Pope: Don't waste food, don't be indifferent to cry of hunger
Source: Vatican Media
In his address to the crowds gathered in St Peter's Square for the Angelus today, Pope Francis reflected of the day's Gospel reading that tells the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish.
Jesus and his apostles had only a few coins, the Pope said, while a great crowd had followed them up the mountain near the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
It was there that a young man, led by Andrew, came forward and offered all he had: five loaves and two fish.
"He was a courageous boy.. moved by compassion and the need to do something for others...Young people are like that, they have courage... we must help them to continue being courageous" the Pope said.
Commenting on how, despite the difficulties, "Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them and also as much of the fish as they wanted," Pope Francis said this shows "Jesus is attentive to the primary needs of people."
The episode, he said, stems from a concrete fact: the people are hungry and Jesus involves his disciples so that this hunger may be satisfied.
But, the Pope continued, Jesus did not limit himself to this: "he offered his Word, his consolation, his salvation, and finally his life" but he also took care of food for the body.
As disciples of Christ, Pope Francis said, "Only by listening to the simplest requests of people and by placing ourselves next to their concrete existential situations, can we be listened to when speaking of higher values."
We are instruments, he said, of God's love for humanity that is "hungry for bread, for freedom, for justice, for peace, and above all for His divine grace, which never fails."
The Gospel invites us to be available and industrious, just like that boy who only had five loaves but offered them.
"Faced with the cry of hunger - all sorts of "hunger" - of so many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, we cannot remain detached and calm spectators. The proclamation of Christ, the bread of eternal life, requires a generous commitment of solidarity for the poor, the weak, the last, and the defenseless. This action of proximity and charity is the best test of our faith, both at the personal level, and as a community" he said.
Pope Francis then commented on how after the crowd was fed and satisfied, Jesus ordered the apostles to "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted."