“And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.”
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all — the fourfold action (took, gave thanks, broke, gave) is exactly the language of the Last Supper (Mark 14:22) — Mark's Eucharistic language applied to the feeding miracle. The looking up to heaven communicates prayer and divine acknowledgment; the thanks gives blessing to the Father; the breaking is the physical act of distribution; the giving to the disciples to distribute places them as the mediators between Jesus and the crowd. The miracle does not occur before the disciples' eyes but through their hands.
Church Fathers on Mark 6:41
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 say, 'And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came unto Him, and said, This is a desert place.
The time being far spent, points out that it was evening. Wherefore Luke says, 'But the day had begun to decline.'
This in the Gospel of John is the answer to 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.
Read all 13 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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