In yesterday’s post several scholarly views were presented. Perhaps we can also hear from some leading Catholic scholars. Fr. Raymond E. Brown,  author of The Birth of the Messiah and An Introduction to the New Testament sees this passage not merely as a miracle but as a prefiguration of the Eucharist. Jesus feeds the multitude just as He later offers His body to the disciples at the Last Supper. “The language and structure of this account deliberately resemble the words used at the Last Supper. The verbs ‘took,’ ‘blessed,’ ‘broke,’ and ‘gave’ (v. 16) clearly echo the Eucharistic formula.” 

Luke Timothy Johnson, author of The Gospel of Luke (Sacra Pagina Series, Vol. 3) draws parallels between Jesus and Moses, suggesting that this scene demonstrates Jesus as the New Moses, guiding and providing for a new people of God in the wilderness. “The setting of a ‘deserted place’ evokes the wilderness experience of Israel, and Jesus feeding the people mirrors God’s provision of manna through Moses.”