August 2, 2026

In today’s Gospel, St Matthew tells us of the death of John the Baptist and how Jesus “withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself." John’s death moved Jesus deeply for three reasons. First, they had been cousins – there was the bond of family between them. Second, they had both received a special mission in the history of salvation – so there was the deep common bond of dedication to God's Kingdom. And thirdly, John's death marked the beginning of a new stage in Christ's mission – the Messenger's job was done, the King's job was starting. And so, with a sorrowful heart and a lot on his mind, Jesus goes away to be alone, to have time to reflect and pray at this crucial, painful moment.

How beautifully Christ's human heart shines through in this detail. This is our God, a man who knows what it is to be human, to suffer, to feel the weight of things. This is why we can always pour out our hearts to him, knowing that he will understand.

But the crowds refuse to let Jesus have his time alone – they flock around him, begging for words of wisdom and miracles of healing. And how does Jesus react? He cannot resist their pleas. He puts his own loneliness and preoccupations aside, sits down, and gives audience to the massive crowd that has gathered – comforting, healing, teaching, listening.

And when it seems he can do no more, when his disciples are totally worn out, he miraculously multiplies the loaves and fish. All day long attending the needy crowds, when his heart yearned to be alone with his Father. This too is our Lord – a man who lives entirely for the good of those he loves, for us.

This is one of the reasons our relationship with Jesus Christ is so unique.

We don't have to earn his love, and we don't have to be afraid of losing it – his love is unconditional and dependable. We don't have to earn his friendship by our great personality, good looks, or impressive achievements.

As the First Reading said so beautifully, "All you who are thirsty, come to the water. Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk." We won't lose Christ's love because of our failures or weaknesses.

The Second Reading so beautifully tells us, "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Even when we actually reject Jesus by sinning, he is always waiting at the door of our hearts to come right back in. Jesus loves us; and so our weakness, misery, and neediness – instead of driving him away from us, actually draws him towards us.

Let's look back at today's Gospel. Jesus tells his Apostles to have the 5000+ crowd sit down, and then he blesses the food and has his Apostles distribute it. Do you think some groups in that crowd refused to eat, waving the Apostles by, saying that they don't need any food, that they were too busy to take the bread? Probably not. Yet that is exactly what so many people are currently doing with their busyness and lack of time for Jesus.

Think of your own friends and family members who have stopped coming to Mass on Sunday. How hungry their souls must be, hungry for the bread of life, the spiritual nourishment that Jesus offers them through his passion and resurrection. How Jesus longs to feed them with his grace, truth, and mercy.

It is up to us to remind them, to speak to them about the banquet Christ has prepared for them. They really do need God's love to bring meaning and lasting purpose to their lives – that's why Jesus came.

But they are not the only wandering sheep. Even we, who believe in Christ and receive him each week, often turn down our Lord's gifts. How easy would it be for us to come to Mass once or twice during the week and receive Holy Communion. Or just drop by the Church and kneel before the tabernacle, where Jesus, in the Eucharist, is always waiting for us, always eager to feed us with his grace.

This week, let's take some extra time to come and sit with Jesus, to let him feed our souls. There are many opportunities here at St James, to attend daily Mass or sit in Adoration to ponder and thank Jesus for all that he has done in our lives. Maybe start a Bible study with friends or family members. What about a faith sharing group with some fellow parishioners or neighbors. We need Jesus’ strength for the journey of life; if we didn't need it, he would never have come to give it to us.

Over the past few months, I have had multiple opportunities to share my faith with others. There is a young couple that was studying abroad and attending Mass regularly. But they were hungry for more, they had a yearning for two things from the Church. For him to receive the Sacraments of Initiation in the Catholic Church and for both of them to celebrate the Sacrament of Matrimony. So began weekly video calls with both of them, to give him the catechesis he needed and to ensure they were ready for a life of love and God’s graces through the Sacrament of Matrimony. As my wife and I journeyed with this couple, we also created a bond with each of them. I’m blessed and honored to say that this past Friday, he was welcomed into the Church and they celebrated the Sacrament of Matrimony. An added bonus, was that he asked Tami and I to be his godparents as he received the Sacraments of Initiation. What an incredible blessing this has been for them and us; and a testament to feeding the hungry, as Jesus taught us to do.

I was also fortunate to witness a wedding and a convalidation for two couples who had previous marriages that needed to be tidied up through the ‘declaration of invalidity’ process with the help of the diocesan tribunal. Again, two separate blessings for each couple and for me to be a part of this beautiful process of witnessing the Sacrament of Matrimony right here at St James. These couples knew there was something they hungered for – to be sacramentally married in the Church. To ensure they would never be hungry for God in their married life.

And today, I am happy to share a moment in my family’s life that has been a long time in the making. About nine years ago my daughter, Cait, went on her first official date with her now husband, Caleb. The two of them first met in middle school, but there was no real connection between them; as Cait would quite often tell us how annoying Caleb was, when we would ask her how the day went at school. They attended different high schools, but a chance outing the summer before college set in motion a beautiful love story.

Caleb has been attending Mass with Cait for the past nine years, and quite often had many questions about the Catholic faith and was intrigued by our belief in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic – he was hungry to know more about the faith. He was hungry to deepen his relationship with Jesus.

They were married six years ago, and shortly afterwards, Caleb decided to attend OCIA sessions offered at the Catholic Student Center at CCU. But as with most of us, life got very busy for both Caleb and Cait. Between work priorities, both of them pursuing Graduate degrees, and welcoming two children into their lives, Caleb had to abandon the OCIA process. This did not stop him from attending Mass each week, it just put things on hold for a while. I could sense the hunger and the yearning he had to complete his initiation in to the Catholic faith. His curiosity and questions about the faith continued. And today he will make his profession of faith and complete his initiation into the Catholic Church.

All these events that I have been privileged to watch unfold, have been a true testament to the love of Jesus working in our world each day. Where people that hunger for more of his grace, pursue what they desire and experience incredible joy and grace in their lives as a result of this hunger.

We all need to continue to be the hands, feet and voice of Jesus in a world that sometimes forgets that there is a loving God, willing to feed their every desire. To love them and to have a personal relationship with them. My hope is that as each of us are fed here at the ‘table of plenty’ week after week, we go out those doors as missionary disciples; bringing the ‘good news’ of Jesus to all those that are hungry for meaning in their lives.