Multiplication of fish and loaves miracle

  • Thread starter Thread starter eo_chibears
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
E

eo_chibears

Guest
Does the Catholic Church take the position that this miracle was actually Christ making a community out of all of the people. I mean, he motivated everyone to share the food and didn’t actually multiply it.Thanks for the clarity, God Bless.
 
No. It is a miracle of God and even the Catholic Catechism refers to it as a miracle in CCC 1335
:The miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique bread of his Eucharist.158 The sign of water turned into wine at Cana already announces the Hour of Jesus’ glorification. It makes manifest the fulfillment of the wedding feast in the Father’s kingdom, where the faithful will drink the new wine that has become the Blood of Christ.
Click to expand...
 
DaddyGirl said:
I’ve heard this description before.
Someone (I can’t remember the author’s name) came out with a book in the 1800’s or so explaining that story in the way you describe and I’ve heard preachers in church re-tell the story that way. It would be a heart-warming and helpful sharing story, if so.

But I’m gonna place a biiiiiiig bet that it’s not how the catholic church sees it!!!
Click to expand...
Yeah I get confused sometimes in regards to the Bible. I don’t know what is supposed to be taken literally and what is supposed to be taken not literally.
 
eo_chibears said:
Ok thank you.
Click to expand...
You’re welcome. I’m sorry to say that I have heard one Catholic priest give a homily saying that it was sharing-- it turns out he had dementia. I have never heard another priest say such a thing, but priests make mistakes too. If you ever hear something from a priest that just doesn’t seem right, check with the Catechism or other official documents of the Church (the Vatican website is awesome). I have found that a solid knowledge of scripture and the Catechism have been absolutely foundational in my faith journey.

With regard to your other post about interpreting the Bible-- yes, it can be tricky sometimes. I would recommend a good study Bible with solid commentary to help you out. Ignatius just released a new study bible for the New Testament that is really good. It would be a good place to start. Also, another good collection of commentary is the Navarre Bible-- but there are several volumes and it gets expensive to buy them all. Also, the Haydock commentary is solidly Catholic and it is online-- although it is not as extensive as the others.

If you are studying the Catholic faith then I would absolutely recommend that you get a copy of the Catholic Catechism. It has tons of scriptural references as well as references from Church Fathers and official Church documents. It is also available online with a search engine.
 
Prayer_Warrior said:
You’re welcome. I’m sorry to say that I have heard one Catholic priest give a homily saying that it was sharing-- it turns out he had dementia. I have never heard another priest say such a thing, but priests make mistakes too. If you ever hear something from a priest that just doesn’t seem right, check with the Catechism or other official documents of the Church (the Vatican website is awesome). I have found that a solid knowledge of scripture and the Catechism have been absolutely foundational in my faith journey.

With regard to your other post about interpreting the Bible-- yes, it can be tricky sometimes. I would recommend a good study Bible with solid commentary to help you out. Ignatius just released a new study bible for the New Testament that is really good. It would be a good place to start. Also, another good collection of commentary is the Navarre Bible-- but there are several volumes and it gets expensive to buy them all. Also, the Haydock commentary is solidly Catholic and it is online-- although it is not as extensive as the others.

If you are studying the Catholic faith then I would absolutely recommend that you get a copy of the Catholic Catechism. It has tons of scriptural references as well as references from Church Fathers and official Church documents. It is also available online with a search engine.
Click to expand...
Thanks again for the great advice. I have the CCC and read it quite often. I will definitely look into a study Bible. I just have the New Cathoic Edition that my great aunt gave me which was released I believe in the 1950’s. The Ignatius one looks really good.
 
eo_chibears said:
Thanks again for the great advice. I have the CCC and read it quite often. I will definitely look into a study Bible. I just have the New Cathoic Edition that my great aunt gave me which was released I believe in the 1950’s. The Ignatius one looks really good.
Click to expand...
Glad to be of help. I love the Ignatius Study Bible and am looking forward to when they release a study Bible for the OT. I use the Ignatius Bible (this version has both OT and NT) for my daily study. I’m so glad that as a catechumen you are reading the CCC. I believe it is something all Catholics should be studying.
 
I know unbelievers who say the only miracle that happened that day was that everyone shared. It suits unbelievers to minimize the miraculous.

One of the gospels records the account as a little boy who had a few loaves and fish and Jesus took that, blessed it, and it fed the crowd.

I like to think of myself as that little boy, giving my little bit to God, and God in turns multiples it a hundred fold. That story is so rich on many levels.
God bless.
 
eo_chibears said:
Yeah I get confused sometimes in regards to the Bible. I don’t know what is supposed to be taken literally and what is supposed to be taken not literally.
Click to expand...
That’s understandable, since the Bible was never meant to be a do-it-yourself kit. LOL

Seriously, Catholics have a methodology by which we are to read the Bible. You can read the document, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum here:

vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html

In summary, we are to use the following three principles when reading the Bible:
  1. We are to read it as a totality, i.e., as a whole vs. in snippets out of context.
  2. We are to read it in light of Sacred Tradition (the oral teaching of Christ passed down through the centuries. See 2 Thes 2:2, where St. Paul puts Oral teaching on the same level of importance as written teaching, i.e., Scripture).
  3. We are to read it through the analogy of the faith, i.e., the living teaching office established by Christ, the Magisterium of the Church (the Pope and the bishops in union with him).
Take out one of these three principles, and error is sure to enter.

Keep in mind that Jesus didn’t write a book. He taught orally. That’s Sacred Tradition. SOME of what He taught was written down eventually. But not all. (See John 21:25) Yet, Jesus commanded the Apostles to go forth and teach “all” that He had taught them! (Matt. 28:20).

So, we should read the Bible, yes! But we should do so properly so as to avoid error. If we ever read something that seems to contradict what the Church has taught since the time of the Apostles, then we can be assured we have the wrong meaning. 🙂
 
One has to look at a couple of things here that don’t make sense if it was just “sharing” their food.

Jesus sees that there is a great multitude and they don’t have any food. That’s the whole point, they didn’t have any with them. It would not have taken much prodding if they all had been lugging food around and get them to take it out and begin eating and sharing it. Doesn’t make sense in context.

Also, in John 6:14-15, after they were fed, the people say that this is the prophet due to the miracle which they had just witnessed. Jesus then sees that they are going take him by force and make him their king. Now, why in the world would they take him by force to make him king if all he did was get them to take out their own food and share it with others? Again, doesn’t make much sense unless you read it as really being a miracle.
 
eo_chibears said:
Does the Catholic Church take the position that this miracle was actually Christ making a community out of all of the people. I mean, he motivated everyone to share the food and didn’t actually multiply it.Thanks for the clarity, God Bless.
Click to expand...
Nope. That was something that came into vogue during the 18th to 19th centuries during the period of the so-called ‘first quest’ for the historical Jesus, when many authors who penned retellings and analyses of the life of Jesus tried to rationalize the miracles recorded in the Gospels, often leading to rather farcical (for the modern reader, bluntly speaking) theories and plot points.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top