Signing his latest encyclical
before fracturing his right wrist
Benedict Multiplying the Loaves and Fishes
before fracturing his right wrist
Benedict Multiplying the Loaves and Fishes
July 26, 2009, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Kings 4:42-44 Ephesians 4:1-6 John 6:1-15
2 Kings 4:42-44 Ephesians 4:1-6 John 6:1-15
To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]
First reading from 2 Kings
A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the first-fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat. For thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.
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 sat down there 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 fishes, 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
A liturgical cadence & a babble of numbers
Introduction
A liturgical cadence & a babble of numbers
On the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time (cycle b) Jesus looked with compassion upon the listless crowds who looked like “sheep without a shepherd.” On this 17th Sunday, Jesus looks again with compassion upon the hungry crowds and multiplies five barley loaves and two fishes to feed them. Because that event was frequently recounted in the Eucharistic liturgy of the early church, it came to be recorded in all four gospels. (Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6: 30-44; Lk: 9:10-17; Jn 6: 1-15) No other miracle of Jesus is recorded in all four gospels.
One can detect a liturgical cadence in the account of the loaves and fishes; it sounds so much like the priest’s words at the consecration of the Mass: “He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said….” What’s more, by the time the story of the loaves and fishes was written down in the second half of the first century, it had acquired a kind of babble of numbers. In Matthew there are 7 loaves, 2 fishes, 4,000 hungry people and 7 baskets of leftovers. In Mark, Luke and John there are 5 loaves, 2 fishes, 5,000 hungry people and 12 baskets of leftovers. In the telling and retelling of this story in the early church, it lost trivial mathematical accuracy, if it ever had any to begin with.
One can detect a liturgical cadence in the account of the loaves and fishes; it sounds so much like the priest’s words at the consecration of the Mass: “He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said….” What’s more, by the time the story of the loaves and fishes was written down in the second half of the first century, it had acquired a kind of babble of numbers. In Matthew there are 7 loaves, 2 fishes, 4,000 hungry people and 7 baskets of leftovers. In Mark, Luke and John there are 5 loaves, 2 fishes, 5,000 hungry people and 12 baskets of leftovers. In the telling and retelling of this story in the early church, it lost trivial mathematical accuracy, if it ever had any to begin with.
Jesus and compassion
In the world of politics compassion is an unmentionable emotion and a dirty word. It conjures up all the horrors of the welfare system which does for others what they should be challenged to do for themselves. But compassion was not an unmentionable emotion for Jesus; He was moved by the listless crowds who looked “like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mark 6:34) He felt sorry for the hungry masses, and multiplied loaves and fishes to feed them.
Nor was compassion a dirty word for Jesus. When the Pharisees criticized Him for eating with sinners, He cried out, “Oh, if you only knew the meaning of the scripture that says, `It is compassion I want from you people, and not your animal sacrifices.'" Jesus was quoting the prophet Hosea 6:6. (Mt 9:13) When the religious leaders were again criticizing Him and his hungry disciples for violating the Sabbath by picking grain, He again quoted Hosea, “Oh, if you only knew the meaning of the scripture that says, `It is compassion I want from you people, and not your animal sacrifices.'" (Mt 12:7)
Nor was compassion a dirty word for Jesus. When the Pharisees criticized Him for eating with sinners, He cried out, “Oh, if you only knew the meaning of the scripture that says, `It is compassion I want from you people, and not your animal sacrifices.'" Jesus was quoting the prophet Hosea 6:6. (Mt 9:13) When the religious leaders were again criticizing Him and his hungry disciples for violating the Sabbath by picking grain, He again quoted Hosea, “Oh, if you only knew the meaning of the scripture that says, `It is compassion I want from you people, and not your animal sacrifices.'" (Mt 12:7)
Cuomo and compassion
Compassion wasn’t an unmentionable emotion or dirty word for Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York State. In his memorable address to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, July 16, 1984 Cuomo courageously used the C-word. “President Reagan,” he said, “told us from the very beginning that he believed in a kind of social Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. `Government can’t do everything.’” In that city named after St. Francis of Assisi, Cuomo said, “We would rather have laws written by the patron of this great city, the man called the `world’s most sincere Democrat,’ St. Francis of Assisi, than laws written by Darwin.” Then he unabashedly declared, “We want a government which is not ashamed but is courageous enough to use the words love and compassion.”
Benedict's latest encyclical[3]
We also want a church which is not ashamed but is courageous enough to use the words love and compassion. And we have such a church! Last week, Pope Benedict published his third encyclical Caritas in Veritate, (Charity in Truth).
ENCYCLICAL LETTER
CARITAS IN VERITATE
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
THE LAY FAITHFUL
AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL
ON INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
IN CHARITY AND TRUTH
Dated June 29 (Feast of St. Peter and Paul) and released at the Vatican on July 7, Charity in Truth follows a line of encyclicals on Catholic social thought.[4] The encyclical had been in the works for several years but was much delayed to permit Benedict to formulate a response to the current economic crisis. While insisting that the Church has no “technical solutions to offer,” Benedict is not reluctant to offer an analysis of the world economic situation that invites a rethinking of how economic life is organized.
