by Fr. Tommy Lane
In 1964, Fr. Rich Thomas was appointed to El Paso in Texas. Around 1969/1970 he was profoundly touched by God and started charismatic prayer meetings in the parish. Sr. Maria Virginia, D.C., was also assisting in the parish. During one prayer meeting in 1972, they read Luke 14:13-14: “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbors, in case they invite you back and so repay you. Now when you have a party, invite the poor…for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.” The prayer meeting decided that on Christmas day that year, 1972, they would give a Christmas lunch to the poor who lived and worked in the dump in Juárez, just across the border in Mexico. The poor people in the dump used to separate the trash into various kinds—cans, bottles, cardboard etc.—and sell it to a co-op which would in turn sell it on. They lived in the dump and worked seven days a week for $5. The prayer group had prepared food for 125 people on Christmas Day. When they got to the dump, Fr. Rich and the group discovered that there were two labor unions. One union could not go into the other’s area. Eventually Fr. Rich got them to come to one area for the food. Three hundred and fifty people turned up so Fr. Rich explained that there was not enough food for everyone, but they would share what they had. All 350 had enough food. The dump people took some food home and then came back to take more home. They returned and took more home again. There was still lots of food left over, so much that Fr. Rich and the prayer group took the leftover food to three orphanages. The miracle of the loaves and fish in the Gospel today (Matt 14:31-21) was repeated in the dump in Juárez, Mexico, in 1972. The words of our first reading today mean so much in this context also:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying
and without cost,
drink wine and milk! (Isa 55:1)
It is not the only time a miracle happened in the dump in Juarez; that miracle of multiplication of food was repeated there many times, e.g., on another occasion they didn’t have enough cartons of milk for everyone but when they came to the end of handing out cartons, everyone had a carton of milk. After the miracle on Christmas Day 1972, a beautiful Christian community grew up in the dump and many wonderful events have taken place since then.
The Lord wants to give us his blessings too. In the Gospel today (Matt 14:13-21), the Lord gave his blessings to the people, but the people had made a sacrifice first. They had left their towns and gone on foot after Jesus. In El Paso, Fr. Rich Thomas and Sr. Maria Virginia had given themselves totally to the Lord and were blessed to witness many miracles in Juárez. When we give ourselves to the Lord, the Lord enriches us with many blessings. Listen again to the beautiful words of our first reading:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying
and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is
not bread;
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall
eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare. (Isa 55:1-2)
There are so many ways we can spend on what fails to satisfy; think of the amount of time wasted watching TV. Instead of spending on what fails to satisfy, like the people in today’s Gospel leave your town and go to Jesus and he will feed you. There will be more blessings than you need. I am sure each one of us here can identify with that. We have all gone to the Lord and he fed us, and we were surprised that he gave us more than we needed. Think of the way people waste money on all sorts of rubbish. Instead, use your money for the spread of the kingdom of God. The prayer associated with St. Francis says that when we give, we receive. Think of the billions of hours that people all over the world spend reading every year, and much of it concerning matters that will not help us get to heaven. Compare that with what Jesus said to the devil in the desert, “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt 4:4)
When we give ourselves to Jesus, he gives himself to us. Do those who complain that the Mass is boring come to Mass wishing to give themselves to Jesus? If you want the Mass not to be boring, give yourself to Jesus and then you will receive Jesus. Then the Mass will not be boring. Jesus is the bread of life who wants to feed us. Like the people in today’s Gospel, go to Jesus and he will perform a miracle in our lives.
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying
and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is
not bread;
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall
eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare. Isa 55:1-2)
Copyright © Fr. Tommy Lane 2002
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
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