This week’s Gospel message for Sunday, July 25th is from John 6:1-15.
“Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him . . . [Jesus] said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?’. . . 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?’. . . Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them . . . 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’ . . . 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.’”
“Jesus was able to find a way to provide food for thousands by sharing what one person had and distributing it as far as it would stretch. We are called to find a way to share our plenty as far as it will go.” SOURCE: Pastoral Patterns, Summer 2021
DAILY READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday Exodus 32:15-24, 3-34; Matt 13:31-35
Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Memorial) – “The gospels tell us nothing about Mary’s parents, not even their names. What we know from Christian tradition is found in non-scriptural writings such as the Protogospel of James. Devotion to St. Anne existed in sixth-century Constantinople and in eighth-century Rome. By the sixteenth century this feast day was universal. Joachim has been honored in the East from the earliest days, but in the West only since the sixteenth century.”
Tuesday Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28; Matt 13:36-43
Wednesday Exodus 34:29-35; Matt 13:44-46
Thursday Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38; John 11:19-27
Saint Martha (Memorial) – “Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus is a model of hospitality as well as of fidelity in her discipleship. When Jesus came to raise Lazarus from the dead, it was Martha who went out to meet him and confess her belief that he was the Christ, the Son of God.”
Friday Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37; Matt 13:54-58
Saturday Lv 25:1, 8-17; Matt 14:1-12
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Memorial) – “Saint Ignatius of Loyola ministered to the poor and sick and had mystical experiences that formed the basis of his book of Spiritual Exercises. He earned a masters degree from the University of Paris. There he gathered other students for service to Jesus. After ordination the group went to Rome, where they became the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits.” SOURCE: Living With Christ, July 2021