From: Matthew 15:29-37

The Canaanite Woman (Continuation)

[29] And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And He
went up into the hills, and sat down there. [30] And great crowds came to Him,
bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others,
and they put them at His feet, and He healed them, [31] so that the throng won-
dered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking,
and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Second Miracle of the Loaves

[32] Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I have compassion on
the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days, and having nothing
to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
[33] And the disciples said to Him, “Where are we to get bread enough in the de-
sert to feed so great a crowd?” [34] And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves
have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” [35] And commanding the
crowd to sit down on the ground, [36] He took the seven loaves and the fish, and
having given thanks He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the dis-
ciples gave them to the crowds. [37] And they all ate and were satisfied; and
they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

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Commentary:

29-31. Here St. Matthew summarizes Jesus’ activity in this border area where
Jews and pagans were living side by side. As usual He teaches and heals the
sick; the Gospel account clearly echoes the prophecy of Isaiah which Christ
Himself used to prove that He was the Messiah (Luke 7:22): “the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped...” (Isaiah 35:5).

“They glorified the God of Israel”: this clearly refers to the Gentiles, who thought
that God could give the power to work miracles to Jews only. Once again the
Gentiles are seen to have more faith than the Jews.

32. The Gospels speak of our Lord’s mercy and compassion towards people’s
needs: here He is concerned about the crowds who are following Him and who
have no food. He always has a word of consolation, encouragement and forgive-
ness: He is never indifferent. However, what hurts Him most are sinners who
go through life without experiencing light and truth: He waits for them in the
Sacraments of Baptism and Penance.

33-38. As in the case of the first multiplication (14:13-20), the Apostles provide
our Lord with the loaves and the fish. It was all they had. He also avails of the
Apostles to distribute the food — the result of the miracle — to the people. In dis-
tributing the graces of salvation God chooses to rely on the faithfulness and ge-
nerosity of men. “Many great things depend — don’t forget — on whether you
and I live our lives as God wants” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 755).

It is interesting to note that in both miracles of multiplication of loaves and fish
Jesus provides food in abundance but does not allow anything to go to waste.
All Jesus’ miracles, in addition to being concrete historical events, are also
symbols of supernatural realities. Here abundance of material food also signi-
fies abundance of divine gifts on the level of grace and glory: it refers to spiritual
resources and eternal rewards; God gives people more graces than are strictly
necessary. This is borne out by Christian experience throughout history. St.
Paul tells us that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans
5:20); he speaks of “the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us” (Ephe-
sians 1:8) and tells his disciple Timothy that “the grace of our Lord overflowed
for me and with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading	Isaiah 25:6-10 ©

On this mountain,

the Lord of Hosts will prepare for all peoples

a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,

of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.

On this mountain he will remove

the mourning veil covering all peoples,

and the shroud enwrapping all nations,

he will destroy Death for ever.

The Lord will wipe away

the tears from every cheek;

he will take away his people’s shame

everywhere on earth,

for the Lord has said so.

That day, it will be said: See, this is our God

in whom we hoped for salvation;

the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.

We exult and we rejoice

that he has saved us;

for the hand of the Lord

rests on this mountain.

Psalm	Psalm 22:1-6 ©

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

The Lord is my shepherd;

there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me,

to revive my drooping spirit.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

He guides me along the right path;

he is true to his name.

If I should walk in the valley of darkness

no evil would I fear.

You are there with your crook and your staff;

with these you give me comfort.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

You have prepared a banquet for me

in the sight of my foes.

My head you have anointed with oil;

my cup is overflowing.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me

all the days of my life.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell

for ever and ever.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

Gospel Acclamation	Is33:22

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord is our judge, the Lord our lawgiver,

the Lord our king and our saviour.

Alleluia!

Or

Alleluia, alleluia!

Look, the Lord will come to save his people.

Blessed those who are ready to meet him.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Matthew 15:29-37 ©

Jesus reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and he went up into the hills. He sat there, and large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel.

But Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this deserted place to feed such a crowd?’ Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said ‘and a few small fish.’ Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and he gave thanks and broke them and handed them to the disciples who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets full.