If you have any feel for the economy, you know that, for those struggling to make ends meet, times can be very stressful. During tough times, we tend to look a little closer to home and to become a little tighter ourselves with what we have to share. Today’s gospel celebrates the incredible ability of Jesus to “make do,” and to find “enough” to share. In times like our own it is a good idea to take a hint from this gospel message. We need faith to look outward, not inward, towards those in need: the sick, those in prison, the hungry, the thirsty, the naked and the homeless ( Matthew 25 ). We need the hope from above that recognizes that enough is a good deal and that, no matter what, there will always be enough to share. We need the love of Christ to treat one another the way He treats us.

Jesus fed the multitude by multiplying the loaves and fishes. He took care of the physical hunger of the people. But He was also preparing them to receive the deeper message of his discourse on the bread of life, the living bread come down from heaven; namely, the Eucharist.

John is writing for the Christians of his day. So he intentionally set the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes in a Eucharistic context. The Jewish feast of the Passover was near, making the miracle of the loaves and the fishes a forerunner of the Eucharist which John’s readers celebrated regularly in their homes and in the catacombs.

People who come from large families learn much at their mother’s hearth. She was always able to multiply the family’s food, to stretch a meal so as to accommodate one or more at the table. Today, in large, extended, Hispanic families mom’s magic touch comes in mighty handy.

But families teach us more than that. They teach us the necessity of sharing, and sharing not only abundance but whatever little we have. All the teachings of Jesus are born of sharing-sharing faith, hope, and love. Sharing our joys and our sorrows. Sharing our time, talent and treasure. Sharing our life with God and with one another.

Be not afraid to share the blessings the Lord has give you. Soon you will see that you are sharing life’s very essence. The miracle Jesus shares with us in the Eucharist is Himself.

Now is a good time to read, in its entirety, the sixth chapter of John’s gospel. It will not be easy going. John is not obtuse but he is deep. The teaching of Jesus contained in this chapter is most profound, and it makes sense to give it time to sink in.

The miracle of feeding the multitude culminates in the miracle of the Eucharist wherein the living bread, come down from heaven, tabernacles Himself within us.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy