| Saturday, July 25th, 2015, 7:00 AM |
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Maranatha, Maranatha,
Come, Oh Lord.
And set us free!
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In Deo Speramus
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(In God We Hope) |
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Miracle of the Bread and Fish
Giovanni Lanfranco, between 1620 and 1623
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Jesus took the loaves,
gave thanks, and distributed them
to those who were reclining,
and also
as much of the fish as they wanted. |
| First Reading 2 KGS 4:42-44 A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God,
twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits,
and fresh grain in the ear.
Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat."
But his servant objected,
"How can I set this before a hundred people?"
Elisha insisted, "Give it to the people to eat."
"For thus says the LORD,
'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'"
And when they had eaten, there was some left over,
as the LORD had said.
The Word of the Lord
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Discussion Questions
1.
Twenty loaves won't be enough to feed the crowd. Elisha knows this. He has to trust God over his own logic. Is this leap-of-faith kind of trust ever required in your life? Does this kind of trust become easier with practice? Discuss.
2. Both Elisha and the man from Baal-shalishah had to trust that a miracle would happen. Do you consider anything as a miracle besides "something that breaks the laws of nature"? What are some everyday miracles in your life?
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| Second Reading EPH 4:1-6 Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
The Word of the Lord
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Discussion Questions
1. Paul reminds the brothers and sisters to "preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit." Was this a directive only for the Ephesians? What do you do to preserve unity?
2. Which would be better, to preserve the peace by not talking to anyone we disagree with, or to preserve the unity by staying at the table and talking it out?
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| Alleluia, alleluia. LK 7:16 A great prophet has arisen in our midst.
God has visited his people.
Alleluia, alleluia. |
| Gospel JN 6:1-15 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
"Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
"Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little."
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?"
Jesus said, "Have the people recline."
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
"Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted."
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
"This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone. The Gospel of the Lord |
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Discussion Questions:
1.
Pope Francis says that the "food was shared fairly ... no one was deprived." What are the implications for us regarding the inequality of resources and starvation all over the world?
Jesus fed the multitude with five loaves and two fish. And the end of this passage is important: "and all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces" (
Lk 9:17) and (Jn 6:12). Jesus asked the disciples to ensure that nothing was wasted: nothing thrown out! And there is this fact of 12 baskets: why 12? What does it mean? Twelve is the number of the tribes of Israel. It represents symbolically the whole people. And this tells us that when the food was shared fairly, with solidarity, no one was deprived of what (s)he needed. Every community could meet the needs of its poorest members. Human and environmental ecology go hand in hand.
Pope Francis, General Audience Saint Peter's Square,
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
2. What do you think God is more likely to do, miraculously drop food where there is starvation or inspire people to help their neighbors solve their problems? If the latter, how can you help (through the Holy Spirit) in third world countries, your city, diocese, parish, office, or neighborhood?
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Oremus pro invicem
(Let us pray for one another)
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Jesus,
on the feast
of Unleavened Bread
you showed what they needed to see. The mysterious and bountiful power
of God. You blessed their gifts,
made them many,
and fed the
crowd. They had
more than their fill.
So much was left unused. Please take our gifts as well.
Bless them, grow them,
make them
holy. Make us
goodhearted
about these gifts you give us.
Cause us to use them caring for this
needy world.
Amen
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| For what are we born if not to aid one another? Ernest Hemingway "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then we'll have peace." By: Jimi Hendrix "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." Abraham Lincoln If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.
1 John 4:12
Deus fit homo ut homo fieret Deus God became human so that humans might become God (Catholicism, Page 2 by Fr. Robert Barron) "The Glory of God is a human being fully alive." Meyers, Robin R. (2009-02-19). Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus (Kindle Location 639). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
God "dwells in us."
God's love is not meant for us alone;
we must give it away.
Do small things today and for many tomorrows,
with a generous heart.
Give God Away Today!
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Help us then, Lord,
to be so united with the paschal mystery of Jesus,
that through Him the world can become a better place to dwell.
You promise us much for this life
and for our eternal presence with You;
may we live into that promise
each day.
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An interesting thought:
The birth of St. John is celebrated on June 24th, in the moment of the summer solstice. From that point onward, daylight begins to reduce. On the other hand, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is celebrated on December 25th, during the winter solstice. From that point onward, daylight begins to grow, to get longer.
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