kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things (which are necessary for the life of the body) shall be added unto you."
Grace at meals. Before multiplying and distributing the bread, Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and prayed. Thus we, before and after our meals, ought to raise our hearts to God, from whom all good things come.
Waste. The words of our Lord bid us also to beware of wastefulness: “Gather up the fragments, lest they be lost.” It is wrong to allow the gifts of God to be wasted. What is left over from our food should, if possible, be given to the poor, and, if not, to animals.
The annual multiplication of food. The wonderful miracle of the loaves ought to remind us how every year God gives increase to the seed which we sow. For example, ten grains of wheat sown in the ground produce three or four hundred grains: one small potato produces from ten to twenty potatoes, and so forth with everything. Now, who has given to the seed its power of germinating in the ground, of growing up, and of bearing fruit? Who sends the sunshine, dew and rain, without which no seed can thrive? It is God. The annual increase of food is the work of God’s Omnipotence. We do not call it a miracle, for it all happens in what we call the course of nature, and we are so accustomed to it that it makes no impression on us. “The wonderful way in which God governs the world and provides for all His creatures makes no impression on us. His marvels are so constantly occurring that we scarcely observe His wonderful action in every little grain of corn &c. It is on this account that sometimes, in His mercy, God performs wonders out of the course of nature, so that men may realize the marvel (not because it is greater than what is constantly occurring, but only more unusual), since the every-day wonders make no impression on us. The government of creation is really a greater marvel than the feeding of five thousand with five loaves, but whereas no one marvels at the one, all men were astounded at the other, not because it was greater, but because it was more unusual” (St. Augustine).
The Divinity of our Lord. Our Lord wrought four miracles in the early dawn after the miracle of the loaves — miracles of a new kind, which on that account made a great impression on the apostles, and so quickened their faith, that they cried out: “Thou art the Son of God!” 1. Jesus Himself walked on the sea, stepping as easily and firmly over the seething waves as He would have done on dry land. He did not work this miracle on any one else, but by it He manifested Himself as a supernatural Being transcending the ordinary laws of nature. As He trod the dark abyss of water, He stood forth as the Lord of creation, being subject to the otherwise inexorable laws of nature (such as gravitation) only in so far as He pleased. 2. At our Lord’s bidding St. Peter walked on the water, and was kept up by
