Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰ When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him, and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, ¹¹ but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who needed healing.

¹² Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

¹³ He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴ (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. ¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

……..…….

Our Lord needed only five loaves and two fish to feed a multitude—transforming scarcity into abundance. Today, our world still produces more than enough to nourish every person, yet hunger remains a daily reality for one in ten people. Even more tragically, a third of all food is thrown away.

Pope Francis expressed concern that the world was becoming immune to this reality. Describing a lack of food as a serious affront to human dignity, he said, "the faces of the starving remind us that we have failed the purpose of the earth, a gift with a universal destination has become a privilege enjoyed by a select few."

He spoke of how consumerism, rampant materialism and selfish choices were at the root of the crisis, not over-population. "Waste, excessive consumption and the use of food for other purposes means that food is being stolen from the table of the poor and the starving."

Pope Francis also stressed the importance of not imposing solutions when responding to the cry of those who are hungry. Instead, these should be planned and implemented with the involvement of local people. This can be witnessed in Northern Kenya, where local expert Wakera worked with local woman, Lokho and her community, helping them to overcome the challenges of climate change and drought to grow crops in a community garden.

While we may not be able to perform miracles, each of us can still help bring about change—through simple acts of kindness, thoughtful choices, and faithful prayer.

Mrs Carey Twidale