34. And Jesus, when he came out, saw many people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Little indeed is the rest of the saints here on earth, long is their labor, but afterwards, they are bidden to rest from their labors. But as in the ark of Noah, the animals that were within were sent forth, and they that were without rushed in, so is it in the Church, Judas went, the thief came to Christ. But as long as men go back from the faith, the Church can have no refuge from grief; for Rachel weeping for her children would not be comforted. Moreover, this world is not the happiest, in which the new wine is drank, when the new song will be sung by men made anew, when this mortal shall have put in immortality.
BEDE; But when Christ goes to the deserts of the Gentiles, many bands of the faithful leaving the walls of their cities, that is their old manner of living, follow Him.
35. And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came to him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
36. Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
37. He answered and said to them, Give you them to eat. And they say to him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
38. He said to them, How many loaves have you? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
39. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies on the green grass.
40. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
41. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
42. And they did all eat, and were filled.
43. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
44. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
THEOPHYL. The Lord, placing before them, first, what is most profitable, that is, the food of the word of God, afterwards also gave the multitude food for their bodies; in beginning to relate which the Evangelist says, And to when on, the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him, and said, This is a desert place.
BEDE; The time being far spent, points out that it was evening. Wherefore Luke says, But the day had begun to decline.
THEOPHYL. See now , how those who are disciples of Christ grow in love to man, for they pity the multitudes, and come to Christ to intercede for them. But the Lord tried them, to see whether they would know that His power was great enough to feed them.
Wherefore it goes on, He answered and said to them, Give you them to eat.
BEDE; By these words He calls on His Apostles, to break bread for the people, that they might be able to testify that they had no bread, and thus the greatness of the miracle might become more known.
THEOPHYL. But the disciples thought that He did not know what was necessary for the feeding of so large a multitude, for their answer shows that they were troubled. For it goes on, And they said to him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
AUG. This in the Gospel of John is the answer of Philip, but Mark gives it as the answer of the disciples, wishing it to be understood that Philip made this answer as a mouthpiece of the others; although he might put the plural number for the singular, as is usual. It goes on, And he said to them, How many loaves have you? go and see. The other Evangelists pass over this being done by the Lord. It goes on, And when they knew, they say, Five, a two fishes. This, which was suggested by Andrew, as we learn from John, the other Evangelists, using the plural for the singular, have put into the mouth of the disciples.
It goes on, And he commanded them enter to make all sit do down by companies upon the green grass,
and they sat down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties. But we need not be perplexed, though Luke says that they were ordered to sit down by fifties , and Mark by hundreds and fifties, for, one was mentioned a part, the other the whole. Mark, who mentions the hundreds, fills up what the other has left out.
THEOPHYL. We are given to understand that they lay down in parties, separate from one another, for what is translated by companies, is repeated twice over in the Greek, as though it were by companies and companies. It goes on, And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them, and the two fishes divided he among them all.
CHRYS. Now it was with fitness that He looked up to heaven, for the Jews, when receiving manna in the desert, presumed to say of God, Can he give bread? To prevent this therefore before He performed the miracle, He referred to His Father what He was about to do.
THEOPHYL. He also looks up to heaven that He may teach us to seek our food from God, and not from the devil, as they do who unjustly feed on other man labors. By this also He intimated to the crowd, that He could not be opposed to God, since He called upon God. And He gives the bread to His disciple's to set before the multitude, that by handling the bread they might see that it was an undoubted miracle. It goes on: And they did all eat, and were filled:
and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments.
Twelve baskets of fragments remained over and above, that each of the Apostles, carrying a basket on his shoulder, might recognize the unspeakable Worker of the miracle. For it was a proof of overflowing power not only to feed so many men, but also to leave such a superabundance of fragments. Even though Moses gave manna, yet what was given to each was measured by his necessity, and what was over and above was overrun with worms. Elias also fed the woman, but gave her just what was enough for her; but Jesus, being the Lord, makes his gifts with superabundant profusion.
BEDE; Again, in a mystical sense, the Savior refreshes the hungry crowds at the day's decline, because, either, now that the end of the world approaches, or now that the Sun of justice has set in death for us, we are saved from wasting away in spiritual hunger. He calls the Apostles to Him at the breaking of bread, intimating that daily by them our hungry souls are fed, that is, by their letters and examples. By the five loaves are figured the Five Books of Moses, by the two fishes the Psalms and Prophets.
THEOPHYL. Or the two fishes are the discourses of fishermen that is, their Epistles and Gospel.
BEDE; There are five senses in the outward man which shows that by the five thousand men are meant those who, living in the world, know how to make a good use of external things.
GREG. The different ranks in which those who ate lie down, mark out the divers churches which make up the one Catholic. But the Jubilee rest is contained in the mystery of the number fifty, and fifty must be doubled before it reaches up to a hundred. As then the first step is to rest from doing evil, that afterwards the soul may rest more fully from evil thoughts, some lie down in parties of fifty, others of a hundred.
BEDE; Again, those men lie down on grass and are fed by the food of the Lord, who have trodden under foot their concupiscences by continence, and apply themselves diligently to hear and fulfill the words of God. The Savior, however, does not create a new sort of food; for when He came in the flesh He preached no other things than were predicted, but showed how pregnant with mysteries of grace were the writings of the Law and the Prophets. He looks up to heaven, that He may teach us that there we must look for grace. He breaks and distributes to the disciples that they may place the bread before the multitudes, because He has opened the mysteries of prophecy to holy doctors, who are to preach them to the whole world. What is left by the crowd is taken up by the disciples, because the more sacred mysteries, which cannot be received by the foolish, are not to be passed by with negligence, but to be inquired into by the perfect. For by the twelve baskets, the Apostles and the following Doctors are typified, externally indeed despised by men, but inwardly full of healthful food. For all know that carrying baskets is a part of the work of shaves.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Or, in the gathering of the twelve baskets full of fragments, is signified the time, when they shall sit on thrones, judging all who are left of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the twelve tribes of Israel, when the remnant of Israel shall be saved.
Catena Aurea Mark 6