Gospel (Mt 14,13-21) - At that time, having heard [of the death of John the Baptist], Jesus left from there in a boat and withdrew to a deserted place by himself. But the crowds, hearing about it, followed him on foot from the cities. When he got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd, felt compassion for them and healed their sick. As evening fell, the disciples approached him and said to him: «The place is deserted and it is now late; send the crowd away to go to the villages to buy food." But Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go; you yourselves give them something to eat." They answered him: «Here we have nothing but five loaves and two fish!». And he said, "Bring them here to me." And, after ordering the crowd to sit on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, recited the blessing, broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowd. Everyone ate their fill, and took away the leftover pieces: twelve baskets full. Those who had eaten were about five thousand men, not counting the women and children.

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Let us reflect again on the multiplication of the loaves, as it is presented to us in the Gospel of Matthew. And it begins with Jesus' observation that, after having learned the news of the Baptist's death, he wants to retreat to a deserted place. The desert is the place of trial and prayer. The crowds, having heard about it, preceded him. And the desert also becomes a place of hunger: think of the growing number of poor and lonely people, the innumerable ranks of those fleeing wars and hunger and those who in any case seek a more peaceful future. The evangelist notes that it was a deserted place, but perhaps more than a physical desert - so much so that we then talk about the grass - the intent is to underline the absence of love, solidarity and peace that makes our cities like a desert , as impossible places to live well. It is for these crowds who inhabit deserted places that Jesus "felt compassion". Even the disciples have a feeling of compassion, so much so that they suggest to Jesus to send the people away since they were in a deserted place and it was now evening. This is a more than reasonable observation: «The place is deserted – they tell Jesus – and it is now late; send the crowd away to go to the villages to buy food." This compassion of the disciples, however, was marked by resignation. And many times we too are resigned to the present condition thinking that it is impossible to change the ordinary course of things. For Jesus it is not like this: «There is no need for them to go; you yourselves give them something to eat." The Lord knows well that there is little in the hands of the disciples: just five loaves and two fish. But he still calls them to respond to the needs of that crowd. Jesus knows well that it is not the natural gifts of the disciples that work the miracle. The Lord performs the miracle as long as we place our trust in his hands, that is, those few loaves and fishes we have. In fact, the Lord multiplies our energies, our strengths if we entrust ourselves to him.