Jesus Christ is the source of our sustenance. Today’s reading tells the story of the multiplication of the fishes and loaves. This story appears six times in the four Gospels and suggests to each of us the importance of how God sustains us. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the Eucharist is our daily “food for the journey” of life. Archbishop George Niederauer writes that the crowd in today’s reading sees the bread and fish only as a short-term feeding, with more to come soon. Their gratitude to Jesus fits the cynical maxim that they have “a lively sense of favors still to come.” They want a God they can harness and use for their desires rather than a God they can surrender to in love. So afterward, Jesus moves away from them quickly. By contrast, in the first reading, we hear about the apostles joyfully witnessing to Jesus as the risen Savior and their willingness to share in his sufferings on the Cross. Early teachers of our faith loved this comparison that just as many grains of wheat go to make up one loaf of bread, and many grapes go to make up one cup of wine, many different Catholics also go to make up the one body of those who believe in Christ. The Lord strengthens us to live out our faith together through the breaking of bread we partake in through the Eucharistic celebration.