The boy with the loaves and fishes (Fr. J. Martin)

 One participant in the Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes is usually overlooked:  the boy…  But notice that it is from these few loaves and fishes, brought by this unnamed boy, that Jesus makes enough for the crowd… [T]he little he gave was the foundation of one of Jesus's greatest miracles… 

Jesus accepts what we give, blesses it, breaks it open and then magnifies it.  Often in ways that we don't see.  Or cannot see.  Or will not be able to see in this lifetime…  In this life we often feel that our efforts are inadequate.  We try to help our friends and family, but nothing seems to work.  We try to fix our children's lives, but it doesn't seem to help much.  We try to seek forgiveness, but others are still resentful.  We try to encourage people, but they still seem disconsolate.  We try to love, but it doesn't seem to be enough.  […]

Never doubt that the smallest act of love can be multiplied by God.  Just like the loaves and fishes from that boy, who was unnamed, unheralded, but ultimately very important indeed.

--Fr. James Martin, Facebook, July 29, 2012

(For more of Fr. Jim's reflections on the life of Jesus, 

read Jesus:A Pilgrimage.)

Image source:  Jacopo Tintoretto, The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, ca. 1545-1550, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York  (CHALLENGE:  Notice anything interesting about this painting??  Click on the image to enlarge it, or, better still, visit MOMA's website, and then click on their picture, and the image will fill your screen.)