Contributor
Matthew 14:13–21 — God of Compassion and Providence
By Chrisking dela Cruz
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over —
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.
God of Compassion and Providence
Early January of 2018, some sort of miracle happened to me. I was about to enroll for the last term of graduate school. But that term was unique. I was removed from the scholarship program and was required to pay because I failed in one subject the previous term. It was Friday and the last day of payment was the Tuesday of the following week. I already asked for assistance from some of my relatives but they were also short of funds. At that time, the amount assessed by the University for my school fees amounted to more or less 27,000 Pesos. So, desperate, I posted this on Facebook, “I need a miracle today up to Tuesday next week.”
After an hour, my godfather in Hong Kong who is a Chinese National sent me a message inquiring what my concern was. I told him I needed funds to be able to enroll for my last term in graduate school and was about to graduate pending the completion of the said term. He then asked me, “How much do you need?” I told him the assessed amount of the University. He also asked for my bank account number. Then he went offline and I went back to work having two more classes to teach that day.
As I was driving home, I received a message from my godfather. I parked my car so that I could read the message. When I opened my messenger, I saw a picture of a bank transfer form of 8,000 HK dollars from my godfather to my account. It amounted to 49,875 in Philippine Pesos. At that moment, I was shocked. I was very thankful because I received more than what was needed.
The following Monday, I went to the University to enroll. But there was a problem. They gave me the wrong computation of my school fees. Instead of paying only 27,000 Pesos, I was told that I should pay 49,726 Pesos instead. At that moment, I cried. It was the tears of thanksgiving that my godfather became the instrument of God’s providence. His gift was just enough to cover all my school fees and five months after, I was able to complete my requirements and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Religious Education from the FIRE Program of Ateneo de Manila University.
Our God is a God who listens to the cries of the needy. We must be channels of his graces especially to the least, last and lost especially in this extraordinary time of the pandemic. Our hearts must always beat the heart of Jesus who is always ready to embrace those in the peripheries of society. May our hearts always be moved with the love and compassion of our God, a God of compassion and overwhelming providence.
Ave Maria!
