How many loaves have you? (v 5) Jesus asks us today as he once asked his disciples.

Each of us has within us the "7 loaves and 2 fishes" that we call life! Clearly we too are are meant to give it all away...to pour ourselves out for those among us who have nothing at all! The compassion of Jesus is inexhaustible: he is the first to notice the hunger of this unusually large crowd, not only for the Word of God, but for food as well. They had been with him for 3 long days, probably exhausting their own resources by now! Jesus shows his protective concern for their plight, by calling his disciples to attend to them as well!

The disciples are invited to share whatever they had for themselves. Their giving up of their loaves and fishes provided the opportunity of a miracle of feeding a multitude! The "leftovers" were there to remind them of the immeasurable generosity of God for his ever-hungry people!

As long as we hold on to something for our own selves we will never get to see the miracle of sharing! We see this miracle happening each time disaster strikes countries; when food and medical supplies are rushed by agencies and individuals to alleviate hunger and thirst. But it is in our day to day living that we need to be attentive of another's needs... 'for it is in giving that we receive'. It is in giving generously and without counting the cost that we become more God-like!