Reflect prayerfully on the Scripture reading as you listen.

Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to [his] disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied. 

Mark 6:41-42

Lord Jesus, you fed the crowd with a miracle that multiplied five loaves and two fish. You continue to feed us today with the miracle of the Eucharist, your Body and Blood. We pray, O Lord, that you draw us nearer to you in the Eucharist so that, having been fed, we too can go out and do your will. 

Hail Mary... 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines a miracle as “a sign or wonder, such as  a healing or the control of nature, which can only by attributed to divine power.”

For Mark and the other Gospel authors, a miracle is an act of God that is witnessed by people. In the Bible, Jesus performs four main types of miracles. 

• The first type are miracles of healing. Jesus healed people of their diseases or ills. He even raised the dead! Examples include the paralyzed being able to walk, lepers being cured, and the raising of Jairus’s daughter from the dead. 

• The second type of miracle are miracles of the supernatural. Jesus cast out demons that had possessed people; such people were then able to regain control and rejoin their community. 

• The third type of miracle are miracles of nature, in which Jesus showed His power over nature. Examples include His walking on water and calming a storm. 

• The fourth type of miracles are miracles of supply, in which Jesus created something out of little or nothing, or made one thing become something else. Examples include the multiplication of the loaves and fishes to feed the crowd of 5,000. 

We do see many of these types of miracles in the Old Testament and in the Acts of the Apostles, but Mark focuses on Jesus’ performing miracles to show that He is the Messiah and the Son of God.