Gospel MT 14:13-21

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.”
He 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.
Reflection:
“When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.”
We can all certainly empathize with Jesus’ pain at the loss of His cousin, John the Baptist.
John was His friend and greatest advocate. To hear that John was not only dead but that he had been beheaded by the depot, King Herod, must have been heart rendering.
Understandably, in His grief, Jesus wanted to be alone to pray for John and the peace and comfort of his family.
“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.”
Coming to shore, Jesus was greeted by a “vast crowd,” accompanied by their sick and infirm.
“His heart was moved with pity.” 
Putting aside His grief at the loss of His cousin, Jesus began to minister, curing the sick among them.
In today’s gospel Jesus sets the example for us.
Whether emotional, physical, or mental, our pain can be either the birthplace of empathy or the beginning of bitterness and withdrawal.
It is our choice whether our pain will be pain in vain or pain for gain.
The Christian leader abandons self and uses his or her own life experiences to help others heal  and rise above the trials of life.
 “The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.”                                                                  – –  Henri Nouwen, (The Wounded Healer)