Corpus Christi
Monk’s
Corner
Audio
Corpus Christi Luke 9: 11-17
Jesus had been preaching for months around the Sea of Galilee. His fame had spread throughout the region because of his many miraculous healings. Whenever he came to another area, huge crowds would gather to hear him and ask him for healing. The gospel says the crowds stayed all day as he told them about the kingdom of God and “healed all who were in need of healing.” As evening approached the apostles suggested that he tell the crowds to go home, for dinner time was fast approaching and they were in a rural region where shelter or food was not readily available.
Jesus then turns the tables on the apostles and he tells them — “you give them something to eat.” — He knew they did not have the finances or the food to feed five thousand men. (not counting women & children) It would be impossible even today to feed a crowd that large without extensive planning, preparation and an organization big enough to make it work. He did this to prepare the apostles and all Christians through time; to seriously consider the magnitude of the coming miracle; which he was already planning. For it was humanly impossible to provide any food in that area for such a multitude.
Remember my friends, this was first century Palestine, there are no grocery stores, food banks or any such things, available for this many people. Not to mention the work necessary to bake a thousand more loaves. Jesus is teaching them little by little to trust and believe in the omnipotence and power of God, just as their ancestors had seen the power and goodness of God when he provided manna in the desert.
Jesus then accepts the loaves and fish they did have available and giving thanks to God he blessed the bread, broke it and gave it to his disciples for distribution. At that time a Jewish tradition for a banquet meal was that no one ate until the host of the meal first broke the bread to begin. When Jesus broke the bread the miracle happened. As I picture it: each apostle has a basket with pieces of loaves and a couple of fish in their basket, which is already a miracle, and as they distribute the bread they look into their basket and they always have enough to give out whatever each group desires, even extra when they ask for more, which leads to the leftovers. It was a miracle performed out of sheer divine generosity and compassion for these people who could have gone home or tried to get food on the way. Each of the 12 apostles had to serve eight groups plus, so that when they returned to Jesus there were twelve baskets leftover.
A key factor for our attention is the way Jesus gives thanks to God and blesses the food in the same manner he will do at the Last Supper where he tells the apostles that this bread is his Body and this wine his Blood, as St. Paul reiterates in his letter to the Corinthians. This miracle, then, is a prefigurement of the mystery of the Eucharist. Through these words Christ has arranged to remain with us under the form of food for our spiritual sustenance in the sacred sacrifice of the Mass.
The feeding of the five thousand is a smaller mystery for our finite minds but the mystery of the changing of bread into his Body and Blood, soul and divinity for us unworthy sinners is the greater mystery by far. Why these mysteries for us? Infinite Love, which we human beings cannot even begin to understand, is the answer and the explanation. Last week we dwelt on the infinite mystery of three persons in one God. Instead, then, of trying to solve these mysteries, we accept them by faith, let us simply thank God every day for the privilege of receiving his Incarnate Son in the sacrament of Holy Communion.
In order for us to thank the Lord for this gift of his love is to receive it worthily with the reverence and piety it deserves, as often as possible. We know that none of us are truly worthy to receive our divine Lord “under our roof.” Perhaps, we are even more unworthy than the pagan Centurion who was the first to use those words. We know that Jesus was amazed at the depth of his faith. Jesus can and will make us worthy through our faith and his sacrament of reconciliation.
As we celebrate this great feast of faith let us worship what St. Thomas Aquinas did not hesitate to call “the greatest miracle that Christ ever worked on earth.” Let us proclaim with St. Augustine “O sacrament of devotion! O sign of unity! O bond of charity!” Also pray St. Thomas’ prayer of devotion: “O sacrament most holy, O sacrament divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine!”
© JOSEPH MEILINGER 2025