Lectio 1
Lecture 1
Multiplicatio panum et piscium
Multiplication of the loaves and fishes
6:1 Post haec abiit Iesus trans mare Galilaeae, quod est Tiberiadis. [n. 839]
6:1 After these things, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias. [n. 839]
6:2 Et sequebatur eum multitudo magna, quia videbant signa quae faciebat super his qui infirmabantur. [n. 842]
6:2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles that he performed on those who were diseased. [n. 842]
6:3 Subiit ergo in montem Iesus, et ibi sedebat cum discipulis suis. [n. 845]
6:3 Jesus therefore went up into a mountain, and he sat there with his disciples. [n. 845]
6:4 Erat autem proximum Pascha, dies festus Iudaeorum. [n. 846]
6:4 Now the Pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. [n. 846]
6:5 Cum sublevasset ergo oculos Iesus, et vidisset quia multitudo maxima venit ad eum, dixit ad Philippum: unde ememus panes, ut manducent hi? [n. 847]
6:5 When Jesus had lifted up his eyes, and saw that a very great multitude came to him, he said to Philip: where shall we buy bread, that they may eat? [n. 847]
6:6 Hoc autem dicebat tentans eum: ipse enim sciebat quid esset facturus. [n. 850]
6:6 And he said this testing him, for he himself knew what he would do. [n. 850]
6:7 Respondit ei Philippus: ducentorum denariorum panes non sufficiunt eis ut unusquique modicum quid accipiat. [n. 851]
6:7 Philip answered him: two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that each one may take a little. [n. 851]
6:8 Dixit ei unus ex discipulis eius, Andreas frater Simonis Petri: [n. 853]
6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him: [n. 853]
6:9 Est puer unus hic qui habet quinque panes hordeaceos, et duos pisces; sed haec quid sunt inter tantos? [n. 853]
6:9 There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fishes, but what are these among so many? [n. 853]
6:10 Dixit ergo Iesus: facite homines discumbere. Erat autem foenum multum in loco. Discubuerunt ergo viri, numero quasi quinque milia. [n. 855]
6:10 Then Jesus said: make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand. [n. 855]
6:11 Accepit ergo Iesus panes, et cum gratias egisset, distribuit discumbentibus: similiter et ex piscibus quantum volebant. [n. 859]
6:11 Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to those who were sitting: in like manner of the fishes, as much as they wanted. [n. 859]
6:12 Ut autem impleti sunt, dixit discipulis suis: colligite quae superaverunt fragmenta, ne pereant. [n. 863]
6:12 And when they were filled, he said to his disciples: gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost. [n. 863]
6:13 Collegerunt ergo, et impleverunt duodecim cophinos fragmentorum ex quinque panibus hordeaceis, et duobus piscibus, quae superfuerunt his qui manducaverunt. [n. 865]
6:13 They gathered up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained after they had eaten. [n. 865]
838. Posita doctrina de vita spirituali qua Christus regeneratos vivificat, consequenter Evangelista agit de spirituali nutrimento quo Christus vivificatos sustentat, et
838. The Evangelist has presented the teaching of Christ on the spiritual life, by which he gives life to those who are born again. He now tells us of the spiritual food by which Christ sustains those to whom he has given life.
primo ponit visibile miraculum, quod fecit Christus exhibendo nutrimentum corporale;
First, he describes a visible miracle, in which Christ furnished bodily food.
secundo agit de nutrimento spirituali, ibi respondit eis Iesus, et dixit: amen, amen dico vobis, quaeritis me, non quia etc.
Second, he considers spiritual food: Jesus answered them and said: amen, amen I say to you, you seek me, not because you have seen miracles (John 6:26).
Circa primum duo facit.
He does two things about the first.
Primo ponit miraculum visibile de nutrimento corporali;
First, he describes the visible miracle about bodily nourishment.
secundo ostendit effectum miraculi, ibi illi ergo homines cum vidissent etc.
Second, he shows the effect this miracle had: now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done (John 6:14).
Circa miraculum duo ponit:
He tells us two things about this miracle.
scilicet eius circumstantias,
First, its circumstances,
et eius patratione, ibi et cum sublevasset oculos Iesus.
second, about its actual accomplishment: when Jesus had lifted up his eyes.
Circa primum tria facit.
As to the first he does three things.
