The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – July 28, 2024
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July 27, 2024Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Starting this Sunday and continuing through Sunday, August 25 th the Church puts
aside its presentation of the Gospel of St. Mark to have us consider chapter 6 in
the Gospel of St. John. As Catholics we treasure this section of the gospel of St.
John as the “Bread of Life” discourse of the Lord. Last Sunday Catholics
throughout our land gathered in Indianapolis, Indiana for a Eucharistic Congress
as a sign that we are one in our love and honor for the Eucharistic Lord. In this
chapter of St. John’s gospel, we find deep insights into the meaning of the Holy
Eucharist through which Jesus remains present throughout the centuries to build
up His Church as He feeds our souls with His own most precious Body and
Blood. This would be a turning point in His ministry. Those who would reject
Him would not accept His Eucharistic doctrine.
As one would expect, Jesus began to foreshadow the sublime doctrine on the
Holy Eucharist with a miracle. This was not only to show His Divine nature and
authority, but to start at a point we can grasp. The multiplication of the loaves
and fish served a great need. The people were hungry and there was no food
readily available. We are not just souls. We have bodies that are material and
have physical needs. To live we must eat and drink. In the miracle Jesus shows
that He has the power to provide for our physical requirements. Yet there must
be much more. Perhaps the people recalled how God rained down manna from
heaven upon their fore fathers when they wandered through the desert at the
time of Moses. Hunger is basic and recalls all of our hungers, especially for love.
We are very needy and God knows that. He sent His Son to fulfill our most
fundamental needs, in particular those deepest in our hearts, at the depth of our
souls.
In the miracles, actions, words of Our Lord there is an inexhaustible source to
draw from in order to live our daily Christian lives. Clearly we are vulnerable and
limited. We can achieve very little on our own. We need God to step in where
we are weak and helpless. We have only the few buns and fish that make up
who we are. Not much more. Jesus meets us where we are and then lifts us up.
Through Him we can face our fears and have our needs met. By His grace we
are transformed to become more like God. We become God’s beloved sons and
daughters. Jesus offers Himself to us as best friend that we may never be alone.
His goodness to us far exceeds our limited human desires and wants. This
becomes clearer in the conversation Jesus has with us in John 6.
Yours in the Lord, Fr. Mark G. Mazza, Pastor
