GOD’S SPIRITUAL
PROVIDENCE
“Jesus
then took the loaves of bread, and having given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated there; in the same
way he gave them some fish, as much as they wanted.”
—John 6:11
The
narrative which Holy Church presents to us in today’s Gospel [Jn. 6:1-15] is a
picture in which are portrayed a thousand beautiful subjects helpful to us in
admiring and praising the Divine Majesty. But above all else, this picture
presents to us the admirable Providence, both general and particular, which God
has for humanity, and especially for those who love Him and who live according
to His will in Christianity.
…
The
children of Israel had no manna until they had run out of the flour from Egypt…God
would sooner work miracles than leave without assistance, either spiritual or
temporal, those who trust entirely in His Divine Providence. Yet He wants us,
for our part, to do all that lies in our power. That is, He wants us to use the
ordinary means to attain perfection. If these should fail, He will never fail
to assist us. As long as we have our rules, our constitutions and persons who
tell us what we ought to do, let us not expect God to work miracles to guide us
to perfection, for He will not do it.
Put
Abraham with his family [cf. Gen. 12:1] and Elias among the prophets. The Lord
will perform no prodigy to nourish them. Why not? Because He wishes Abraham to
reap his grain, to have it threshed and ground and finally made into bread for
his support. He has cows, he must be fed by their milk; or else, if he wishes,
he may kill his fat calves and make a banquet for the angels. [Gen. 18:7-8].
But, on the contrary, place Elias near the torrent of Carith or in the desert
of Bersabee [3 Kgs. (I Kgs.) 17:3-6; 19:3-8], and you will see that there God
supports him – in one place by the instrumentality of angels, and in the other
by that of a raven, which brought him bread and meat every day for his
sustenance.
Therefore,
when human aid fails us, all is not wanting, for God takes over and takes care
of us by His special Providence. This poor multitude who follow Our Lord today
were assisted by Him only after they were all near faint with hunger. He felt
an extreme pity for them because, in their love of Him, they had so forgotten
themselves that none had brought provisions, except the little Martial who had
five barley loaves and two fish. It is as if the Savior, full of love for the
hearts of these good people (who numbered about five thousand), said to
Himself: “You have no care whatever for yourselves, but I Myself will take care
of you.” Therefore, He called St. Philip to Him and asked him: “These poor
people will faint on the way if we do not assist them with some food, but where
could we find sufficient to sustain them?” He did not ask this through
ignorance, but to test him.
We
must not think that God tests us in order to lead us to evil, for that simply
cannot be. [Jas. 1:13]. He tests His most beloved servants so that they might
prove their fidelity and love for Him, and that they might accomplish great and
shining works, as He did with Abraham when He commanded him to sacrifice his
beloved son Isaac. [Gen. 22:1-2]. In the same way, He sometimes tests His servants
in their confidence in Divine Providence, permitting them to be so languid, so
dry and so full of aridity in all their spiritual exercises that they do not
know where to turn for relief from the interior weariness which overwhelms
them.
…
Our
Lord tested St. Philip in order to humble him – and with good reason, after
Philip had given an answer so full of human prudence. It is a remarkable thing:
God so loves humility that He sometimes tests us, not to make us do evil but to
teach us by our own experience what we really are, permitting us to say or do
some foolish thing, giving us reason to humble ourselves…
We
must indeed keep ourselves humble because of our imperfections, but this
humility must be the foundation of a great generosity, for the one without the
other degenerates into imperfection. Humility without generosity is only a
deception and a cowardice of heart which makes us think that we are good for
nothing and that others should never think of using us in anything great. On
the other hand, generosity without humility is only presumption. We may indeed
say: “It is true I have no virtue, still less the necessary gifts to be used in
such a charge”; but after that humble acknowledgment we must so put our
confidence in God as to believe that He will not fail to give them to us when
it is necessary that we have them, and when He wants to make use of us,
provided only that we forget ourselves and be occupied in faithfully praising
His Divine Majesty and helping our neighbor to do the same, so as to increase His
glory as much as lies in our power.
The
question has been raised, among others, as to whether all ate of the five
loaves or whether Our Lord, by His almighty power, made new ones which were
distributed to the people. In speaking of another similar miracle – not the
same miracle, since the number of loaves is seven, and St. John clearly relates
that there were only five in the miracle of today’s Gospel – St. Mark says
expressly that all ate of the seven loaves and two fish. [Mk. 8:6-7, 20].
There
is another question whose answer will help us here. At the Resurrection, how
can it be that each one will rise again in his same body, since some will have
been eaten by worms, others by wild beast or by birds, others will have been
burned and their ashes scattered to the winds. How then can it be that at the
same time the angel shall call each one to come to judgment; all, I say, in an instant, without any delay, to
rise again clothed in their own flesh? [1 Cor. 15:52]. By the almighty power of
God, I, in this same body which I now possess, will rise again. He will
reproduce it; for as it was not difficult for Him to produce it such as it is,
it will not be any more difficult to produce it again.
Thus
Our Lord made all the five thousand men eat of the same five loaves and two
fish, reproducing them as often as was necessary, that each one might have a
portion according to his need. All ate then of five loaves and two fish
miraculously multiplied – all but St. Martial [the boy who brought the loaves
and fishes] who, not participating in this miracle, ate his own bread all alone
and not that of the Savior, because he had brought his own provision. For as
long as we have our own bread, God does not work prodigies to sustain us.
…
We
say that we do not know whether the will to please Him that we now have will
remain with us during our whole life. Alas! It is true, for there is nothing so
weak and changeable as we are. But nevertheless, let us not be troubled. Let
us, rather, frequently lay this good will before Our Lord; let us place it in
His hands and He will renew it as often it is necessary that we may have enough
for our whole mortal life. After this life there will be no cause for fear, nor
for so many apprehensions, for with the help of God, we shall be in a safe
place. There we shall never cease glorifying this Divine Majesty whom we have
so dearly loved and followed according to our power, through the deserts of
this miserable world to the highest summit of the mountain of perfection, to
which we shall all attain by His grace, for the honor and glory of Our Lord,
who is our Divine Master. Amen.
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