Give Them Something to Eat

08-01-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

The Gospel reading this weekend invites us to reflect on the reality of hunger in the world, especially with the current impact of the pandemic. Recent studies have shown that more than enough food is produced to feed the global population, yet more than 690 million people, that is one in nine, go to bed on an empty stomach every night, and an estimated 821.6 million people are considered undernourished or starving globally. WHO and UNICEF reported in 2019 that an estimated 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water and over half of the global population, or 4.2 billion people, lack safely managed sanitation services. Recent statistics indicate that after steadily declining for a decade, world hunger is on the rise globally. This is compounded even more by the current impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Statistics like this are very depressing and cause us to ask many questions about the imbalance and gap between the rich and poor in the world. Naturally, we o[ en feel helpless and tend to give up when we are faced with such an insurmountable situation. Faced with a similar situation in the Gospel today, the disciples expressed their helplessness to Jesus but Jesus turned around and asked them to do something.

Faced with the impact of the Coronavirus, we too find ourselves helpless like the disciples. We need to hear the voice of Jesus at this time telling us to do something and not lose hope. Jesus invites us to off er the little we have and ask God to multiply it for us. The best thing we can all off er at this time is prayer. Each person’s prayer counts and, together, God will hear our voices and answer us according to his holy WILL.

Thank you and remain blessed,

Fr. James

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