FRIDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER, APRIL 17, 2026
- Olivia M. Bannan
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Gospel
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
REFLECTION
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, ""This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."
The one thing that Jesus most of all wants is faith. On October 2012, Pope Benedict opened up the Year of Faith by reminding the crowd that faith is not something we create but a gift from God.
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 142 we read:
By His Revelation, "the invisible God, from the fullness of His love, addresses men as His friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into His own company."
In paragraph 143 we read:
"By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture call this human response to God, the author of revelation, "obedience of faith."
Faith is infused by grace--we cannot believe without God's help. The Holy Spirit moves the heart and opens the mind. Even though it is grace, we must freely choose to believe. We choose to trust Him.
Faith is never blind as it seeks understanding. It must be living, expressed in love and action. It needs nourishment to grow. This is done through prayer, the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, Scripture reading, living a moral life and witnessing to others.
What causes our faith to falter?
Doubt
Suffering
Trials.
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