Sunday, March 19, 2006
FROM THE EMAILBOX - MULTIPLICATION OF LOAVES AND FISHES
My Catholic brothers and sisters
Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ, beaten and bloodied,
stood before Pontius Pilate who asked Him: "...what is truth?" (Jn.18:38) Only
moments before, Jesus had given him its most eloquent definition:"...Everyone
who is of the truth hears My voice." (Jn.18:37) Sadly, Pilate didn't. Sadder, today,
some priests, religious and laypeople hear not His but rather their own voices as
they distort or deny Biblical events and Church teachings.
As an example, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God
for committing various sins of immorality (cf.Gen.,Ch.18 & 19), a fact attested to
by St.Peter: "And He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruct-
ion, reducing them to ashes, thus making them an example to those who in the
future should live impiously." (2 Pet.2:6); by St.Jude:"Just as Sodom and Go-
morrah, and the neighboring cities which like them committed sins of immorality
and practiced unnatural vice, have been made an example, undergoing the punish-
ment of eternal fire." (Jude:1:7); and by our Catholic teachings. Some, however,
ignoring this, preach that the destruction was simply a natural disaster, rather than Divine punishment. They ignore the Angel's words to Lot: "For we will destroy
this place, because their cry is grown loud before The Lord who has sent us to
destroy them." (Gen.19:13) and their warning him to leave :"...lest thou also perish
in the wickedness of the city." (Gen.19:15) A natural disaster....no, a Super-
natural one.
Those who trivialize the sins of those cities as simply acts of "in-hospitality" should read how God "rewarded" the "inhospitality": "And The Lord
rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from The Lord out of
Heaven. And He destroyed these cities, and all things that spring from the earth."
(Gen.19:24-25) Why, then, are God's words ignored....because those ignoring them strive to have certain mortal sins re-defined as "acts of virtue", implying that
the Church has been canonizing the wrong people for 2,000 years. How tragic!
"...they are blind guides of blind men. But if a blind man guide a blind man, both
fall into a pit." (Mt.15:14)
Another example, which I wish to elaborate on, consisted of two occasions when Jesus miraculously multiplied a few loaves and fishes into food
for thousands. Again, some deny these miracles, calling His efforts "gestures"
meant to induce those with food (customarily carried in knapsacks) to share with
those less fortunate. Is this conclusion Scriptural....or has the wish become father
to the thought? Let us journey back in time to those events, searching for confir-
mation of the "knapsack solution."
The first multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes
The disciples came to Jesus, saying:"...This is a desert place and the hour is already late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. But Jesus said to them:'they do not need to go away; you yourselves give them some food.' They answered Him: ' We have here only five loaves and two fishes."' (Mt.14:16-17) Of knapsacks....no mention. He then told them to bring this food to Him. The Miraculous Multiplication was about to take place. After Jesus blessed the loaves & fishes His disciples gave them to the
crowds :"And all ate and were satisfied..." (cf.Mt.14:19-21) Incidentally, St.Mark
(6:41-42), St.Luke (9:16) and St.John (6:11) all confirm that the crowd consumed
the "blessed" loaves and fishes....and not one mentioned "knapsacks". Five
loaves fed thousands and filled 12 baskets with fragments. Miraculous! As at Cana,
Nature bowed to the will of its Creator. If only Man would learn to do the same.
The second multiplication of the loaves and fishes
The events of the second miraculous multiplication, this time for 4,000 men and their families, mirror those of the first. Hear Our Lord:"I have compassion on the crowd, for they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away fasting, lest they faint on the way."(Mt.15:32). Now, hear the clear words of Jesus,spoken later :"When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments
did you take up? They said to Him, 'twelve'. And when I broke the seven loaves
among four thousand, how many large baskets of fragments did you take up?
They said,'seven'"...(Mark 8:19). Imagine...twelve loaves feeding 9,000 men as
well as the women and children! Miracles....not "gestures", for the food shared
at these two events came not from "knapsacks" but from the Hands of God;
truly a pre-figuration of The Eucharist: "Do not labor for the food that perishes,
but for that which endures unto life everlasting, which the Son of Man will give
you..." (John 6:27)
Conclusion
In our quest for freedom, to subvert God's Truth only tightens
the chains which bind us, making freedom even more elusive. Let us return to the
words of Jesus, quoted earlier ("...Everyone who is of the truth, hears My voice.")
and ask ourselves: are we listening....and, if not, why not?
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adult-
erous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also
be ashamed when He comes with the holy angels in the
glory of His Father." (Mk.8:38)
Humbly, yours in Christ,
Robert Quinn
This letter may be freely reproduced by any recipient
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I'm not sure who Robert Quinn is, but the message in this email is orthodox and timeless. - ct
