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Dear Sisters, and Dear Friends in Christ,

During the time after Easter, the Church is very careful to share with us, memories of our earliest days as the Family of Christ, the days of the Apostles, and also memories of those most important teachings given to us by the Lord during His life. Today is no exception.

In the first reading from Acts, we have heard two very profound statements Ð statements that were to be instrumental in the formation of the Church Ð and truths that are still vital to our lives today.

The first comes, not from an Apostle, but from a Jew, a member of the Sanhedrin, who cautions his fellows about persecuting the Apostles, and about being too hasty in their judgement as to whether the new Faith would be an authentic faith or not. During his remarks to the Sanhedrin, this Pharisee, whose name was Gamaliel, said:

For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourself fighting against God.

How many times in the history of the Church has this saying come true Ð how many times has the Church calmly continued on her way, and seen false teaching fall dead before her constant stride down through the pages of history. The life of the saint whose feast we celebrate today, St. Athanasius, reminds us of this truth. For several centuries, the heresy of Arianism enjoyed great favor with many people, and it caused a split right down the middle of the Church. But eventually, it destroyed itself, with the assistance of firm and devoted teachers of the true religion, like St. Athanasius. The same has been true of countless popular beliefs that have come and gone over the centuries.

Today, we are very aware, that we live as good Catholics in the midst of much that is false. But we know, that in time, all these false beliefs will destroy themselves. What is important is that we persist in living and sharing the truth of Jesus Christ, as the Church teaches us, no matter what the cost.

For the Apostles themselves, as this reading reminds us, were flogged by the Sanhedrin, and ordered to stop speaking the name of Jesus. The Apostles themselves, from the very beginning of their ministry, accepted physical, bodily suffering in order to accomplish their mission. St. Luke, the writer of Acts, tells us of their rejoicing ÒÉthat they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the nameÓ of Jesus. And we too pray, that as we go about our work for the Church, and for the name of Jesus Christ, that we might be honored to share the sufferings of our Savior and Lord. For we know very well, that what seems to be dishonor in the eyes of unbelievers, is for us, the suffering, and the honor of which salvation is made Ð the honor of suffering in union with Jesus Christ.

Along with this story from the days of the Apostles, which is meant to teach us courage and faith, we also have the beautiful Gospel story of our LordÕs multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. But St. John adds one detail to the other evangelists which I find very important, and very inspiring.

When the Apostles were trying to figure out how they would provide food for the thousands who had gathered, St. John recalls that Andrew, the brother of Peter said to the Lord, ÒThere is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fishÉÓ These were the loaves and the fishes that our Lord was to multiply, by His great power, so that five thousand people would be fed, and there would still be food left over.

And yet, when that young boy left home early that morning, his mother probably thought, ÒI will my boy some food to take along, so he will have something to eat when he gets hungryÓ Ð and the boy took these five loaves of barley bread, and two fishes, thinking nothing other than that when he became hungry, he would have something to eat. He could not have known, that this little bit of food would be used by the Lord, to work a great miracle, to feed thousands of men and women.

The Eucharistic lesson here is obvious. From the one body He had as a man, our Lord continues to feed thousands upon thousands by the miracle of the Eucharist.

But there is another lesson here, for we are all like the little boy. We all come before the Lord with the little that has been given us Ð our energy, our talents, our skills Ð some of these may have come to us by way of our own parents, some may have come to us as a result of our own studies, some may have come to us because God gave them to us when He made us.

But whatever we bring to Him, it is very little compared to what He has brought to us in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. And yet, by His miraculous love, Jesus Christ makes of our little talents, our little offerings, something greater and more effective than we could ever accomplish on our own. He uses our talents and our skills, in the work of His Church, to feed many, many souls. And this is a very important lesson taught to us by the Gospel Ð a lesson we often overlook, just as the little boy who brought the loaves and the fishes was overlooked by all the evangelists but St. John.

Let us pray today, dear sisters (and friends), after hearing this great lesson, that we will never think that God overlooks us Ð let us pray, that we may know He is waiting for us, as He waited for the boy in the Gospel Ð He is waiting for us to bring our offering forward.

And no matter how small our offerings, our talents, our skills are Ð let us give them entirely to God, to His Son, and ask with all humility, that what we give may be used, for the good of the Church, and for the good of all Mankind.

And if our hearts are sincere, then we will see the miracle of our efforts multiplied to serve thousands Ð and we will find happiness knowing, that because our work has been blessed by God, it will never be destroyed.

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