A Quotidian Miracle

By Father Paul D. Scalia "Daily" or "Supersubstantial"? Which word best translates the Greek "epiousios" in the Our Father? Both are legitimate translations. We are more familiar with "daily," which indicates a basic nourishment. "Supersubstantial" points to an extraordinary gift, the precise opposite (it would seem) of daily. Leave it to Benedict XVI to resolve the question by observing that to live the Christian life daily requires supersubstantial nourishment. Daily and supersubstantial. Quotidian and miraculous. There's a similar thing going on in today's account of the multiplication of loaves and fishes. It's an extraordinary event, so important that every Gospel writer records it. (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15) At the same time, it calls attention to what is ordinary in a Christian life. It's a supersubstantial miracle that teaches us about daily devotion. Specifically, it's a Eucharistic miracle that highlights what is normative for Eucharistic devotion. First, to depend on Christ. Although John doesn't mention it, the other Evangelists tell us that the crowds followed Jesus out to a "deserted place." They follow him to a place where they will be in need, a place beyond their own resources and abilities. So also, the Christian. To be nourished by the Eucharist (as opposed to just receiving Communion) requires that we first place ourselves in need of Him, and make ourselves dependent on Him. The Eucharist nourishes us to the extent that we depend on it. This means to follow Christ wherever He leads us. When given to the dying, the Eucharist is called viaticum, food for the journey. In fact, it's always and only meant for those on a journey. It doesn't nourish those content to remain in place but only those intent on following Christ, even out to deserted places. Second, to accept His teaching. In Mark's account last week, we heard that when he saw the crowds, "he taught them at great length." They received his word first before they received the miraculous bread. They believed before they were nourished, and they were nourished because they believed. The entire scene has the structure of the Mass: first the Liturgy of the Word and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist. And the bridge between them is the Creed, the profession of Faith. Because faith precedes and prepares for Communion. Third, to give Him our insufficiency. Jesus asks Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat." He doesn't ask because He needs the answer but because we need to reflect on the question. He already intends to perform a miracle. He asks this question to show that what needs to be done is beyond human power - and at the same time to invite human cooperation. Andrew comes to the rescue with the heroic boy who surrenders what little he has to the Lord. "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" This exchange captures both the inadequacy of the Apostles' resources and Jesus' desire to use them. Every day Jesus asks us to give Him our insufficiency. What He seeks to work within us and for us is beyond our comprehension and power. But He also wants to make us His cooperators in the work of salvation. He desires that we give what little we have so that He can accomplish great things with it. Imagine if that boy had refused to surrender his five loaves and two fish. If he had looked around, noticed that it was a deserted place and a big crowd, and thought, "I'd better hold on to what I have." Without that meager contribution, there would be no miracle. Without the giving from our inadequacy, He has nothing to work within our lives. At Mass, the Lord invites us to unite our prayers with his sacrifice. Those prayers are as insufficient as the boy's loaves and fish. But united to Christ in the sacrifice of the Mass, they take on greater power. Our prayers - insufficient in themselves - become superabundant through the hands of the priest. Finally, to guard th...