S
spauline
Guest
Loaves and Fishes: the Seven Sacraments and Christian Disunity?
On Tuesday’s Gospel reading, the account of the miraculous feedings with loaves and fishes was given. It is commonly seen to be a prefigurement of the Eucharist. However, I see much more than just the Eucharist in the stories of the multiplications of loaves and fishes. I see the whole of the Sacraments. After all, ANY time God gives us sanctifying grace (of which ALL the Sacraments are a great source of, and not merely the Eucharist), is He not “feeding us” spiritually? For what is sanctifying grace except a participation in the very life and love of God Himself, in the Trinity? Sanctifying grace is indeed spiritual life, that nourishes our souls.
Toward that end, I see the loaves and/or fish as sacraments.
Now, amongst all four Gospels, there are two different primary feeding stories. One is seven loaves and a few fish [occuring in two of the Gospels], the other is five loaves and two fish [occurring in all four Gospels]. I see the stories as revealing the mystery of the sacraments in relation to Christian disunity, one for each form, that is, the seven loaves and few fish symbolizes how **schism **affects the sacraments, and the five loaves and two fish how **heresy **affects the sacraments.
I see the sea, from which fish come, as doctrinal instability (“do not be tossed to and fro by every wave of doctrine”, …, “and the dragon spewed a flood after the woman, in order that she might be carried away by it…” [Apocalypse 12]).
I see the earth, from which the barley is grown to make loaves, as doctrinal stability (the Church is the “pillar and ground of the truth” [1 Tim. 3:15], … “but the earth helped the woman, and swallowed the flood that the dragon had spewed after her” [Apocalypse 12]).
Therefore the loaves symbolize sacraments that come from the stability of the priesthood, the Bishops, or Oral Tradition, with which one has the fullness of sacraments and stability of doctrine.
The meaning is then this:
**Seven loaves and a few fish: SCHISM **: the Orthodox have Apostolic Succession, and so a basic foundation of doctrinal stability, and valid Bishops and Priests, which gives them all seven sacraments (seven loaves). But they have a little doctrinal instability without Peter, or the Pope, hence, they have a “few fish”. (they debate Catholic doctrine formed after the first Millennium [after the Schism of 1054]).
**Five loaves and two fish: HERESY **: when heretics depart from the Church, they no longer have Apostolic Succession, that is, legitimate Bishops and Priests (this is the general lot of Protestants). Therefore they have no doctrinal stability (Protestants are all over the map doctrinally, tens of thousands of competing factions) and can only fish from the sea. They lose the five sacraments that require the Apostolic Succession [the earth], or priests (five loaves: Confession, Confirmation, Eucharist, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick) and retain only two sacraments, Baptism and Marriage (two fish).
For more detail, one might read these:
The Sacraments and Christian Division in the Mystery of Salvation History
4marks.com/blogs/details.html?blog_entry_id=2334
5 Loaves, 2 Fish, 200 days wages, and the Apocalypse’s Three Great Woes
4marks.com/articles/details.html?article_id=3790
Thank you for listening to this public service announcement.
On Tuesday’s Gospel reading, the account of the miraculous feedings with loaves and fishes was given. It is commonly seen to be a prefigurement of the Eucharist. However, I see much more than just the Eucharist in the stories of the multiplications of loaves and fishes. I see the whole of the Sacraments. After all, ANY time God gives us sanctifying grace (of which ALL the Sacraments are a great source of, and not merely the Eucharist), is He not “feeding us” spiritually? For what is sanctifying grace except a participation in the very life and love of God Himself, in the Trinity? Sanctifying grace is indeed spiritual life, that nourishes our souls.
Toward that end, I see the loaves and/or fish as sacraments.
Now, amongst all four Gospels, there are two different primary feeding stories. One is seven loaves and a few fish [occuring in two of the Gospels], the other is five loaves and two fish [occurring in all four Gospels]. I see the stories as revealing the mystery of the sacraments in relation to Christian disunity, one for each form, that is, the seven loaves and few fish symbolizes how **schism **affects the sacraments, and the five loaves and two fish how **heresy **affects the sacraments.
I see the sea, from which fish come, as doctrinal instability (“do not be tossed to and fro by every wave of doctrine”, …, “and the dragon spewed a flood after the woman, in order that she might be carried away by it…” [Apocalypse 12]).
I see the earth, from which the barley is grown to make loaves, as doctrinal stability (the Church is the “pillar and ground of the truth” [1 Tim. 3:15], … “but the earth helped the woman, and swallowed the flood that the dragon had spewed after her” [Apocalypse 12]).
Therefore the loaves symbolize sacraments that come from the stability of the priesthood, the Bishops, or Oral Tradition, with which one has the fullness of sacraments and stability of doctrine.
The meaning is then this:
**Seven loaves and a few fish: SCHISM **: the Orthodox have Apostolic Succession, and so a basic foundation of doctrinal stability, and valid Bishops and Priests, which gives them all seven sacraments (seven loaves). But they have a little doctrinal instability without Peter, or the Pope, hence, they have a “few fish”. (they debate Catholic doctrine formed after the first Millennium [after the Schism of 1054]).
**Five loaves and two fish: HERESY **: when heretics depart from the Church, they no longer have Apostolic Succession, that is, legitimate Bishops and Priests (this is the general lot of Protestants). Therefore they have no doctrinal stability (Protestants are all over the map doctrinally, tens of thousands of competing factions) and can only fish from the sea. They lose the five sacraments that require the Apostolic Succession [the earth], or priests (five loaves: Confession, Confirmation, Eucharist, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick) and retain only two sacraments, Baptism and Marriage (two fish).
For more detail, one might read these:
The Sacraments and Christian Division in the Mystery of Salvation History
4marks.com/blogs/details.html?blog_entry_id=2334
5 Loaves, 2 Fish, 200 days wages, and the Apocalypse’s Three Great Woes
4marks.com/articles/details.html?article_id=3790
Thank you for listening to this public service announcement.