Anointed and Fed

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to reflect on our anointing to act to feed the spiritual and physical hunger of all God’s people.

Feed Our Need

The Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah offers Praise for God’s Deliverance. 

* [25:1–9] These verses praise God for carrying out his plan to destroy the enemy and to save the poor of his people in Zion (14:32), and they announce the victory banquet to be celebrated in the Lord’s city.

* [25:6] This mountain: i.e., Jerusalem’s mountain, Zion. (“Isaiah, CHAPTER 25 | USCCB,” n.d.)

Psalm 23 is a psalm of David.

* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).

* [23:1] My shepherd: God as good shepherd is common in both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Ez 34:11–16; Jn 10:11–18).

* [23:3] Right paths: connotes “right way” and “way of righteousness.”

* [23:5] You set a table before me: this expression occurs in an exodus context in Ps 78:19. In front of my enemies: my enemies see that I am God’s friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Ps 104:15; Mt 26:7; Lk 7:37, 46; Jn 12:2).

* [23:6] Goodness and mercy: the blessings of God’s covenant with Israel. (“Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB,” n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims The Feeding of the Four Thousand.

* [15:32–39] Most probably this story is a doublet of that of the feeding of the five thousand (Mt 14:13–21). It differs from it notably only in that Jesus takes the initiative, not the disciples (Mt 15:32), and in the numbers: the crowd has been with Jesus three days (Mt 15:32), seven loaves are multiplied (Mt 15:36), seven baskets of fragments remain after the feeding (Mt 15:37), and four thousand men are fed (Mt 15:38).

* [15:36] Gave thanks: see Mt 14:19, “said the blessing.” There is no difference in meaning. The thanksgiving was a blessing of God for his benefits. (“Matthew, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB,” n.d.)

Rev. Elvin Cardoso, SJ, asks today “How can we become living signs of God’s love to others?”

Perhaps we can rethink our understanding of mission. Most of us will never be asked to journey to distant continents like Saint Francis Xavier or to preach in foreign lands. Our vocation will likely unfold in the ordinary spaces where we already stand: our homes, workplaces, schools, and neighbourhoods. Yet these everyday places have their own “Tyre and Sidon moments” when we encounter people whose experiences differ from ours, or individuals who carry wounds we cannot see, or situations that invite courage, patience, and prayer. To be missionary in spirit is to imitate Christ’s willingness to go beyond the familiar, to reach out and serve a particular need. It is believed that God’s love can flow through our words, actions, and even our silence. (Cardoso, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The joy of the hope rooted in Christ,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"Having said that the Lord will reign in Zion and Jerusalem, Isaiah leads us to the mystical meaning of the passage (Isaiah 25:6-10). Thus Zion is interpreted as a high place that is good for surveillance, and Jerusalem is the vision of the world. In fact, the church of Christ combines both: it is high and visible from everywhere, and is, so to speak, located on the mountain. The church may be understood as high also in another way: there is nothing low in it, it is far removed from all the mundane things, as it is written, 'I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!' (Psalm 47:7-8). Equally elevated are its orthodox and divine doctrines; thus the doctrine about God or about the holy and consubstantial Trinity is true, pure and without guile.

"'The Lord of hosts will make for all people,' not just for the Israelites elected for the sake of their patriarchs but for all the people of the world. What will he make? 'A feast of wines on the lees; they will drink joy, they will drink wine. They will be anointed with myrrh on the mountain.' This joy, of course, means the joy of hope, of the hope rooted in Christ, because we will reign with him, and with him we will enjoy every spiritual joy and pleasure that surpasses mind and understanding. By 'wine' he points to the mystical sacrament, that of the bloodless sacrifice, which we celebrate in the holy churches." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 25:6-7) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 15:29-37 comments that Advent is a special time of expectation and longing, but it can also be a very busy time. You don’t have the time to imitate the crowds and follow Jesus up a mountain. But the good news is that you don’t have to! Jesus can come to you.

No matter how he does it, you can be sure that Jesus wants to bring you closer to himself. You can trust him to know best how to accomplish that for you.

And when he does, be sure to follow the example of the crowds in today’s Gospel: glorify the God of Israel!

