“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, [Jesus] 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…” (Mt 14:19-20)
Dear Marian Helpers and Members of our Marian Family,
Over the centuries, there have been many interpretations of what the five loaves and two fish in today’s Gospel symbolise. Some say they represent the five books of the Mosaic Law and the two other collections of the Old Testament: the Psalms and the Prophets. Others have suggested that they stand for the five senses and the two great commandments to love God and our neighbour.
No matter what the five and two symbolise, the lesson they convey is both clear and important. If we give God everything we have, however little it may seem, He will transform it into an overflowing abundance.
Perhaps I should add that this abundance is not necessarily financial or material. More importantly, it is an abundance of blessings, grace, and spiritual renewal. The greatest abundance we receive every week (or even every day for some) is Jesus Himself in the Eucharist.
God gives us His very Self in every Mass and every Holy Communion. If God Himself so desires to be with us, who can separate us from the Almighty? He desires nothing more than to dwell within us, making His home in our hearts and purifying our minds, souls, and bodies.
All who ate the bread and fish were satisfied after the feeding of the five thousand. How much more will we be satisfied when we receive, not ordinary bread, but the Eucharist, the Bread of Angels; not merely fish, but the Ichthys (Greek for “fish”), the ancient Christian symbol and acronym for Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Saviour?
Where do we receive this great gift of God’s very Self? In the Holy Mass, celebrated by priests and bishops whose ordination can be traced back to the Apostles themselves. Just as Jesus entrusted the bread and fish to the Apostles to distribute, so too do the priests and bishops of today continue in those apostolic footsteps, distributing Christ Himself in Word and Sacrament to those who hunger and thirst for God.
During Mass this Sunday, ask the Lord to satisfy the deepest longings of your heart. And after Mass, perhaps take a moment to thank your priest for his vocation of feeding God’s people, not merely with bread and wine, but with the true Body and Blood of Christ.
May God bless you now and always!
Fr Alex Pumphrey, MIC
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Contact Father Alex at info@divinemercy.org.uk
Please send us your prayer intentions! (click here). We will place them at the foot of our altar in the Divine Mercy Apostolate’s Chapel here in West Ealing, London and will remember them in our daily Chaplets of Divine Mercy
