Sunday, 2nd August, The Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 14:13–21

Now when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Commentary

This miracle was an act of kindness and loving thoughtfulness on the part of Christ. He saw the people’s need as it was late for them to return to their homes and they had had nothing to eat all day. And he worked a miracle to provide for this need. The miracle also helped to convince the people of Galilee, the news spread around quickly, that he was the expected Messiah, but especially it prepared the way for the announcement of the greatest miracle of all – the miracle of the Eucharist.

As John the Evangelist tells in his version of the story, Jesus referred to this miracle next day in order to introduce his promise of the heavenly bread which he would give them and which was to be his own body and blood, under the form of bread and wine.
The bread he miraculously multiplied that day to supply the bodily needs of the Galilean multitude was but a foreshadowing of that heavenly food which he was about to give as spiritual nourishment to the millions who would become his followers down through the centuries until the end of time.

The Galileans were grateful to him for providing so kindly and so thoughtfully for their needs. How much more grateful should we not be for the miracle by means of which he has left us himself to be our daily spiritual food?

Of course we are grateful to our loving Lord who not only handed up his body to his enemies to be crucified for us, but through his divine power, arranged that his glorified body, triumphant over death, should remain with us, his Church, forever under the eucharistic species.

Though invisible to mortal eyes, he is as truly present on our altars as he was that day in Galilee, when he miraculously fed the multitude. He is present under the form of bread and wine – so that we can partake of him as spiritual nourishment during our earthly life. Could love go any further? He himself said: “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Yes, once a man has given his life he has given his all, there is nothing more he can give. But Christ was more than man. He was God as well, and, therefore, he was able not only to lay down human life for us, but was able and willing to remain with us after death under the Eucharistic species: to be our strength and nourishment until we join him in the promised land of heaven.

When we compare our own unworthiness with this, almost incredible, love and thoughtfulness of Christ for us, all we can do is simply to say: “Lord, you know I am not worthy to receive you, but you say you want to come into my poor and untidy home. Please make me less unworthy, forgive all my past sins and offences, and give me the grace and strength to be better in future.” Amen.