Our Lord knows all our needs, both bodily and spiritually. He knows that we need to be fed to sustain our bodies, but He also knows that our spirits require sustenance too. We receive food for our bodies to help them be strong and productive, and we likewise receive food for our spirits to allow them to yield the fruits that come from the strength that our spiritual food in the Eucharist provides each one of us.
In our first reading, and in our Gospel, we hear of the food that the prophet Elisha, and that our Lord himself multiply to allow those who have followed them to be sustained. This sustenance allows them to continue to journey and to stay with them to learn what each has in mind to teach them. As human beings it is difficult for us to function when we are not sustained, our bodies and minds suffer when we do not have the food necessary to allow us to function properly. Our Lord knows this, and it was his purpose to provide the food to the people to both allow them to function, but also to demonstrate to them that He would provide for them, and that they did not need to worry about their needs. They could rely on Him completely.
Likewise, when we receive His body and blood through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we can be confident that our spirits are sustained to allow us to yield the fruits of the spirit that He calls us to give to one another. To be patient, kind, and loving to one another in order to fulfill what we are called to be to one another in the one body of Christ. When we do this, we can fully participate as the parts of that body, and work together to fulfill to the fullest potential what our Lord has in mind for each one of us.
The Deacons Bench 