In the Footsteps of our Faith by J.

Gil The Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha

In the Holy Land the name Tabgha is given to a district about three kilometers from Capernaum, extending inland from the shore of Lake Gennesareth. More specifically, it denotes a small part of this district: the place where our Lord multiplied five loaves and two fishes into enough to feed a crowd of five thousand men. Of the four accounts of this miracle given in the Gospel, the details given in St Marks enable it to be located close to Capernaum, close to the lake-shore, in an uninhabited area where there was plenty of grass:

Main facade of the Church. Photograph: Berthold Werner (Wikimedia Commons).

The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while. For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a lonely place

1 www.josemariaescriva.info

by themselves. Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat. But he answered them, You give them something to eat. And they said to him, Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat? And he said to them, How many loaves have you? Go and see. And when they had found out, they said, Five, and two fish. Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. (Mk 6: 30-44. Cf. Mt 14: 13-21; Lk 9: 10-17; and Jn 6: 1-15. St Matthew (15: 32-39) and St Mark (8: 1-10) also narrate the second miraculous multiplication.)

The cloistered square giving access to the Church of the Multiplication, with an olive-tree in the centre. Photograph: Derek Winterburn (Flickr).

The rock The stone on which the Lord placed the bread was afterwards made into an altar. From the start, the early Christians identified Tabgha as the place where this miracle had been
2 www.josemariaescriva.info

worked, just as they recalled that here was mountain where Jesus had pronounced the Beatitudes, and the part of the lake-shore where he had appeared after rising from the dead, when he brought about the second miraculous catch of fish. In the case of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, they venerated the exact rock on which the loaves and fishes had been placed by our Lord. The pilgrim Aetheria or Egeria, who travelled throughout the Holy Land in the fourth century, has left us a very valuable testimony about the existence of a church on that spot: Not far away from there (Capernaum) are some stone steps where the Lord stood. And in the same place by the sea is a grassy field with plenty of hay and many palm trees. By them are seven springs, each flowing strongly. And this is the field where the Lord fed the people with the five loaves and two fishes. In fact the stone on which the Lord placed the bread has now been made into an altar. People who go there take away small pieces of the stone to bring them prosperity, and they are very effective. Past the walls of this church goes the public highway on which the Apostle Matthew had his place of custom. Near there on a mountain is a cave to which the Saviour climbed and spoke the Beatitudes ( Appendix ad
Itinerarium Egeriae, II, V, 2-3 (CCL 175, 99)).

Interior of the church, built on the lines of the 5th-century Byzantine basilica, much of whose mosaic floor has been preserved. Photograph: Berthold Werner (Wikimedia Commons).

3 www.josemariaescriva.info

Judging from information given in later accounts, a church commemorating the multiplication of the loaves and fishes already existed in the sixth century. However, it must have suffered the effects of the Persian invasions in 614 or the Arabic invasions in 638, because Arculf, at the end of the seventh century, found nothing but some bare ruins (cf. Adamnan, De Locis
Sanctis II, XXIII (CCL 175, 218)). The church was not rebuilt, and even the memory of where it

had stood faded, and was confused with the site of the Church of the Beatitudes. This state of abandonment lasted until the nineteenth century, when the land was acquired by the German Association of the Holy Land. Thereafter the first archaeological excavations were carried out, in 1911, and completed with other studies in 1932, 1935 and 1969.

These works revealed the existence of two churches: a smaller one dating from the middle of the fourth century, which must have been the one seen by Egeria; and another larger one, with a central nave and two aisles, built in the second half of the fifth century. But above all the archaeological work confirmed the accuracy of the tradition that had been handed down, by bringing to light the remains of the altar, the venerable rock which showed that numerous fragments had been removed from it, and a mosaic of a basket of loaves flanked by two fishes.

The remnants of those two early churches can be seen today in the modern church, completed in 1982, which forms part of a Benedictine monastery. The basilica is built on the lines of the fifth-century Byzantine church, whose T-shaped structure it reproduces. It has the same central nave and two aisles, separated by thick columns and semicircular arches, with a transept, and an apse in the central nave. In the sanctuary, beneath the altar, stands the rock described by Egeria. When the second church was built in the fifth century, the rock was moved a few meters from its original position and set in the place where there would normally be relics. In front of this rock, on the mosaic floor, is the representation of the fishes and the basket of loaves, as a sign ratifying the local tradition. It may date from the fifth or sixth century. With its simple lines and the warm colour of the mosaic tesserae, it is powerfully evocative; anyone who has read the Gospel instantly grasps the event that it recalls.

