When the disciples came to Jesus with the request to dismiss the people in order to go find food, Jesus
challenged them with the question: “Why do you not give them something to eat yourselves?” That question
should haunt us today.
More than enough food is grown to feed everyone on this planet. “Why do you not give them something to
eat yourselves?”
More than 60,000 people will die of hunger on this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. Two-thirds of them
will be children. “Why do you not give them something to eat yourselves?”
Nearly one in five people worldwide is chronically malnourished—too hungry to lead a productive, active life.
“Why do you not give them something to eat yourselves?”
One-third of the world’s children are significantly underweight for their age. “Why do you not
give them something to eat yourselves?”
The amount of money the world spends on weapons in one minute could feed 2,000 malnourished children for a
year. “Why do you not give them something to eat yourselves?”
Jesus is our living bread. It is his obvious intention that we be well fed. The Eucharist, a great gift from
the same God that sent the manna in the desert, should strengthen the determination of both the hungry and the
satisfied to do what it takes to eliminate hunger.
If a person is in extreme necessity, he has the right to take from the riches of others what he himself needs.
Vatican II, Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, 1965: 69
from Religious Clip Art for the Liturgical Year (A, B, and C). This art may be reproduced only by parishes who purchase the collection in book or CD-ROM form. For more information go http://www.ltp.org