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From: Matthew 14:13-21

First Miracle of the Loaves and Fish

[13] Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there in a boat to a
lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on
foot from the towns. [14] As He went ashore He saw a great throng; and
He had compassion on them, and healed their sick. [15] When it was
evening, the disciples came to Him and said, "This is a lonely place,
and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages
and buy food for themselves." [16] Jesus said, "They need not go away;
you give them something to eat." [17] They said to Him, "We have only
five loaves here and two fish." [18] And He said, "Bring them here to
Me." [19] Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and
taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to heaven, and
blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the
disciples gave them to the crowds. [20] And they all ate and were
satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces
left over. [21] And those who ate were about five thousand men,
besides women and children.

Commentary:

14-21. This episode must have occurred in the middle of springtime,
because the grass was green (Mark 6:40; John 6:10). In the Near East
loaves were usually made very thin, which meant it was easy to break
them by hand and distribute them to those at table; this was usually
done by the head of the household or the senior person at the meal.
Our Lord follows this custom, and the miracle occurs when Jesus breaks
the bread. The disciples then distribute it among the crowd. Here
again we can see Jesus' desire to have people cooperate with Him.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. John Mary Vianney was born at Lyons, France in 1786. As a
youth, John exhibited great potential for pastoral ministry. He
developed a deep prayer life and was known around his hometown
for his catechism lessons to his peers. John's desire for ordination
began to manifest itself when John was a young man. His father
opposed him at first because he was a valuable assistant on the
family's farm. Eventually, John was allowed to pursue his vocation.
John entered the seminary at the age of nineteen but struggled
through the seminary because of his lack in previous schooling. John
eventually made it through his schooling and was ordained to the
priesthood in August 1815.

St. John was received his first (and only) assignment to the parish at
Ars, France and gained renown as a confessor and dedicated
pastor. As his reputation grew, it was not unknown for him to spend
more than 11 hours in a confessional in one day, he was known to
regularly hear confessions for more than 16 hours during the
summer.

John never let up in his work or his love for his people. St. John was
known to have physical battles with the devil, bring about miraculous
cures, was graced by God with the gifts of intuition and prophesy and
possessed the ability to read the hearts of penitents. During his life
he established a home for girls and always continued his parish
duties. St. John gained a world wide reputation as a confessor, near
the end of his life it is estimated that he received more than 300
pilgrims per day. John died in 1859, is known as the Cure of Ars, or
Pastor of Ars, and is one of few diocesan priests in the Canon of
Saints. St. John is the patron of priests and parish clergy. Pope Pius
XI canonized St. John Baptiste Mary Vianney a saint on May 31,
1925.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they
handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the
Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant. -St. John Vianney

TODAY IN HISTORY

1221 Death of St. Dominic
1879 Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical "Aeterni patris,"

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Promises of the Sacred Heart (continued)
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions
4. I will be their secure refuge during life and, above all, in death.
5. I will bestow abundant blessing upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray through the intercession of St. John Vianney for all parish priests.