4 www.josemariaescriva.info

View of the altar, near which are the rock venerated as the place where our Lord set down the loaves and fish; and the mosaic that confirms this tradition. Photograph: Leobard Hinfelaar.

There are other remains of great archaeological and artistic value. To the right of the altar, the remnants of the fourth-century church may be seen, protected by glass. The lowest stones of some of the walls rest on the Byzantine structure of basalt stone. In the floor a large part of the original mosaic flooring is preserved, with a geometric design in the aisles and nave, and richly figured in the two halves of the transept, showing various kinds of birds and plants found around Lake Gennesareth. On the evidence of an inscription found near the altar, this mosaic design, with its clear influences from the Nile valley, is attributed to Martyrios, an Egyptian monk who became Patriarch of Jerusalem from 478 to 486.

The mosaic of the loaves and fishes in front of the altar shows only four loaves. The intention of the designer cannot be known for certain, but the Benedictines in charge of the shrine give a theological explanation to pilgrims today: the missing fifth loaf is to be found on the altar, during Holy Mass: it is the Eucharist. Indeed, Christian faith has always seen the gift of the Blessed Sacrament as prefigured in the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes (cf.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1335).

The Bread of Life

5 www.josemariaescriva.info

The mosaic of the basket of loaves and two fish, possibly dating from the late 5th / early 6th century. Photograph: Berthold Werner (Wikimedia Commons).

This link is shown especially clearly in the Gospel of St John, who completes the account of the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes with the story of what happened next. The narrative takes up the whole of the sixth chapter. After feeding the crowd with the five loaves and two fishes, the disciples went on board a boat and headed for Capernaum. Halfway across the lake, when the rough waters were making the crossing difficult and dangerous, our Lord came to them, walking on the water. The next day, the crowds came in search of Jesus and found him in the synagogue at Capernaum, where he greeted them with these words: Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal (Jn 6: 26-27). So begins the discourse about the Bread of Life, in which our Lord reveals the mystery of the Eucharist. It is so rich that it is considered the sum and summary of our Faith (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, no. 1327). The sacrament of charity, the Holy Eucharist is the gift that Jesus

Christ makes of himself, thus revealing to us God's infinite love for every man and woman (Benedict XVI, Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, 22 February 2007, no. 1).

6 www.josemariaescriva.info

The mosaic floor in the transept, which is decorated with Byzantine designs clearly showing influences from the Nile valley, with local flora and fauna: flamingos, herons, otters, cormorants, swans and ducks. Photograph: Berthold Werner (Wikimedia Commons).

In the Mass, the holy Sacrifice of the Altar, an offering of infinite value, which perpetuates the work of the redemption in us, (Christ is Passing By, no. 86), Jesus our Lord comes to meet us, becoming really, truly, substantially present: his Body, his Blood, his Soul and his Divinity (cf.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1373-1374).

The God of our faith is not a distant being who contemplates indifferently the fate of men their desires, their struggles, their sufferings. He is a Father who loves his children so much that he sends the Word, the Second Person of the most Blessed Trinity, so that by taking on the nature of man he may die to redeem us. He is the loving Father who now leads us gently to himself, through the action of the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts.

This is the source of the joy we feel on Holy Thursday: the realisation that the Creator has loved his creatures to such an extent. Our Lord Jesus Christ, as though all the other proofs of his mercy were insufficient, institutes the Eucharist so that he can always be close to us. We can only understand up to a point that he does so because Love moves him, who needs nothing, not to want to be separated from us.
Christ is Passing By, no. 84

Jesus has remained within the Eucharist for love... of you. He remained, knowing how men would receive him... and how you would receive him. He has remained so that you could eat him, so that you could visit him and tell him about your things; and so that you could talk to him as you pray before the Tabernacle, and as you receive the Sacrament; and so that you could fall in love more and more each day, and make other souls, many souls, follow the same path (The Forge, no. 887).

7 www.josemariaescriva.info