We are about to undertake a six-week journey of Faith. Our companions and guides will be St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians and St. John in his Gospel. True enough, we are always on a journey of Faith, here and into Eternity. But this journey of Faith is especially critical in the weeks ahead because like those who heard Jesus, in the end, we will be faced with a decision to follow. And we will be brought face to face with the fullness and truth of the teaching of Christ: in His miracles, in His promise of the Eucharist, and in the overflowing abundance of the power and love of God. St. Paul, too, will encourage us and challenge us in how to live our daily lives in Christ.

We set out on this journey, then, today with the prophet Elisha who prays and then feeds several hundred people with just a few loaves of barley. This leads us directly to the Gospel where, Jesus, not just a prophet but also the Son of God, meets an even bigger crowd who had followed him - over 5000 were told. They, too, were hungry and tired with nothing to eat. With less food then Elisha, Jesus feeds the multitude by the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes. This loudly and clearly demonstrates Jesus divine power over matter, and recalls the abundance of messianic benefits, which the prophets had foretold. And, it reminds us of what the power of God can accomplish in our lives, with whatever we bring to the Lord, no matter how small or how insufficient we may think we may be or have.

When we hear of this miracle, I wonder if anyone here has heard an explanation of this account that I first head as long ago as 1976. That is, the real miracle was the "sharing" that occurred. The five loaves and the two fishes of the young boy prompted others to share what they had...that being the "miracle". Generosity was the miracle of the day. This has been termed by my good friend Fr. Benedict Groeschel as the "Soggy fish sandwich theory", and is utter nonsense. The four Gospels and the tradition of the Church as absolutely clear that this was a miraculous feeding and multiplication. The sharing theory comes from what could be termed the historical critical approach to Scripture that seeks to analyze words and grammar forms, but does not approach Scripture with the lens of Faith, and apart from the life, teaching and worship of the Church for these 2000 years. The end result: Sacred Scripture is emptied of its power, and its ability to transform lives and bring us into contact with the living Christ. Is human generosity what this account is about? Certainly generosity and power of God, which can do much with little, is the lesson of this miracle, which truly and really happened. And this miracle is setting the stage for Jesus to proclaim himself as the Bread of Life, who invites us to Truth: the truth of eating and drinking His Body and Blood unto Eternal Life. To guides us on the pathway to Eternal Life, we have the Eucharist, and we have the words of St. Paul, who will also be our guide in the weeks ahead. Reminding us of what the power of Christ can do much with whatever WE bring, no matter who we are. TO be able to say YES I can, when others, or our culture, might say NO you can't. To say YES to Charity, to humility, gentleness, justice and all of the great virtues; to say YES to being able to be faithful and live that call that each one of us has received; for spouses to say YES to being open to the gift of life in God's plan, to NFP; yes to hope each day. NO matter how little we think we have of these, to know that the power of God can work miracles. We are not the last word. Knowing our own limitations can allow the Lord to work in ways we could never expect or understand. Like to five loaves and two fish, God will supply what is lacking. In the Christian life we must put what we have at the service of our Lord, even if we do not think it amounts to very much. One of the newest Saints of our Faith, Saint Jose Maria Escriva says "We must, then, have faith and not be dispirited. We must not be stopped by any kind of human calculation. To overcome obstacles we have to throw ourselves into the tasks so that the very effort we make will open up new paths."

In the weeks ahead, this journey will lead us, as Disciples to the point of decision. Will we be ready, with what we have, to respond to the Lord?