How many of us know how many hours of sleep we need? And how many of us get that amount of sleep every night? How many of us know which foods are healthy for our bodies? And how many eat those foods every day? (When I was in Rome, I once went to a Filipino restaurant with my cousin, who, like my father, is Chinese but born in the Philippines. He ordered the fattiest piece of beef I had ever seen and when I saw it I said, “I can’t eat this… I’ll die.” “But it’s worth it!” he said, as he eat his first bite! By the way, have you ever heard the joke, “Do you know why Filipinos never grow old? It’s because they always die young! Thanks to my Filipino friend for that one!)How many of us know which of our friends bring us closer to God? How many of us spend time with them once a month every month? Last question: how many of us know how much prayer we need?

Today’s homily about needs. Do we know our needs? Physical, emotional, spiritual needs? Do we know our needs regarding eating, sleeping, friendship, encouragement, love, affection, affirmation, the need to contribute and help, for prayer, silence, and peace? Based on the answers we gave to the above questions, it would seem that most of us tend to ignore them. So, if we don’t know our needs, we won’t fulfill them, and if we don’t fulfill certain needs, we could die in certain parts of our life.

Today’s Gospel shows us that God fulfills our needs. “When he went ashore, Jesus saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick” (Mt 14:14). Because they needed health, Jesus cured them, and likewise, He loves us and wants to fulfill our needs. Next in the gospel, He multiplies the loaves, thus satisfying their physical hunger.

The multiplication of loaves point to two things, one in the Old Testament, and then the other later on in the New Testament. First, in the Old Testament, it points to the miracle of the manna. The Jewish people were hungry and cried out to God, so He fed them. This event shows how God fulfills our natural needs. But there’s a condition: we have to cooperate with Him. We can’t expect God to fulfill our needs if we resist Him. How often, for example, do we go to a restaurant, eat more than we need, and when someone offers us more food or asks us to finish what’s on the table, we say “No more, thanks. I’m full.” But when they ask, “Want dessert?” we say “Sure.”

It was my superior in Rome, now Cardinal Beniamino Stella, who helped me recognize my legitimate need for exercise and fulfill it. When I was feeling stressed out with my studies in Rome, he said, “Look at me. I use the exercise bike every day early in the morning. You like sports. You should do some exercise every day.” His counsel was salvific for me. It was the impetus for me to do some exercise everyday, which has helped me in so many ways. Surely God wanted me to be healthy, but the key was that I had to want it to and make sacrifices and changes to my schedule so that I could do it.

We have to want to nourish our legitimate human needs. And while we all say we’re busy, the truth is most of us waste some time, at least a little here and there (e.g. on TV, Facebook, news, games, video games, reading things that are as intellectually nourishing as spam). In order to read good books, call friends, eat properly, sleep enough, do exercise everyday, we need to make some changes and try not to waste any time.

Second, what does the multiplication of loaves point to later on in the New Testament? The Eucharist. We read that Jesus did four actions during the multiplication of loaves: He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it. These are the exact same actions Jesus does during the Mass. The Eucharist tells us that we have a spiritual hunger: a hunger to be nourished by God, to worship Him, to have a relationship with Him, to thank Him, and to offer ourselves to Him.

We have spiritual needs, but we’re typically unaware of them. Many of us are spiritually malnourished, and what happens when we’re spiritually malnourished? Just like our body, our soul gets used to not eating enough spiritual food. What happens when we eat spiritual junk food? We get used to it, and we don’t like healthy food. That’s why when we neglect our prayer we lose spiritual strength and energy and get used to it.

Some people think about Mass as a burden. But is it a burden to be nourished? They may think they have no spiritual hunger, perhaps because some are spiritually malnourished or even dead and they’re used to it. When we miss Mass on Sundays through our own fault, we spiritually die. But the good news is that God wants to resurrect us.

I have a great spiritual need to pray and I’m very aware of it. Another superior in Rome, Msgr. Fernando Chica, confirmed this awareness when he said to me, “You have a great need to pray, more than others, and so you have to pray and make time for it.” So, for example, when I was in Taiwan at a diplomatic function, I felt a great hunger to pray, and so I snuck out of the room, when to the washroom and prayed for a few minutes. And when I came back, I was renewed and felt I could serve people better.

But my greatest spiritual need is for the Eucharist. I love the Eucharist because it’s Jesus. While many say that God’s everywhere, He’s not present everywhere in the same way and in the same degree. God is present in creation, but He’s more present in me than in the forest, because I have sanctifying grace in me, which is God’s life. Between Mother Teresa and me, who is God more present in? (Say me!) Between you and your spouse, who is God more present in? You can argue about that later. My daily need for the Eucharist is so acute that I actually find the time between Monday’s Mass here (8:15 a.m.) and Tuesday’s Mass (7:30 p.m) to be a long time, and so I can’t wait for the Mass on Tuesday. 

Do we know our needs? Let’s just choose one to work on.

It’s always worth taking care of ourselves. Making changes to my schedule to exercise every day was worth it. I also love getting enough sleep, and I love being with friends who bring me closer to God. Most importantly, I love and I absolutely need to spend time with God every day! I want to fulfill my needs, and God wants to too.