying at that moment. I went to this homeless ministry this last year of seminary. And it was like serving food and things like that. And I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna go ahead and serve food. That seems like the easy choice to make. So I went and they were like, No, we have volunteers for this. We want the seminarians to sit with the people, to talk with the people, and just see what's going on in their lives. And I was like, sure I can do that. That seems pretty easy. So here is me on this line waiting with all these other people and this lady comes to me, she opens up, and out of her mouth came the words of like, Hey, do you think you can pray for me? And maybe in the seminary and that I was, I was like, sure, I'll keep you in my prayers when I go back to the seminary, when I have my time alone with Jesus. And then all of a sudden she's like, But can you pray for me right now? And I was like, sure. I was I I don't remember what I said. I just remember she's being like, Just Lord, you know all this other stuff. And I remember how I was feeling. I was nervous, I was like, I don't know what I'm doing, Lord, but I'm lifting up her prayers. And then five minutes later another person comes and asks for prayer again. And I was just like, Okay Lord, I get your point. The next week comes and this became a think of like a weekly thing that people were asking for prayers and I was praying with them. So I became more used to it, more comfortable doing. But it took that extra step to actually doing that. And this is why the Prophet Isaiah is telling all these people from Israel. See, these people from Israel are in Babylonian exile. We're talking about fifty, sixty years. So we're talking about the sons. of the original people from Israel that have been on exile. They have been away from their homeland in a way, but they also have been away from God. After so many years of living like that, they become comfortable with their lives, they become comfortable with the pagan gods, they become comfortable with all the stuff that the Babylonians were doing. And Isaiah is calling them out. He's like, we have to remember who our God is. We have to convert back to our ways. We have to amend our ways. And basically he's telling them, I know you're in a comfortable place right now, but we have to be out of our comfort zone. And that's what the Christian live life is all about. The Christian life is not a life of comfort, but of discomfort. Because Christ called us to do the things we have never done, to go to places we have never meet been to, to meet people we have never met. Because a true encounter with Christ pushes us to action. If we have if we really have a true encounter with Christ, we cannot just be staying in our seats, staying in our homes. We actually we want to share that experience that we have with Christ. We don't just walk away from people, we show them what Christ is all about. And see, that is the same thing Jesus is talking, is showing and pointing out to his disciples. We heard that many people were following Jesus, not just because they were hungry and Jesus cured the sick, but there was this deeper desire in them. And we all have desires in our life. We have a desire for a good life, desire for peace, desire for happiness, prosperity, good family, good health, etcetera. We all have those desires. But deeper inside of us we have this deeper desire that belongs to God. And unfortunately the world has taught us that the worldly things can fulfil that desire. But that's just false hope, false peace, false happiness. And yes, it might be fulfilled for a moment, for a week, for a day, but only God can truly fulfill that deeper desire that we have. And all these people that follow in Jesus who knowingly have That desire and being with Jesus, they feel like that desire that they were having for the longest time had been fulfilled. So, what happened in the gospel? It gets late and they need food. They are hungry for food at this point. And the disciples became uncomfortable with the situation. They didn't want to deal with the issue, they just want to push all these people away. In a way they were like, let's push all these people out so it they don't become our problem, but their own problem they have to feed for themselves and that'll in a way that'll keep us safe and also let's work for us. But Jesus stops them and tells and tells them, No, we cannot simply turn away people when they are in need. He tells the disciples, give them some food yourselves. See, Jesus invites them to see the crowd, not as a problem, but as people entrusted in their care. And the disciples were able to find five fish five five loaves and two fishes. But if we think about it, five pieces of bread, two fish, that's not enough for a lot of people. To them it seemed completely insufficient. They probably wanted to prove a point to Jesus, like we don't have food. But see, for Jesus that was enough. Jesus only needed this small offering from them, and he was able to multiply it in blessing. Brothers and sisters, that is why it matters that we do small acts of faith. That's why it matters that we pray, that's why it matters that we go to adoration, that's why it matters that we continue to do the rosary, that's why it matters we continue to pray for people, even people that we don't like. That's why it matters that we stay faithful to your spouse, that's why it matters that I stay faithful to my priestly promises. That's why it matters that we love others, that we respect others, and that we love our neighbor. Because those small acts of faith, that is our five loves and two fish, that we can offer to Christ. And for him that is enough. He takes this small offering, this rosary, this holy hour, this small prayer that we do. And then he takes it and multiplied them in blessing to others. So Jesus is calling us out of that comfort zone to give him those five loves and two fishes. And if you remember that Father G put out a message on the Facebook page about a challenge about you going to somebody and praying for and asking them, What can I pray for you? To ask someone their intention. And maybe asking them to pray at total stranger that might be a little bit too much for you, and that is fine. But let's start small. Ask your spouse, what can I pray for you this week? Ask your son, your daughter, what can I pray for you this week? Ask your friend what can I pray for you this week, and offer a prayer for them. It is really easy. Lord, I lift up. The intentions of my spouse, of my son, of my daughter, of my friend. Please hear their prayers and answer them according to your will. That's the shortest prayer you can do. That is your five loves and two fishes that you can offer to the Lord. So that is the challenge for us. To go and pray for somebody, ask for their intentions. Jesus is calling us out of that comfort zone that we've been in in it so much. We have to do something extra today. See, my brothers and sisters, it is not whether we want to do it or not, but rather is are we willing to give Jesus those five loves and two fishes? In our daily lives, what are those five loves and two fishes that we give to Jesus each day, each week? How we stop praying, how we stop going to adoration, have we stopped doing the rosary? Because in a way it just seemed Like I'm just repeating prayers. But see for Jesus that is enough. Are you willing to give your five loves and two fishes?