“Jesus, I believe that you still do amazing works today. So I come to you with an open heart and ask you to show me your power to heal and restore!” (“Meditation on Matthew 15:29-37,” n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Isaiah 25 is in the middle of chapters that the Prophet may not have written. Scholars believe chapters 24-27 were added to birth the idea of the resurrection of the dead and we will be invited into eternity. Prior to this Sheol was a destination for the after life and here in Isaiah we are invited to His Mountain. In Matthew’s Gospel people from all over were healed and nourished in two multiplications of food; for Jews twelve baskets are remaining, and here seven baskets, the perfect number, for every nation on the earth. Friar Jude notes that in Matthew, written to a Jewish audience, Jesus has come for all people.

Fr. Mike Schmitz unpacks the events in Acts 16, describing Paul’s trust in the Lord as God frees him from prison. He connects St. Paul’s conversation about spiritual gifts to the well-known “love” chapter in 1 Corinthians, explaining how love and donation of self gives purpose to the spiritual gifts. Today’s readings are Acts 16, 1 Corinthians 13-14, and Proverbs 28:13-15.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Spiritual seeker and writer Katie Gordon who reflects on the Magnificat, Mary’s prophetic song. Gordon visits a chapel located deep in the woods that features a statue of the pregnant Madonna accompanied by the words of the Magnificat.

When we sing that the hungry will be fed, I think of all the mutual aid efforts, soup kitchens, and neighbors who feed one another, not out of obligation but out of love and care. 

When we sing that the humble will be upheld, I think of the dignity of immigrants and refugees, who amid the unjust and illegal deportations, are finding strength in their communities as people are protecting and fighting for one another day after day after day. 

And finally, when we sing of the promise made to our ancestors, to Sarah and to Abraham, I try to remember far enough back to feel the covenantal belonging, this lineage of love that stretches before I was here and far beyond my own time. I’m reminded of my small part in this larger and longer story, of saying “yes” like Mary whenever I can, to bringing new and renewing life into our world, here and now. (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the Spirit to guide our efforts as modern missionaries to bring love and compassion to others through our action to feed the hungry in body and spirit.

References

Cardoso, E. (n.d.). Creighton Online Ministries: Home. https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-december-3-2025 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 25 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/25?6 

Matthew, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/15?29 

Meditation on Matthew 15:29-37. (n.d.). Word Among Us. https://wau.org/meditations/2025/12/03/1438605/ 

Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Echoing Mary’s Yes. Center for Action and Contemplation. https://cac.org/daily-meditations/responding-to-gods-yes/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). This Is the Lord - We Have Waited for Him. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Covenant and Community

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, invite us to celebrate and share the joy of our relationship with Christ especially with people to whom we can bring love and support.

Community and Care

The reading from the Prophet Zephaniah, proclaims “Shout for joy, daughter Zion!”

h. [3:14] Zec 9:9.

i. [3:17] Jl 2:27. (Zephaniah, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans celebrates Mutual Love.

f. [12:9] 2 Cor 6:6; 1 Tm 1:5; 1 Pt 1:22 / Am 5:15.

g. [12:10] Jn 13:34; 1 Thes 4:9; 1 Pt 2:17; 2 Pt 1:7 / Phil 2:3.

h. [12:11] Acts 18:25.

i. [12:12] 5:2–3; Col 4:2; 1 Thes 5:17.

j. [12:13] Heb 13:2; 1 Pt 4:9.

k. [12:14–21] Mt 5:38–48; 1 Cor 4:12; 1 Pt 3:9.

l. [12:14] Lk 6:27–28.

m. [12:15] Ps 35:13; Sir 7:34; 1 Cor 12:26.

n. [12:16] 15:5; Phil 2:2–3 / 11:20; Prv 3:7; Is 5:21. (Romans, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

The response from the Prophet Isaiah expresses Israel’s thanksgiving to the Lord.

* [12:1–6] Israel’s thanksgiving to the Lord, expressed in language like that of the Psalms. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth is celebrated in the Canticle of Mary known as the Magnificat.

* [1:43] Even before his birth, Jesus is identified in Luke as the Lord.

* [1:45] Blessed are you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Lk 1:20). Mary’s role as believer in the infancy narrative should be seen in connection with the explicit mention of her presence among “those who believed” after the resurrection at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14).

