|
Vol. 36 No. 42
Cycle B
17th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
God is in his holy dwelling; he will give a home to the lonely, he gives power
and strength to his people.
PENITENTIAL RITE
Jesus asked the disciples to feed the large crowd in order to test them. Through
today’s liturgy, he challenges us to examine our Christian compassion and care
for the needy, especially the hungry people around us. Let us today ask the Lord
for his mercy and pardon for our failure in sharing our resources with the poor
and the needy.
I confess...
Glory to God...
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray: God our Father and protector, without you nothing is holy, nothing
has value. Guide us to everlasting life by helping us to use wisely the
blessings you have given to the world. We ask this…
FIRST READING
(Elisha, the man of God feeds 100 people with 20 loaves. They all ate and had
some left over. God’s hand is instrumental in working this miracle.)
A reading from the second Book of the Kings (4:42-44)
A man came from Baalshalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the first
fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha
said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” But his servant said, “How am I to
set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they
may eat, for thus says Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left’.” So he set it
before them. And they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.
This is the Word of the Lord
PSALM (144)
Response: You open wide your hand, O Lord, and grant our desires.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their
blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O
God. R./
The eyes of all creatures look to you and you give them their food in due time.
You open wide your hand, grant the desires of all who live. R./
The Lord is just in all his ways and loving in all his deeds. He is close to all
who call him, who call on him from their hearts. R./
SECOND READING
(Paul, the prisoner of God, asks the people to live a life worthy of their
calling, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of
peace.)
A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians (4:1-6)
I, Paul, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling
to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience,
forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the
one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God
and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.
This is the Word of the Lord
ACCLAMATION (Jn 14:6)
Alleluia! Alleluia! I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to
the Father, but by me. Alleluia!
GOSPEL
(Jesus performs the miracle of multiplication of bread to teach us that God
cares for us and we need to be compassionate, loving, caring and generous.)
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (6:1-15)
Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those
who were diseased. Jesus went up into the hills, and there sat down with his
disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his
eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip,
“How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” This he said to test
him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred
denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a
lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so
many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the
place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the
loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were
seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their
fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing
may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw
the sign which he had done, they said, “This is indeed the prophet who is to
come into the world!”
Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him
king, Jesus withdrew again to the hills by himself.
This is the Gospel of the Lord
I believe in God,/the Father almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe
in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the
Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was
crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he
rose again./He ascended into heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the
Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the
Holy Spirit,/the holy catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness
of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen.
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, let us now pray for the needs of each of us, of
our community and of our world, knowing that we have a loving, caring and
compassionate God.
Response: Lord, we trust in your love.
1. We pray for the Church which is the body of Christ. May she always shine in
the world as a sacrament of God’s special love and care for the poor and the
needy. R./
2. We pray for the Pope, Bishops, priests, deacons and religious men and women,
may they be living witnesses of God’s providential love and compassionate
sharing. R./
3. We pray for all those who are blessed with wealth. May they know that God
alone is the source of all riches and gifts which are entrusted to them for
sharing with the needy and the less fortunate ones in this world. R./
4. We pray for those suffering from famine, sickness, violence and calamities.
May the healing and compassionate presence of the Lord and Christian communities
all over the world bring them human dignity, courage and hope for living. R./
(Pray for local and personal needs)
Cel: Lord, we thank you for your spiritual and material blessings. Give us
compassionate and generous hearts to share what have with the needy so that all
your children may be blessed with enough to feed on and live in human dignity
and freedom. We make this...
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Lord, receive these offerings chosen from your many gifts. May these mysteries
make us holy and lead us to eternal joy. Grant this…
PREFACE (P 30)
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to
give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Out of love for sinful humanity, he humbled himself to be born of the Virgin.
By suffering on the cross he freed us from unending death, and by rising from
the dead he gave us eternal life.
And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join
in their unending hymn of praise:
All: Holy, holy, holy...
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
O, bless the Lord, my soul, and remember all his kindness.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord, we receive the sacrament which celebrates the memory of the death and
resurrection of Christ your Son. May this gift bring us closer to our eternal
salvation. We ask this…
Liturgy & Life
The people who followed Jesus in their enthusiasm had not
rested or eaten for quite some time now. They are in a far away deserted place
where there was no possibility to get any food. Besides, it was an impossible
situation as there was no one so rich enough as to buy food for such a large
crowd. It was soon getting dark. Many might have begun to curse their decision
to come such a distance without carrying food with them. Thus there was this
huge crisis situation.
Jesus is aware of the crisis and notices their need. He feels their hunger and
their frustration. He decides to act. Perhaps this was the moment to let these
people know that the God whom he preaches to them is a God of love and
compassion. Thus his question to Philip comes straight from his heart: “Where
shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” John the evangelist, in his
characteristic style, tells that he asked this question to test him. He knew
what he was going to do. The miracle unfolds. People are fed and satisfied. They
gather up the left over in 12 baskets!
Poverty and hunger, famine and malnourish-ment are huge problems the world faces
today. At the face of such cruel and hopeless reality, like Philip, we express
our inability and helplessness: “What can I do at such an insurmountable
problem? After all I am not responsible for the world’s hunger and poverty. Why
did God create the poor? Even if I do something, what difference is it going to
make?” But today’s miracle teaches us two important lessons:
1. God sees and is concerned about the hunger and famine in this world. When
everyone was cursing and complaining about the crisis situation in that deserted
place, Jesus alone thought of doing something practical. When the disciples
expressed their helplessness, he challenged them to make the people sit down and
feed them with food. He sees our sufferings and acts on it. He provides for our
needs.
2. God wants each of us to cooperate with him in wiping out this menace. He
needs our generous and compassionate hands to bring solace to the hungry and
needy people. First he challenged Philip to think about feeding the people. But
the miracle of the multiplication unfolded only when the little boy with five
barley loaves and two fish brought what he had and gave to Jesus. Then he again
asked his disciples to make people sit down, feed them, and gather the left
over. At every stage Jesus demands the helping hands and generous hearts of his
collaborators. Today we are the collaborators in God’s hands to bring solace to
others, especially the hungry people. God has created and continues to maintain
this world with enough resources for all His children to feed on. However, the
unequal distribution of resources is the villain. Like that little boy in
today’s gospel, if all are sensitive enough to see the crisis and generous
enough to open up and share their resources with the needy, no one in this world
needs to go to bed hungry or walk half naked. We need not feel frustrated at the
enormity of the problem as God is able to work a miracle even with the little we
are able to share if it is shared with real love. Are we willing to take up this
challenge as we go out of this Church today?
“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of
understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God.” –
Bl. Teresa of Kolkata)
—Fr Joe Eruppakkatt, ssp
July/August 2009
READINGS OF THE WEEK
Psalter Week 1
27 Mon (G) Ex 32:15-24,30-34; Ps 105:19-20,21-22,23; Mt
13:31-35
28 Tue (W) St Alphonsa Muttathupadathu, vg (mem) Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9,28;
Ps 102:6-7,8-9,10-11,12-13; Mk 13:36-43
29 Wed (W) St Martha (mem) 1 Jn 4:7-16; Ps 33:2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9,10-11; Jn 11:19-27
or Lk 10:38-42
30 Thu (G) Ex 40:16-21; 34-38; Ps 83:3,4,5-6a&8a,11; Mt 13:47-53
31 Fri (W) St Ignatius Loyola (mem) Lev 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34b-37;
Ps 80:3-4,5-6ab,10-11ab; Mt 13:54-58
1 Sat (W) St Alphonsus Liguori (mem) Lev 25:1,8-17; Ps 66:2-3,5,7-8ab; Mt
14:1-12
|