Afterfeast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

In those days, when again there was a great crowd and they had nothing to eat, He called His disciples and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have now been with me for three days and have nothing to eat, etc." In this reading, we must consider in the one and same Redeemer our the distinct operation of divinity and humanity; and the error of Eutyches, who presumes to teach only one operation in Christ, must be thoroughly expelled from Christian borders. For who does not see that the fact that the Lord has compassion on the crowd, lest they faint either from hunger or the labor of a long journey, is an affection and compassion of human frailty? But that He fed four thousand men with seven loaves and a few small fish is the work of divine power? Mystically, however, this miracle signifies that we cannot otherwise pass safely through the path of this present world unless the grace of our Redeemer refreshes us with the nourishment of His word. Typologically, the difference between this feeding and that of the five loaves and two fishes is that there the letter of the Old Testament, full of spiritual grace, was signified; here, however, the truth and grace of the New Testament is shown to be ministered to the faithful. Surely, both feedings occurred on a mountain, as the narration of other evangelists declares, because the rightly understood Scriptures of both Testaments command us to the height of heavenly precepts and rewards, and both proclaim in a harmonious voice the height of Christ, who is the mountain of the house of the Lord at the summit of the mountains. For He who exalts the city or house of the Lord built upon Himself, that is, the Church, in the height of good works and makes it manifest to all nations, He refreshes it, abstracted from lowly pleasures, with the bread of heaven, and kindles it to the appetite for supernal sweetness by giving the pledge of spiritual food.

The Lord had already performed a similar miracle before. He works wonders now as well, having a fitting occasion for it. And the occasion was this: the people had been with Him for three days, and the food supply they had taken for the journey had run out entirely. For the Lord did not always perform miracles over food, lest people think the crowd followed Him for the sake of food. He would not have worked miracles now either, had the people not apparently faced danger from lack of food. But look also at the disciples, how they are still without understanding and do not yet have faith in His power, even though they had already seen miracles! However, the Lord does not reproach them, teaching us as well not to attack the inexperienced too harshly, but to forgive them as those who do not yet understand. Consider also that Christ does not wish to send anyone away hungry, but desires to satisfy all with His gifts, and especially those who have stayed with Him three days, that is, those who have been baptized. Since baptism is called illumination and is performed with three immersions, those illuminated by baptism prove to be of three days. The Lord takes "seven loaves," by which I mean seven most spiritual words, for the number seven is an image of the Spirit. The Spirit brings all things to completion, and our life and this present age are completed in the number seven. The illuminated eat and are satisfied and leave a surplus, since they cannot contain all the thoughts of God. Earlier, in the miracle of the five loaves, twelve baskets of surplus remained, for there were five thousand, who signify those enslaved to the five senses; therefore they could not eat much but were satisfied with little, which is why much remained in surplus. But here, from seven loaves, seven baskets remained with only a small surplus, since the crowd was four thousand, who signify those established in the four virtues; and therefore they, being stronger, ate much and left little, for they could not consume only what is more spiritual and profound, and this is what the seven baskets signify. From the account under consideration, learn also this: that we must be content with only what is necessary and ask for nothing more. For behold, these people, having eaten and been satisfied, did not take the leftover bread with them, but the disciples took it, just as it was with the aforementioned baskets. So too must we be content with what is given, according to our need.

After the Lord had performed the former miracle concerning the multiplication of the loaves, now again, a fitting occasion presents itself, and He takes the opportunity of working a similar miracle; wherefore it is said, In those days, the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and, saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat. For He did not always work miracles concerning the feeding of the multitude, lest they should follow Him for the sake of food; now therefore He would not have performed this miracle, if He had not seen that the multitude was in danger. Wherefore it goes on: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.

The disciples did not yet understand, nor did they believe in His virtue, notwithstanding former miracles; wherefore it continues, And his disciples said unto him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? But the Lord Himself does not blame them, teaching us that we should not be grievously angry with ignorant men and those who do not understand, but bear with their ignorance. After this it continues, And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? and they answered, Seven.

The multitudes who ate and were filled did not take with them the remains of the loaves, but the disciples took them up, as they did before the baskets. In which we learn according to the narration, that we should be content with what is sufficient, and not look for any thing beyond. The number of those who ate is put down, when it is said, And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away; where we may see that Christ sends no one away fasting, for He wishes all to be nourished by His grace.

Or by those who wait for three days, He means the baptized; for baptism is called illumination, and is performed by trine immersion.

Further, the seven loaves are spiritual discourses, for seven is the number, which points out the Holy Ghost, who perfects all things; for our life is perfected in the number of seven days'd.

