Sunday Connection

Gospel Reading
Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus feeds the crowd with five loaves and two fish.

Making the Connection (Grades 1, 2, and 3)

Younger children can develop generous and compassionate hearts by trusting in God’s abundant love for them.

Materials Needed

• two stickers per child

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Say: Today, I want to give you each a gift. Show children the stickers and have them help you count and sort them so that there are enough for every child to have two. Invite a volunteer to take two stickers and hand out the rest.
2. Say: Jesus teaches us that we are called to share and to give to others, especially those in need. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us more about giving.
3. Read aloud the first part of today’s Gospel, Matthew 14:13–17.
4. Say: Jesus felt compassion for the hungry crowd. He told the disciples to feed them. Ask: How many loaves of bread did the disciples have? (five) And how many fish? (two) Say: When we counted out the stickers, there were enough for everyone to have two. But there are thousands of people in the crowd. Ask: Does it seem like there is enough food for everyone? (No.) Say: If the disciples divided up the bread among all those people, there wouldn’t be enough crumbs for them! Let’s hear what Jesus does.
5. Read aloud the second part of today’s Gospel, Matthew 14:18–21.
6. Ask: Did all the people in the crowd get to eat? (Yes.) Say: Jesus blessed the food, and there was enough for everyone. There was even food left over. Jesus teaches us that with God, there is more than enough. Sometimes we might worry that if we give to others, there won’t be enough. But even when we have only a little to give, God blesses our generosity. God can use our seemingly small acts of giving to help others in ways we might not even imagine!
7. Close by praying that Jesus will help us be his generous and compassionate disciples. Pray together the Lord’s Prayer.

Gospel Reading
Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus feeds the crowd with five loaves and two fish.

Making the Connection (Grades 4, 5, and 6)

Older children are familiar with the procedures for sharing their things with others: divide what you have to produce equal portions. In today's Gospel, Jesus does something much more than this. He produces a feast of plenty from apparent scarcity. This is the kind of miracle God will work with our acts of generosity and compassion.

Materials Needed

• A small uncut loaf of bread
• Plastic knife
• Napkins

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Show the group the loaf of bread. Ask the group for some ideas about how this loaf of bread might be shared with the entire group. Have the group decide upon the best way to share the bread with everyone.

2. Say: You have all learned what it means to share what we have with others. This is very important. God wants us to share our time, talents, and possessions with others. But this is only the first aspect of the kind of sharing that Jesus taught us. Let's listen and reflect upon today's Gospel so that we might understand what God can do with our small acts of generosity.

3. Invite a volunteer to read aloud the first part of today's Gospel, Matthew 14:13-17.

4. Say: It was a very large crowd with Jesus that day. How many loaves and fish did the disciples report that they had? (five loaves, two fish) Could that number have been equally divided and shared with the crowd? If so, what would the portions have looked like? (Probably not; the portions would have been extraordinarily small.) Jesus seems to be making a very unreasonable request to his disciples. How do you think they felt? (Accept all reasonable answers.) Let's hear what happens next.

5. Invite another volunteer to read aloud the second part of today's Gospel, Matthew 14:18-21.

6. Ask: What did Jesus do with the bread and the fish? (He blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples; the disciples distributed the food to the crowd.) Does this sound familiar? When else did Jesus bless food, break it, and give it to the disciples? (at the Last Supper) This reading is about sharing what we have with others, and it is also about the Eucharist. How many people were fed? (more than 5,000) The Gospel tells us that they all ate and were satisfied and there were leftovers—12 baskets full!

7. Say: Jesus did more than divide what the disciples had to share; he multiplied their small offering of food. God blesses our acts of generosity and makes what seems scarce to be plentiful. This is indeed a miracle.

8. Conclude in prayer together, asking God to bless and multiply our small acts of generosity. Pray together the Prayer of Saint Francis or today's Psalm, Psalm 145.

Gospel Reading
Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus feeds the crowd with five loaves and two fish.

Making the Connection (Grades 7 and 8)

By way of cell phones and the Internet, today's technologically savvy young people emotionally connect with one another by sharing videos, songs, and pictures. The story of the multiplication of loaves and fish illustrates how Jesus shares himself in order to feed us spiritually.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Ask the young people what food they would order at this very moment if they had the chance.

2. Invite volunteers to share choices.

3. Explain that the human body needs energy and that there are detectors in our brains keeping track of our energy supplies.

4. Say: When energy levels get low, these detectors send out a signal, letting us know by making us hungry that we need to replenish our energy.

5. Tell the young people that we use the word hunger to describe human desire for needs other than food.

6. Arrange the young people in groups of three or four. Have them brainstorm a list of spiritual, emotional, and psychological things that humans typically hunger for. Examples are compassion, forgiveness, friendship, and affirmation.

7. After a few minutes, record each group's ideas on the board.

8. Say: Just as our bodies require the proper nourishment for energy, we also need the proper spiritual nourishment to meet our emotional needs. In this Sunday's Gospel, we learn about how Jesus feeds our spiritual hunger.

9. Have volunteers read aloud Matthew 14:13-21.

10. Ask: What do Jesus' disciples want to do with the hungry crowd? (dismiss or send the people away) What does Jesus use to feed the great crowd with? (five loaves of bread and two fish) What does this story teach us about our spiritual hunger? (Jesus feeds us.)

11. Say: Let's pray that in the days to come, we will turn to Jesus to ask for everything that we need—our daily bread.

12. Conclude this time together by praying aloud the Lord's Prayer.

Gospel Reading
Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus feeds the crowd with five loaves and two fish.

Family Connection

In our family life we can sometimes hear echoes of the disciples' excuses: “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Sometimes this echo is heard from children squabbling about the last piece of cake. Sometimes it is heard in our concern about the limits of the family's income or possessions. Sometimes this echo is heard in our complaints about the seemingly endless demands for our time and attention. Jesus understood these feelings and taught us to see beyond our limitations. Jesus modeled for us a compassion that reaches out to others, even when we would rather withdraw into ourselves. Jesus taught us that God blesses compassion offered to others with his grace. Today's Gospel reminds us that with God there is not only enough, there is an abundance!

Talk together about some of the stresses and demands for time and attention that your family members might feel. Acknowledge that we sometimes have to make difficult choices about how to use our time, talents, and treasure. Then read together today's Gospel, Matthew 14:13-21. Notice how much Jesus cared for the crowds, healing the sick even though he wanted to withdraw to a quiet place. Notice how the disciples responded to Jesus' instruction to feed the crowd; they noted their limited supply of food. Jesus blessed this limited supply of food, and it was enough to feed the entire crowd, more than 5,000 people, and there were leftovers! Pray together that Jesus will grant us compassion like his so that we will offer whatever we have to others with compassion and generosity. Pray together today's Psalm, Psalm 145, or the Lord's Prayer.