Gospel (Jn 6,1-15) - At that time, Jesus crossed to the other shore of the Sea of Galilee, that is, Tiberias, and a large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs that he performed on the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat there with his disciples. Easter, the Jewish feast, was near. Then Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him and said to Philip: "Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?". He said this to test him; in fact he knew what he was about to do. Philip replied to him: "Two hundred denarii of bread are not enough even for everyone to receive a piece." Then one of his disciples, Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, said to him: «There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what is this for so many people?”. Jesus replied: "Make them sit down." There was a lot of grass in that place. So they sat down, and there were about five thousand men. Then Jesus took the loaves and, after giving thanks, gave them to those who were sitting, and he did the same with the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples: "Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing is lost." They collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over from those who had eaten. Then the people, seeing the sign that he had performed, said: "This is truly the prophet, the one who comes into the world!". But Jesus, knowing that they were coming to take him to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain, he alone.

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus "lifted his eyes and saw a large crowd coming towards him", notes the evangelist. It is proper to the Lord not to keep his eyes fixed on himself and look at the tired and exhausted crowds, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus is an example to all of us so that we learn to lift our eyes at least a little from ourselves and our problems in order to be able to see others a little too. Those crowds stood next to Jesus because they needed him. Until we too rediscover this need, it is difficult for us to behave like those crowds. Those men and women had even forgotten to eat to listen to Jesus! And Jesus had compassion on him. In fact, it is he, not the disciples, who realizes the need for bread that the crowd had. Jesus calls Philip and asks him: «Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?». Jesus is not used to sending anyone back, even those who don't ask even though they are in need. He reads the heart and prevents us from giving us what we need. After all, he is like this (or should be like this) of every good father and every good mother. And God is always good, both with good children and with recalcitrant ones. He cannot resist the need of his children. This is what happens in this evangelical scene. Without the disciples understanding, indeed against all reason, he orders people to sit on the grass. «The Lord is my shepherd: I lack nothing; on grassy pastures he makes me rest", sings Psalm 23. When everyone is seated he takes the bread and after thanking God he distributes it to everyone. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, where the disciples are in charge, here it is Jesus himself who distributes the bread. He is the good shepherd who guides, cares for and feeds his flock. And he feeds it directly and abundantly: in fact, there remain "twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over from those who had eaten". Five barley loaves were enough to feed five thousand people. It was enough to place them in the hands of the Lord; these hands do not hold anything back for themselves, they are used to opening up with great generosity. The miracle began from the heart of a boy who made his five barley loaves available; the miracle can continue if we, like that boy, put what little we have into the hands of the Lord, but willingly and generously. The crowd was in such admiration that they wanted to proclaim Jesus king. He fled from them and retreated to the mountain. Jesus did not want to demean the urgency of bread, if anything he wanted to underline the need to nourish oneself with true bread: friendship with him.