GOD MULTIPLIES HIS LOVE

FIRST DAY

PROPOSAL

We are here in response to the invitation made by our Lord, when we started this year with new desires to encounter with Him.  Each year we are presented with a challenge on this path of giving we are following, because Love wants to make us his instruments, wants us to learn to love more and offer ourselves so that He can perform his real transforming work in us. 

So, we have come here to be touched, to let God himself, by means of the Holy Spirit, take the lead in these days and show us what he wants for each of us. The Father, in his Infinite Love, and by means of our Saviour, has chosen us. It is us that he calls and summons, because he wants to show us the treasures of graces he has to offer us, he wants us to renew our spirit, that our hopes grow and, above all, that we recognize that we are especially loved by Him.

Therefore, during these days, let´s delve confidently into this Mystery of Love that he wants us for Himself. Let´s understand that we are summoned, that his Love exhorts us to go one step further, to commit ourselves more and to let Him transform us.

The Christian can live bearing much fruit, letting God do everything in him, letting God transform his weaknesses into great strength and his little love into a bonfire capable of igniting the heart with an everyday greater desire of God and his promised Kingdom. Let us understand that it is God himself who calls us and, during this retreat, let´s allow him to make us his own, without fear, with plenty of confidence.

SECOND DAY

GIVE THEM SOME FOOD YOURSELVES

As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, "Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves." (Luke 9: 12-13)

Let´s place ourselves in the context of the Gospel.

Let´s suppose we are the ones who are in a deserted place, that´s, without water nor food, and without a place to spend the night.  In a word, we are deprived of everything, and the night is coming. To this already stressful situation, let´s add that a large group of people are coming with us. Let´s move this scene to the moment when Jesus says:  Give them some food yourselves! This is the command and the sign by which we should believe that the Lord wants to work in us and through us every day of our lives, whether we are in need of him or not.

What does the Holy Spirit say to us?

Today, the Lord wants to teach us to trust. He wants us to put all our hope in Him. Is there anything that He cannot do for us? Jesus asks his disciples to solve that critical situation by themselves. He tests them, so that they can learn and trust, so that they become the instruments through which he will make the miracle. The solution introduced by the apostles is: “Send them to get themselves their food”. Jesus´ answer to this dilemma is: Do it! Love and service become the priority, and Jesus gets ready to make the miracle.

Questions to help me better understand what He is asking me today.

Does the scene of the multiplication of breads and fishes exhort me to trust even in the most difficult situations? Do I remember having gone through such situations sustained only by my confidence in Him?
The desert can represent situations of grief and desolation where we cannot find our way out. Am I conscious that I always need God´s help? Do I try to solve everything on my own?
What do these words of Jesus say to me today: “Give them some food yourselves."? Do I feel called by Him? To what?

THIRD DAY

NOW THE MEN THERE NUMBERED ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND

They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people." Now the men there numbered about five thousand. (Luke 9: 13)

Let´s place ourselves in the context of the Gospel.

Let´s place ourselves again in the desert place where Jesus has been talking to the multitude, answering their questions and healing the sick.  Taking into account the description of the Gospel, it doesn´t seem like the people were willing to leave Jesus.  It looks like they have forgotten about hunger and tiredness.  Jesus, who knew everything and saw inside the hearts of the people, must have been happy, his Heart filled with love. The men there numbered about five thousand! That is to say, a large crowd, all expecting the Lord´s words and gestures. Jesus wanted them to stay with Him. The disciples, on the contrary, don´t have the same feelings of our Savior, but they hand in the loaves and fishes.

What does the Holy Spirit say to us?

It´s not so hard to understand the joy of Jesus when facing such a large crowd that listens to him. This joy is that he wants to see his Words, that are Eternal Life, fill their hearts and convert them to the Good News. His purpose is to feed them with the food of the spirit, but he understands human needs and he feels compassion. Jesus always places himself at our level and addresses our needs. But he wants to act by means of his beloved ones. He wants us to make it possible for him to manifest himself, to be known and loved. Jesus wants to love through us.
Questions to help me better understand what He is asking me today.

What are the loaves and fishes I can offer today?

Do I recognize that I receive a lot? Do I see myself as a recipient of multiple gifts and graces with which the Lord helps me and encourages me on my path of offering that I walk today?
Can I recognize the needs of others? Am I available to give what I have so that the Lord uses me for the good of others?

FOURTH DAY

AND GAVE THEM TO THE DISCIPLES TO SET BEFORE THE CROWD

Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.” They did so and made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets. (Luke 9:14- 17)

Let´s place ourselves in the context of the Gospel.

For a second, let´s fix our gaze on those who are seated, a crowd hard to be counted. All eyes are fixed on Jesus, waiting to see what happens. Jesus takes the loaves, takes the fish and says the blessing; then he breaks them and hands them over. After this gesture, Jesus must have stayed waiting for the reaction of the people, first of his disciples and then of the multitude. It must have had a meaning for each person, but for the apostles, it is an eloquent call to collaborate in the redemption of souls, by feeding the hungry in body and spirit.

What does the Holy Spirit tell us?

The Holy Spirit tells us today that there are lots of hungry people in this world, many suffer from hunger for Truth, for knowledge of God and for a response.  There are many who are materially deprived, and many are in need of God.  The Lord gives us everything we need to be doers and not mere spectators of the realities that surround us.  He does not ask for the impossible, he asks us to open ourselves to his Grace to make us capable of receiving from Him.  Only then, will we be able to reach our brothers and bring them the treasures we have, which are the grace that sanctifies us, the virtues that the Holy Spirit causes to grow in us, our faith, hope and love. The Lord will know how to distribute them along the multitude. 

Questions that will help me better understand what He is asking from me today.

The Lord multiplied the loaves and fish; do I understand that He can multiply everything I offer for my own good and that of the others?
Jesus made the miracle taking what was available. Do I realize that everything is useful for Him if I give it up and offer it?
What meaning do the twelve baskets of leftovers have for me in the context of what I am living today? Do I recognize that I receive from God in abundance?

END OF RETREAT 

Being close to depart, we can ask ourselves how much we take with us, how much we have received from God during these days. We can ask ourselves if we were able to listen to him.
Every time the Lord calls us, whenever he invites us, is to give us a lot, he wants us to leave being full of himself, of his Love, of his graces.

We leave with our baskets full, because he wants us to give the others too. And as our ability to give is enhanced, again we will be filled, because we have learned that everything received must bear abundant fruit so that it can be multiplied and thus nothing is lost.

Let´s return with our hearts filled with the graces we have received and, as we continue on the path, let the Lord make use of our loaves and fish.