Think about your priorities in life today. What is most important to you?

“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them hungry to their homes, they will collapse along the way and some of them have traveled a great distance ”. Mark 8: 2–3 Jesus' primary mission was spiritual. He came to free us from the effects of sin so that we could enter the glories of Heaven for all eternity. His life, death and resurrection destroyed death itself and opened the way for all who turn to him for salvation. But Jesus' love for people was so complete that he was also attentive to their physical needs. First of all, meditate on the first line of this statement from our Lord above: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd…” Jesus' divine love was intertwined with His humanity. He loved the whole person, body and soul. In this Gospel story, people were with him for three days and were hungry, but they showed no signs of leaving. They were so stunned by our Lord that they did not want to leave. Jesus pointed out that their hunger was severe. If he sent them away, he feared they would "collapse along the way". Hence, these facts are the basis of his miracle. One lesson we can learn from this story is that of our priorities in life. Often, we can tend to have our priorities reversed. Of course, taking care of the necessities of life is important. We need food, shelter, clothing and the like. We need to take care of our families and provide for their basic needs. But too often we raise these basic needs in life above our spiritual need to love and serve Christ, as if the two were opposite to each other. But is not so.

In this Gospel, the people who were with Jesus chose to put their faith first. They chose to stay with Jesus despite having no food to eat. Perhaps some people had left a day or two earlier deciding that the need for food took precedence. But those who may have done so have lost the incredible gift of this miracle in which the entire crowd has been fed to the point of being completely satisfied. Of course, our Lord does not want us to be irresponsible, especially if we have a duty to care for others. But this story tells us that our spiritual need to be fed by God's Word should always be our greatest concern. When we put Christ first, all other needs are met in accordance with His providence. Think about your priorities in life today. What is most important to you? Your next good meal? Or your life of faith? While these don't have to be opposites to each other, it's important to always put your love for God first in life. Meditate on this vast crowd of people who spent three days with Jesus in the desert without food and try to see yourself with them. Make their choice to stay with Jesus your choice as well, so that your love for God becomes the main focus of your life. Prayer: My providential Lord, you know my every need and are concerned about every aspect of my life. Help me trust You so completely that I have always put my love for You as my first priority in life. I believe that if I can keep You and your will as the most important part of my life, all other needs in life will fall into place. Jesus I believe in you.