After 70 years in exile, the Decree of Cyrus allowed Jewish people to return to Jerusalem, Monsignor Charles Kosanke, pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Detroit, said in the Aug. 2 bulletin.

The prophet Isaiah used an image of a banquet with free food and drink to depict their liberation. “This reflects God’s compassion and comfort,” Kosanke said in the bulletin. “He concludes with a promise that God’s covenant with his people will be renewed.”

This prepares the reader “to listen to the Gospel,” Kosanke continued. “Jesus disembarked from the boat and his heart expresses compassion. Jesus feeds a crowd of at least 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish.”

There was not only enough food for the crowd, but 12 wicker baskets of leftovers, representing the 12 tribes of the new Israel.

“These meals foreshadow the Eucharistic banquet with the four actions of Jesus: take, bless, broke, and give,” Kosanke concluded. “The Eucharist foreshadows the Heavenly banquet in Heaven. As we receive Holy Communion, we are nourished with the food from Heaven that strengthens our journey and prepares to sit at the eternal banquet."