In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way--and some of them have come from a great distance." His disciples replied, "How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?" He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
"I have compassion for the crowd." Jesus often showed his great compassion for the individual person, here he shows it to the entire crowd of about four thousand people. Contrast that with the typical person's response, who may have great love for the person but dislike or even detest the crowd. Or one may profess a love of humanity but despise individuals.
"Where could anyone get bread enough to eat in a deserted place?" The deserted place is the world in which there is a great famine for hearing the Word of God and eating his body. The world, under the dominion of Satan, may be a wasteland for one seeking real food but it presents itself as anything but that. With a million amusements and pleasures it suggests to everyone that it is a rich banquet from which all may draw life. In fact it has never satisfied nor will it ever satisfy. The evidence for this is abundant but one need look no further than one's heart.
"He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground." Spiritually, it is often the case that our bodies must first be rested before receiving great graces. This is the case when, for example, one is on a retreat (particularly a solitude retreat) and the first few days are spent resting the body from its frenetic worldly activities. Symbolically, the people are told to recline as though at dinner. Pedagogically Christ is showing us that our bodies are part of who we are and therefore must be cared for (not, of course, in the obsessive, extreme way in which we preoccupy ourselves with our bodies in our day).
"He gave thanks for the bread." He did not lose himself in the moment and forget to give thanks nor was he deterred by the seeming absurdity of giving thanks for seven loaves to feed four thousand. So it is that Christ demonstrates for us the importance of recollection and trust. Recollection so we always remember to give God thanks and never to forget who we are or get caught up in the moment, trust so that we know that nothing is impossible for God and even the smallest things given to him can be multiplied for the many.
"Seven baskets of leftovers were gathered." First, how can we utter thanks to God for the gifts of food he gives us and then throw away the excess? It is part of our thanksgiving that we do not waste God's gifts. Second, this shows the overwhelming goodness of God. As with Cana and his other nature miracles Jesus shows us that when God gives, it isn't simply just enough to satisfy but rather his gifts overflow in overwhelming abundance. "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city." (Revelation 22.1)