Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where you read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day! Let’s get started! Today is Monday, August 4th, and the Gospel reading is Matthew 14, 13-21, and the scripture to reflect on is Matthew 14, 19.
Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
Have you ever helped your mom with the dishes?
What do you use to wash them?
Usually you use a sponge, but when you get a sponge at the store, it’s usually wrapped in plastic, so you know that it’s fresh, new, and sanitary for use.
But what if you tried to use a sponge without taking the plastic off of it?
Do you think it would get the job done?
Would it scrub or soak up the water?
I don’t think it would.
You would have to unwrap the packaging first to use the sponge.
In today’s reading, Jesus unwraps the food for everyone, and because of the miracle he did, there were baskets and baskets of leftover food.
Today’s saint of the day is Saint John Vianney.
He was born on May 8, 1786 and died August 4, 1859.
He is a patron saint of parish priests.
Saint John Vianney was a very special young boy because he knew at his young age that he was called to be a priest.
When he went away to school to learn the ways of priesthood in Latin was very hard for him.
He got a tutor and worked very hard every day.
When he finally became a priest, he fasted every day.
He only ate one boiled potato a day.
Saint John Vianney had a special gift of being able to see people’s souls and their sins.
People would travel very far to go to confession to him.
Saint John would hear confessions for 16 to 18 hours a day.
Sometimes the devil did not like the good works that Saint John Vianney was doing.
He would often torment John.
One time the devil even set Saint John Vianney’s bed on fire, but this did not stop him from doing good work for the Lord.
Saint John Vianney’s body is incorruptible.
This means we are still able to see his body.
It is not decayed.
It is still in the parish in France today.
Jesus knew with God’s help there could be a miracle of lots of food.
There can still be miracles of blessings in our lives even today.
When we feel like we don’t have enough, we can ask Jesus or God’s help and direction with what we have.
We can then listen or unwrap what we have.
We can learn from Saint John Vianney that we shouldn’t try to please men but God alone and pray and forgive people daily.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, thank you for unending blessings to share with others and thank you for giving us so many blessings like food, clothing, friends, and a place to sleep.
And help us to be forgiving and kind and to share for what you know with your love to others.
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back tomorrow scattering more flowers.
See ya!