Or there are four thousand, that is, men perfect in the four virtues; and for this reason, as being more advanced, they ate more, and left fewer fragments. For in this miracle, seven baskets full remain, but in the miracle of the five loaves, twelve, for there were five thousand men, which means men enslaved to the five senses, and for this reason they could not eat, but were satisfied with little, and many remains of the fragments were over and above.

In expounding holy Scriptures, I am, so to speak, now breaking bread for you. If you hunger to receive it, your heart will sing out with the fullness of praise. And if you are thus made rich in your banquet, why would you then be niggardly in good works and deeds of mercy? What I am distributing to you is not my own. What you feast upon, I also feast upon.

And he commanded the crowd to recline on the ground. Earlier, during the feeding of the five loaves, the crowd reclined on the green grass; now, when they are to be fed with seven loaves, they are commanded to recline on the ground, because through the Scripture of the law we are ordered to tread and suppress the desires of the flesh. For all flesh is grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass (I Peter I). However, in the New Testament, we are commanded to forsake even the very land and temporal goods. Or certainly because the mountain on which the crowd was fed with the Lord's loaves signifies (as we said above) the height of our Redeemer, there they are fed on grass, here on the ground. For there the loftiness of Christ is covered because of carnal men and earthly Jerusalem, with carnal hope and desire; but here, with all carnal desire removed, it contained the guests of the New Testament, the foundation of lasting hope, like the solidity of the mountain itself, with no grass interposed.

And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, he broke them and gave to his disciples to set before the crowd. The Lord, taking the loaves, gave them to his disciples so that they might distribute them to the crowd, because, bestowing the spiritual gifts of knowledge upon the apostles, he wanted the nourishment of life to be distributed through their ministry to his Church throughout the world. However, the breaking of the loaves which he gave to his disciples signifies the opening of the sacraments, by which the world was to be nourished unto eternal salvation. For when the Lord himself says: And no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal (Matt. 11), what did he show us except that the bread of life was to be opened to us through him, when we could not penetrate it by ourselves? The prophet, lamenting the pitiable hunger of some, said: The children asked for bread, but no one broke it for them (Lam. 4). Which is to say in other words: The unlearned sought the food of the word of God, to be strengthened and restored to the virtue of good works, but, with teachers lacking, there was no one to reveal the secrets of the Scriptures to them and to instruct them in the path of truth. But taking the loaves to break, the Lord gives thanks, to show how much he rejoices over the salvation of the human race, and to teach us always to give thanks to God when, either with earthly bread for the body or with heavenly grace from above granted, we are refreshed.

(ubi sup.) For our Lord's breaking the bread means the opening of mysteries; His giving of thanks shows how great a joy He feels in the salvation of the human race; His giving the loaves to His disciples that they might set them before the people, signifies that He assigns the spiritual gifts of knowledge to the Apostles, and that it was His will that by their ministry the food of life should be distributed to the Church.

And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground. In the former feeding they lay down on grass, in this one on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake. In giving thanks, He has left us an example, that for all gifts conferred on us from heaven we should return thanks to Him. And it is to be remarked, that our Lord did not give the bread to the people, but to His disciples, and the disciples to the people; and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.

And they had some small fishes, and he blessed them and ordered them to be set before them. If in the seven loaves is signified the Scripture of the New Testament, in the reading of which we find internal feasts for the mind through the grace of the Holy Spirit, what do we accept in the small fishes which the Lord blessed and likewise ordered to be set before the crowd, except the saints of that time, when the same Scripture was composed, or whose faith, life, and sufferings that very Scripture contains? Who, having been rescued from the turbulent waves of this world and consecrated by divine blessing, have provided us with internal refreshment, so that we do not fail in the passing journey of this world, by the example of their life or death.

The small fishes blessed are the books of the New Testament, for our Lord when risen asks for a piece of broiled fish; or else in these little fishes, we receive the saints, seeing that in the Scriptures of the New Testament are contained the faith, life, and sufferings of them who, snatched away from the troubled waves of this world, have given us by their example spiritual refreshment.

And not only the bread, but the fish also He blessed, and ordered to be set before them. For there comes after, And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.

Are you hungry? You too have been given these baskets. For those fragments were not lost. For you, too, belong to the whole church, and they are surely for your benefit.