Though Benedict’s encyclical is in deep continuity with previous Catholic social teaching, it is also fresh with new ideas and proposals. Benedict’s first encyclical was written entirely by himself, as was also the first half of his second encyclical. In Caritas in Veritate, however, there are many minds and many hands at work. It is a lengthy and substantial reflection of 30,468 words. It has an introduction, six chapters, a conclusion and 159 footnotes.
Though Benedict’s encyclical is in deep continuity with previous Catholic social teaching, it is also fresh with new ideas and proposals. Benedict’s first encyclical was written entirely by himself, as was also the first half of his second encyclical. In Caritas in Veritate, however, there are many minds and many hands at work. It is a lengthy and substantial reflection of 30,468 words. It has an introduction, six chapters, a conclusion and 159 footnotes.
Its content
The encyclical is not anti-capitalistic, but it does, indeed, condemn greedy and unbridled capitalism. The key theme of Caritas in Veritate is that the human being must remain as the center of our free-market system. No Christian can take issue when Benedict says that “the market is not, and must not become, the place where the strong subdue the weak.” Nor can a Christian take issue when he says that food and water are “universal rights of all human beings.” Anyone with the slightest streak of compassion and humanity can get behind Charity in Truth. It makes a particularly profound observation: alongside of “contractual logic” (that we give in order to receive) and “legal logic” (that we give because we are obliged to give) there must also be the “logic of sheer gratuity:” we give simply because it is good to give.
The encyclical is, indeed, a written expression of Benedict’s wish to multiply the loaves and fishes for the whole of the human family.
The encyclical is, indeed, a written expression of Benedict’s wish to multiply the loaves and fishes for the whole of the human family.
Negative and positive reactions
Within hours of its release, however, there was a negative reaction to the encyclical. Some bristled at any suggestion that business should be ethical and that the free-market system calls for reform and regulation. Within hours of its release, there was also a positive reaction. Both House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) issued the following joint statement regarding the new encyclical:
Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, is neither an indictment of capitalism nor an endorsement of any political or economic agenda, and ideologues and politicos hoping to spin it as either are destined to be unsuccessful.” [Their combined statement added that Benedict’s] message is clearly distinct from efforts to “remake”’ government into a soul-crushing centralized welfare state in which independent citizens are remade into dependent servants. In the encyclical, the Pope stresses that the human being must remain as the center of our free-market system.
Everyone can benefit from reading the encyclical, but it runs for some 30,468 words and is written in the technical language of the marketplace. One commentator suggests that they should read the encyclical who have not yet caught the drift of the church’s social teaching, and who still simplistically dichotomize her social teaching as either “left” and “right.” The church, he says, has her own unique and divinely inspired perspective on the subject.
An exchange of gifts
After attending the G8 economic summit, President Barack Obama paid a visit to Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, July 10. The two exchanged gifts. Obama gave Benedict a stole that had lain on the enshrined body of St. John Neumann, a 19th century bishop of Philadelphia, founder of the diocesan school system and the first male naturalized U.S. citizen to become a saint. Benedict, in return, gave the President a mosaic of St. Peter's Basilica and a leather-bound autographed copy of his latest encyclical[5]
Conclusion
Sheer gratuity
Sheer gratuity
In Charity in Truth Benedict proclaims that “the market is not, and must not become, the place where the strong subdue the weak.”
In Charity in Truth Benedict is not against capitalism but is utterly for the human being who must remain as the center of the free-market system.
In Charity in Truth Benedict, like Jesus, has compassion upon the hungry human family and wants to multiply the loaves and fishes for all God’s people.
In Charity in Truth Benedict says yes, indeed, we give because we want to receive and also because we are obliged to give. But to that must be added sheer gratuity: we give simply because it is good to give.
In Charity in Truth Benedict is not against capitalism but is utterly for the human being who must remain as the center of the free-market system.
In Charity in Truth Benedict, like Jesus, has compassion upon the hungry human family and wants to multiply the loaves and fishes for all God’s people.
In Charity in Truth Benedict says yes, indeed, we give because we want to receive and also because we are obliged to give. But to that must be added sheer gratuity: we give simply because it is good to give.
[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left.
[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:2
[3] An encyclical is the highest form of papal teaching.
[4] That line of encyclicals includes Rerum Novarum subtitled "On Capital and Labor “ (the magna carta of Catholic social doctrine) by Leo XIII in 1891; Popolorum Progressio (The Development of Peoples) by Paul VI in 1967; Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (The Social Concern) by John Paul II 1987
[5] The Pope also slipped in a copy of "Dignitas Personae" a statement of Catholic teaching on bioethics, which Benedict's personal secretary said would help Obama "better understand" why church positions are at odds with the president's stem-cell research and abortion. Obama, on the other hand, reassured the Pope of his commitment to reduce the number of abortions and of his attention and respect for the positions of the Catholic Church.
