Seminarian, Omar Lara, will offer his thanks at all Masses

Second Collection for Omar to support his studies

4th Sunday Blessings for those who are sick

Mass in Vietnamese on Sunday at 3:30 pm

First Reading:

“For thus says the LORD,

‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” (2 Kgs 4:43)

Psalm:

The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs. (Ps 145)

Second Reading:

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. (Eph 4:4-6)

Gospel:

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. (Jn 6:11)

FULL READINGS 

July 28, 2024

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The world is filled with people whose basic needs aren’t met, whether for clean water, nutrition, safety, education, meaningful work, stable family life, basic medical resources, religious freedom, and the right to life. So how can we possibly believe what Psalm 145 says to us this week, “The hand of the Lord feeds us, he answers all our needs”? Does he? What about the countless poor? Can’t we identify at least a few unmet needs in our own lives right now? Is the Bible promoting wishful thinking and laziness in helping others?

No. The psalm flows from Israel’s experience of God’s relentless fidelity again and again —especially in the Passover from Egypt. This divine providence is recalled when Jesus feeds the needy multitudes in the Gospel of John. Passover arrives once again, and the people are hungry like the ancient Israelites on the wilderness journey. What is new is that in Jesus God not only provides for their needs, but He learns what it’s like to have those human needs. He shares them

too. He feeds them bread and fish; and even more, He hungers to provide them, and us, much more than just that kind of perishable food.

Our deepest need is for God. Like the multiplied bread, all earthly provisions ultimately fail, for we all finally die. Of course, our obligation to meet the needs of the poor is basic. But Christ promises to feed us with the one bread that never fails: God Himself. He is humanity’s eternal food. If we eat this bread, we taste the faithfulness of God who answers all our needs, even when every earthly thing fails.

— Father John Muir

©LPi

St. Katharine Drexel

Born in Philadelphia, St. Katharine Drexel (November 26, 1858 – March 3, 1955), grew up to become one of the first American-born saints. Her mother passed away when she was only five weeks old. Her father, a renowned banker, remarried a wonderful woman, and together they raised St. Katherine Drexel and her two sisters in a life of privilege. Both financially and spiritually well-endowed, the Drexels were devout Catholics and set an excellent example of true Christian servitude with prayer and care for the poor.

After her father’s death, St. Katharine considered joining a contemplative order. However, during an audience with the Pope while on a trip to Rome with her sister, when she asked for more missionaries to be sent to the American West, the Pope asked her to become a missionary herself! Now known as the Apostle for Social Justice, St. Katharine gave up her inheritance and instead devoted her life to the material and spiritual well-being of Black and Native Americans. She established the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored, and together they opened a boarding school in Santa Fe, the first of 50 missions for Native Americans in 16 states. At the time of her death, she had also established a system of 63 schools, including Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans. Believing that education was the key to opportunity, her love of the Blessed Sacrament sustained her mission.

At 77, she suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire from active ministry. She spent the next 20 years of her life in quiet yet intense prayer. She died at the age of 96 and was canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II. St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us!

©LPi

Take More

By Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman

It doesn’t matter what time of day we visit my mother-in-law — she always has food to offer. If we take two helpings, she will encourage us to take three. If we take three helpings, she will say, “Coraggio — take more.” (She’s Italian, in case you couldn’t tell from the food-pushing and the language.)

When Jesus feeds the five thousand with the miracle of the loaves and fish, he does not produce just enough food to feed everyone who is there. He certainly could — that would be within his power. And he shows concern about waste, so it would make sense for him to do that. But instead, he deliberately overproduces. He creates more food than is necessary. He makes an abundance of it. Why?

I think it’s for the same reason my mother-in-law keeps urging us to eat when we come to her house. Feeding people is not just a functional action. It’s a gesture. It shows love. It shows concern. It shows welcome. Having an abundance of food — so much that there is some left over — is a sign that you don’t care how much someone wants — you are ready to give whatever they are ready to take. You are ready to give recklessly. You are ready to give them not just all they need but also all they could want.

I think of this when I approach the sacrament of Confession. Time and time again I walk up to the door of that little room, a list of oft-repeated sins in my hand and a sense of shame on my heart.

Here I am again, Jesus. Back for more mercy. Hope you haven’t run out.

He hasn’t yet. He never will. “Coraggio,” he whispers deep in my heart, “take more.”

“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.’” — John 6:14

Please pray for those for whom Mass is offered this week:

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