And they ate and were satisfied. They eat of the Lord's loaves and fishes, and are satisfied, those who, hearing the words of God and observing examples, hasten to be stirred and to rise to the advancement of a more correct life through these things. To whom the saying of the Psalmist aptly fits: The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek him shall praise the Lord. Their hearts shall live forever and ever (Psalm XXI). Which is plainly to say: The humble shall hear the word of God and do it, and to the praise not of themselves, but of the supreme giver, they shall refer all the good things they perform. Hence deservedly they shall reach the eternal life of the inner man, being satisfied with the bread of life. To whom, on the contrary, it is reproached through the prophet: You have eaten and are not satisfied. For they eat and are not satisfied, who taste the bread of the word of God by hearing it, but by not doing what they hear, they receive nothing of the internal sweetness by which their hearts may be confirmed in the memory of the mind.

And they took up the fragments that were left, seven baskets full. The apostles took up what was left over after the crowds were fed, and they filled seven baskets, because the higher precepts of perfection, or rather exhortations and counsels, cannot be reached by the general multitude of the faithful by keeping and fulfilling them. The execution of these properly pertains to those who, filled with a greater grace of the Holy Spirit, transcend the general conversion of the people of God in the sublimity of mind and work. To such ones it is said: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell all that you have" (Matthew 19), etc. Hence it is fittingly that the baskets in which the fragments of the Lord's food were stored are mentioned as being seven due to the sevenfold grace of the spirit. For baskets are usually woven from rush and palm leaves, and they are rightly placed as a symbol of the saints. For the rush is accustomed to grow above the waters, while the palm adorns the victorious hand. And the chosen ones are rightly compared to the vessels made of rushes, as they place the root of the heart in the very source of life, lest it wither from the love of eternity. They are also likened to those woven from palm leaves, as they retain in their pure heart the memory of the eternal reward. And it is fittingly narrated that although the crowd could not contain the remnants of the Lord's meal, it is said to have eaten and been satisfied. For there are some who, even if they cannot leave all their possessions, nor fulfill what is said of virgins: "He who can accept this, let him accept it" (Matthew 19), and other such things, are still filled with righteousness when they hunger and thirst, and by hearing the commandments of God's law, they reach eternal life.

(ubi sup.) In this passage then we should notice, in one and the same, our Redeemer, a distinct operation of Divinity and of Manhood; thus the error of Eutyches1, who presumes to lay down the doctrine of one only operation in Christ, is to be cast out far from the Christian pale. For who does not here see that the pity of our Lord for the multitude is the feeling and sympathy of humanity; and that at the same time His satisfying four thousand men with seven loaves and a few fishes, is a work of Divine virtue? It goes on, And they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.

(ubi sup.) Again, what was over and above, after the multitude was refreshed, the Apostles take up, because the higher precepts of perfection, to which the multitude cannot attain, belong to those whose life transcends that of the generality of the people of God; nevertheless, the multitude is said to have been satisfied, because though they cannot leave all that they possess, nor come up to that which is spoken of virgins, yet by listening to the commands of the law of God, they attain to everlasting life.

Grant, Lord, that I and those dear to me May together there Find the very last remnants of your gift!

Again, the seven baskets are the seven Churches.

Now those who ate were about four thousand, and He sent them away. Well, four thousand, that even in the number itself they might show they were fed with evangelical food.

From the lesser number of men [four thousand], less remains; from the greater number [five thousand6], more is left over. Four thousand men—fewer certainly in number, but greater in faith. The one who is greater in faith eats more, and because he does, there is less left over! I wish that we, too, might eat more of the hardy bread of holy writ, so that there would be less left over for us to learn.

By the four thousand is meant the year of the new dispensation, with its four seasons. Fitly also are there four thousand, that in the number itself it might be taught us that they were filled with the food of the Gospel.

After his account of the miracle of the seven loaves, Mark subjoins the same transition as is given us in Matthew, only with this difference: Matthew's expression for the locality is not Dalmanutha, as is read in certain codices, but Magedan. There is no reason, however, for questioning the fact that it is the same place that is intended under both names. For most codices, even of Mark's Gospel, give no other reading than that of Magedan.

Now in Matthew we read that He entered into the parts of Magdala. But we cannot doubt that it is the same place under another name; for several manuscripts even of St. Mark have only Magdala.

And immediately getting into the boat with His disciples, He came to the region of Dalmanutha. For in Matthew we read: "And after sending away the crowd, He got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan" (Matthew 15). It is not to be doubted that it is the same place under either name. For many Codices do not have, even according to Mark, except Magadan.

After the miracle of the loaves, the Lord immediately departs to another place, fearing that the people, as a result of such a miracle, might revolt and decide to make Him king.

After that our Lord had worked the miracle of the loaves, He immediately retires into another spot, lest on account of the miracle, the multitudes should take Him to make Him a king; wherefore it is said, And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.