All Ate And Were Satisfied

Beads of Joy 01-05-10

All Ate And Were Satisfied
©2010 James Dacey, Jr. SFO

Hello Everyone,

Just as Parables of Jesus are exciting and fill me with so much joy doing my research; I must say the same excitement and joy fill my heart when I research the Miracles of Jesus. Today we look at Mark 6:34-44 (The Feeding of the Five Thousand). There is one special find in this particular miracle, it's the only one that can be found in all four gospels, there must be some significance to that. (Matthew 14:13-21 / Luke 9:10-17 / John 6:1-15). It is clear that Jesus' concern for our physical needs are just as important as our spiritual needs are.

The history behind this miracle is that just prior to this Jesus had retreated to the desert for spiritual refreshment. John the Baptist had just been murdered and this was a foreshadowing on Jesus' own death within the next year. So this sort of rest period just prior to this miracle wasn't only for Himself but it would also be good for His disciples. This rest time was short lived but with Jesus that's never a problem. There are few of us who can turn disappointment into something so wonderful like Jesus does. Jesus already knew what was going to happen, that is why after the disciples asked Him to dismiss the crowd so they can go eat, He told them to "give them some food yourselves" Jesus wanted to know what they had, they showed Him five loaves (they were said to be barley loaves, the food of the poor), they also had two fish (they to were most likely sardines, salty and commonly used as relish on the bread).

Well we can see by the available food that it would be hard to even call it a modest snack, let alone feed thousands. This miracle would soon show that Jesus is able to prepare a table of plenty anywhere. Let's keep in mind there were 5,000 men alone, not counting women or children, we can only imagine their number must have been considerable. This miracle is going to be beyond magnificent, the Eucharistic act Jesus is about to do will feed thousands. Consider this: Just moments before Jesus took the loaves and fish, a young lad had to surrender all he had to Jesus, leaving nothing for himself. The trust must have been immeasurable.

We can see by the results that surrendering what little they had Jesus took it, thanked God for it and then multiplied it. Can we do the same with what we possess? Can we do the same with everything we possess? Would you be willing to fully surrender to Jesus what little you have in all that you have? This wonderful miracle gives us the chance to build a solid sincere faith in our Lord's promise to always provide for us. It's obvious there must have been some really incredible enthusiasm created by such a fantastic miracle. Jesus the Bread of Life, took all that was surrendered to Him; multiplied that to fill everyone till they were satisfied. All Jesus needs from us is whatever we have and with that He multiples all our generosity to help others.

Trust in Jesus, He is never limited by what we don't have.


Your brother in Christ Jesus & His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr SFO