Primo describit multitudinem quam pavit;
First he describes the crowd that Jesus fed,
secundo determinat locum ubi pavit, ibi subiit ergo in montem Iesus;
second, the place; at: Jesus therefore went up into a mountain;
tertio tempus quando pavit, ibi erat autem proximum Pascha etc.
third, the time: now the Pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand.
Circa primum tria facit.
As to the first he does three things.
Primo determinat locum quo multitudo eum sequitur;
First, he identifies the place where the crowd followed Jesus;
secundo turbam sequentem;
second, the people who followed him; and
tertio causam sequelae assignat.
third, he tells why they followed him.
839. Quo autem turba Dominum sequeretur, insinuat Evangelista cum dicit post haec abiit Iesus trans mare Galilaeae; idest, post mystica verba quae Dominus de sua potestate dixerat.
839. The Evangelist describes the place to which the crowd followed our Lord when he says, after these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, i.e., after the mysterious words Jesus had spoken concerning his power.
Mare autem istud Galilaeae frequenter in Scriptura et in diversis locis nominatur. Quia autem istud mare non est salsum, sed est quaedam congregatio aquarum ex influxu Iordanis, ideo a Luca dicitur stagnum, ut habetur Lc. V, 1; quia vero secundum proprietatem Hebraici idiomatis, omnes congregationes aquarum vocantur maria, secundum illud Gen. I, 10: congregationesque aquarum appellavit maria, ideo dicitur mare. Sed Genesareth cognominatur a natura loci: nam multum fluctuat ex reverberatione ventorum, qui ex ipsis aquae resolutionibus generantur: unde Genesareth in Graeco, idem est quod auram generans. Denominatur etiam Galilaeae a Galilaea provincia, in qua est. Tiberiadis vero a civitate sic dicta, quae erat ex una parte ipsius maris, ex opposito habens civitatem Capharnaum ex alia parte, quae prius vocabatur Zenereth, sed postea ab Herode tetrarcha instaurata in honorem Tiberii Caesaris, Tiberias appellata fuit.
This Sea of Galilee is mentioned frequently in various places in Scripture. Luke calls it a lake (Luke 5:1) because its water is not salty, but was formed from the waters flowing in from the Jordan. Yet it is still called a Sea, because in Hebrew all bodies of water are called seas: God called the waters ‘seas’ (Gen 1:10). It is also called Gennesaret because of the character of its location: for this water is tossed about a great deal, being buffeted by the winds that come from the vapors rising from its surface. Thus in Greek the word Gennesaret means ‘wind forming.’ It is called the Sea of Galilee from the province of Galilee in which it is located. Again, it is called the Sea of Tiberias from the city of Tiberias: this city was situated on one side of the sea, facing Capernaum on the opposite side. The city of Tiberias was formerly called Chinnereth, but later, when it was rebuilt by Herod the Tetrarch, it was renamed as Tiberias in honor of Tiberius Caesar.
840. Ratio autem litteralis quare Iesus abiit trans mare, assignatur a Chrysostomo, ut Christus cederet furori et turbationi Iudaeorum, quam conceperant contra Christum propter ea quae de se supra dixerat. Unde, ut ipse dicit, sicut iacula cum in durum aliquod incidunt gravius feriunt, quae autem non habuerint aliquod obvians, dissolvuntur cito immissa, et quiescunt; ita et cum audacibus hominibus impetuose et resistendo incesserimus, saeviunt magis; si autem eis cesserimus, facile mollimus eorum insaniam. Propterea Christus furorem Iudaeorum ex praemissis sermonibus natum, secedendo trans mare, mitigavit; dans nobis in hoc exemplum simile faciendi. Eccli. VIII, 14: ne stes contra faciem contumeliosi.
840. The literal reason why Jesus crossed the sea is given by Chrysostom: to give ground to the anger and agitation which the Jews felt against Christ because of the things he had said about them. As Chrysostom says: just as darts strike a hard object with great force if they meet it, but pass on and soon come to rest if nothing is in their way, so also the anger of defiant men increases when they are resisted, but if we yield a little, it is easy to keep their fury within bounds. So Christ, by going to the other side of the sea, was able to soften the anger of the Jews, caused by what he had said. He thus gives us an example to act in the same way: do not be provoked by one who speaks evil of you (Sir 8:14).
841. Mystice autem per mare, praesens saeculum turbidum designatur; Ps. CIII, v. 25: hoc mare magnum et spatiosum manibus.
841. In the mystical sense, the sea signifies this present troubled world: this great sea, stretching wide (Ps 103:25).