Daily Reflection Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

This gospel passage, with the miraculous feeding of the multitude, held special significance for the early church. It is the only miracle of Jesus that is found in all four gospels. The four-fold action of Jesus, with the bread and fish, gives the reader a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. Notice how Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. This action is repeated every time we celebrate the liturgy. At the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, we hear the priest say, “On the night he was betrayed he took bread and, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples.” 

Now, I like to think that the Lord does the same with us today as he did with the bread. He takes us, that is, he calls us by name to follow him. Then, he blesses us. Through our baptism we are consecrated and brought into closer relationship with the Creator. He also breaks us. Along our journey of faith we are given the occasional opportunity to see in a new way. We learn to see ourselves and all of creation as God sees. Our debilitating habit of egotism is broken and we are reconciled in communion with God and with one another. And then the Lord gives us, sending us, as the apostles were sent, to proclaim the good news with our lives. In this way we respond to Jesus’ charge to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.”