* [1:46–55] Although Mary is praised for being the mother of the Lord and because of her belief, she reacts as the servant in a psalm of praise, the Magnificat. Because there is no specific connection of the canticle to the context of Mary’s pregnancy and her visit to Elizabeth, the Magnificat (with the possible exception of v. 48) may have been a Jewish Christian hymn that Luke found appropriate at this point in his story. Even if not composed by Luke, it fits in well with themes found elsewhere in Luke: joy and exultation in the Lord; the lowly being singled out for God’s favor; the reversal of human fortunes; the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. The loose connection between the hymn and the context is further seen in the fact that a few Old Latin manuscripts identify the speaker of the hymn as Elizabeth, even though the overwhelming textual evidence makes Mary the speaker. (Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Andy Alexander, S.J. comments that upon hearing that her elderly relative Elizabeth is also pregnant – because nothing is impossible with God – Mary’s first and immediate instinct is to go and help Elizabeth.  Full of grace, and carrying the human expression of God’s dying-to-self love, Mary shows us that when we receive God’s love, the grace will be there to share it with others.  To highlight this central part of our faith, our new Pope, Leo XIV, outlined this movement in his inauguration homily.

Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.

In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!

This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world.  We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.

Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?” (Rerum Novarum, 20).

With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.

Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.  [Inauguration homily] (Alexander, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “John prophecies from the womb,” by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD)

"Not yet born, already John prophesies and, while still in the enclosure of his mother's womb, confesses the coming of Christ with movements of joy - since he could not do so with his voice. As Elizabeth says to holy Mary, 'As soon as you greeted me, the child in my womb exulted for joy.' John exults, then, before he is born. Before his eyes can see what the world looks like, he can recognize the Lord of the world with his spirit. In this regard, I think that the prophetic phrase is appropriate: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you' (Jeremiah 1:5). Thus we ought not to marvel that after Herod put him in prison, he continued to announce Christ to his disciples from his confinement, when even confined in the womb he preached the same Lord by his movements." (excerpt from SERMON 5.4) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:39-56 comments that our joy, however, is not something we should hide or keep to ourselves. As Jesus’ followers, our lives should shine with the joy and light of God’s love. Through our demeanor and our actions, we can make that joy readily apparent to everyone we meet. We can bring the light of Christ to a world that often sits in darkness!

On this special feast day, perhaps you could pray the joyful mysteries of the Rosary, or maybe just the second decade, the Visitation. As you do, let the joy so evident in this scene bubble up in your heart. Then “go in haste” to share this joy with all those you encounter today!

“Lord Jesus, help me to shine with the joy I experience in knowing you.” (Meditation on Luke 1:39-56, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the joy expressed by Zephaniah to visit Jerusalem ruled by God himself. Paul’s Letter to the Romans speaks of Christian virtues that we see in the reaction of Mary and Elizabeth. Mary set out for the hill country to Ein Kareem outside Jerusalem. Mary celebrates the fact of raising the lowly as the Queen of the anawim, people who but for the grace of God are not going to make it. Mary remains for three months and this refers to a greater sign nearby where David left the Ark for three months. Friar Jude reminds us of the role of Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces indigenous author Sherri Mitchell who describes how we can heal our collective human shadow through compassion and spiritual maturity. There are other times when we meet our shadows with darkness. When this happens, we will simply expand the shadow and create more space for harm to occur. So how do we face the shadows that we see, and make the choice to bring light instead of darkness? How do we get to the place where we are willing to stop blindly lashing out, and end the illusion of war within ourselves and with others? 

We do so by facing ourselves, in every reflection, in every moment, with some degree of compassionate awareness and spiritual maturity. This is the real challenge of our lives…. 

The question is not why we are here, but how we show up most powerfully to meet the times that we are part of. The work that we are required to do is to reconcile the external world that we have created with the inner wisdom that we have acquired. Can we see how we, collectively, have played a role in the reality that is unfolding around us? Can we look at the world that we’ve created and identify our fingerprint in the design?…  

Are we willing to recognize the patterns of harm that we have been involved in, and consciously choose to heal the reverberations of that harm that are unfolding all around us? Will we as a species finally find a way to create a reality of peaceful coexistence, now that we know that failing to do so would be a complete destruction of ourselves? (Rohr, n.d.)

We ask the Spirit to inspire our action to bring loving support to people to celebrate their lives as children of God.

References

Alexander, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved May 31, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/053125.html 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved May 31, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/12?2 

Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 31, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?39 

Meditation on Luke 1:39-56. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 31, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/05/31/1289960/ 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Embracing the Shadow: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 31, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/weekly-summary-embracing-the-shadow/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 31, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/12?9 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Joyful Anticipation of the Messiah. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 31, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=may31a 

Zephaniah, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 31, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/zephaniah/3?14