Lad

“‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?’” (John 6:7).

Miracle of the loaves and fishes (Tintoretto)

When I was a little girl, my mother always allowed me to cook cakes with her.

My mother was famous for the cakes that she cooked.  They were never very fancy.  Generally they were not even iced or decorated, and they were simple cakes made of orange or sultana or chocolate of coconut.  My mother had lived with my father’s mother as a young bride, and during the day her mother-in-law, my paternal grandmother (may God rest her soul) had taught my mother how to make her simple cake recipe.  And because my mother is a very productive person, she would very often bake cakes for us to eat or to take to her brothers and sisters to eat.  In fact, there was always a cake on our kitchen bench, and we would eat a piece like e would eat bread every day after school as a treat.

And so, from a very very early age, we were encouraged to stand on a stool next to our mother and crack eggs into the bowl and carry the whisky while our mother whisked the cake.  Then, we would help our mother to scrape down the sides of the bowl and grease the baking tray and then we would help with the washing up and cleaning up afterwards…

And when the cake was done, and our father came home from work, our mother would say, look at what the children made for you today…

And I have been thinking of that memory in light of the miracle of the loaves and the fish…

“Seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’ This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?’” (John 6:1-15).

Saint Andrew gave what he could and so did the boy with the loaves and fish…  “There is a lad…”

And just as my mother used what I could contribute – as unhelpful as it was at such a young age – so too does Christ use what I offer Him – even now…  And I know this because He accepted a few loaves of bread and a few pieces of fish, and He happily multiplied them to feed thousands and still there was plenty remaining…

 

And when I think about that today, I am no longer afraid.  For it seems to me that God requires very little from me.  He just wants to know that if there is a need, I too will “a lad” so that He can work His wonders…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.