THE 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME AND THE PRE-FIGURING OF THE EUCHARIST IN THE MULTIPLYING OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES............

On this 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Year B, we turn from the Gospel of Mark, the usual canon of New Testament Christian Scripture of Good News we hear proclaimed at Mass, to John's Gospel and the passage and proclamation of the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.  the meaning of this Gospel is multi-layered in purpose and meaning.  It begins with the reality of the physical hunger of the 5,000 who need to be fed.  It brings forth the generosity of the boy who is willing to offer all he has for the benefit of others.  Out of the boy's generosity and trust in Jesus, and his sharing of the five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus is able to miraculously provide enough to feed the masses; mirroring the way the Prophet Elisha miraculously multiplied the loves to feed one hundred people in today's First Reading.  The physical feeding accomplished by the generosity and trust shown, and the power of God exacted, also bore another even more lasting fruit, in feeding the spiritual hingers of the people who were fed.  Thus the deeper meaning and purpose of our Sunday Scriptures today is in their prefiguring of the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, that is the Bread of Life, which spiritually renders the food of Everlasting Life for Believers who follow Jesus The Christ.  As we feed on God's Word, and the Blessed Sacrament of our Salvation in Jesus the Lord of Creation, may this Sunday feed you physically and spiritually to give Glory, Honor, and Praise, to God in Christ............Fr.  Troy