But is it possible to pray for wealth when poverty is good for us? Is it possible to ask for the reciprocity of women's love if it is useful for us to languish in the anguish of unrequited affection? Is it possible to sigh in prayer for the comfort and conveniences of life?

Of course not. All this is vanity of vanities and all kinds of vanity.

Such requests can only anger the Lord. "From the great king," says one holy writer, "you must ask for great and useful things, and if you ask for a little dirt, then by this you only insult Him."

If we are not absolutely sure of the spiritual benefit of the person who asks, then it is best to leave the fulfillment of the request to the will of God.

"If you ask your God for something," writes St. Ephraim the Syrian, "then ask not in such a way as to receive it from Him, but leaving it to Him and His will. For example, you are often oppressed by evil thoughts, and you grieve over this and want to beseech God to free you from the battle. But often this is good for you, my brother. For I say that often this happens to you, so that you do not be puffed up, but be humble-minded. Likewise, if any sorrow or distress has befallen you, do not ask that you may be delivered from them, for this too is often beneficial. And again, if you ask to receive something, do not ask in order to receive it without fail. For I say that you, as a man, often consider it useful for yourself, which is often useless for you.

Listen to what the Apostle says: "Do not know how it is fitting to pray" (Rom. VIII, 26). Thus, what is useful and edifying for each of us, God Himself knows; therefore leave it to Him. I say this not in order to prevent you from turning your petitions to God; on the contrary, I beseech you to ask Him for everything, both great and small. Stand firm in your petition (pray with all earnestness and unceasingly), but, revealing your needs to Him, say: If it is Thy will, O Lord, that this should come to pass, then do it and make it successful; and if it is not Thy will for this, do not allow it to happen, O my God! Only strengthen and preserve my soul, that I may be able to endure this."

Chapter VIII, Articles 1-10

Again the Evangelist tells of the great, amazing miracle of feeding several thousand people with a few loaves of bread. An incident almost analogous to that narrated in the sixth chapter of the same Gospel. The only slight difference is in the figures: there were five thousand eaters, here four; there they are fed with five loaves of bread, here with seven. But the essence of the miracle is the same: in both cases we see the manifestation of the amazing Divine almighty power of the Lord.

As in the first case, so now the Lord draws His disciples to participate in the miracle: again they have to take upon themselves the task of distributing the blessed bread to the people, again they are intermediaries between Christ: both His listeners, and again through them His grace-filled power works a great miracle.

This is no coincidence. If in general all the words and actions of the Lord have never been an accidental play of moods, but have always had an inner deep meaning, then all the more so the same technique, repeated twice, indicates that there is some definite purpose here. Repetition under the same conditions is almost a system.

What is this goal?

In the period to which the described event belongs, the Lord more and more passes from public preaching to the more private task of educating only a select few in the spirit of His teaching. He is more and more confined to the narrow circle of His disciples and entrusts to them mainly the words of eternal life. They must be continuers of His work, and in order to be reliable followers and worthy disciples of His Great Teacher, they still have much to learn. That is why He gives them so much attention, lovingly and patiently nurturing them for future service.

Twice calling His disciples to practical participation in the work of love performed by Him in the form of a miracle, the Lord undoubtedly has in mind all the same educational tasks. The distribution of bread to hungry people is an episode in the history of the education of the apostles, it is a pedagogical device used by the Lord in order to evoke in them certain feelings, thoughts and moods.

The nature of these feelings, which the Savior wants to instill in the hearts of His disciples, is partly clarified later, in verses 17-21 of the same chapter.