Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 29, 2012

2 Kings 4:42-44; Psalm 145; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15

          No one has ever become poor by being generous. When we hit scarcity in our lives, we might tend to hold back on our generosity so we have enough to survive. It is natural to conserve limited resources. This is evidenced in 2 Kings when Elisha receives twenty barley loaves from fresh grain from a man from a neighboring town. Elisha tells him to set it before a hundred people so they may eat. The man is reticent because he knows it is not enough to satisfy everyone, but when he complies with Elisha's request everyone has more than enough to eat - and there's a sufficient amount left over.

          Jesus re-enacts Elisha's multiplication of the bread, but on a much grander scale. The gathering crowd reaches over five thousand men - and this does not include their families. To emphasize the immensity of the situation, Philip replies, "Two hundred days wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little." The disciple Andrew notes that he sees a boy who has five loaves of bread and two fish. He sees that amount as insignificant. No apparent solution can be found and the disciples are surprised that Jesus does not send them home.

          Two aspects of this meal are noteworthy. It is the time of the Passover, the principal Jewish feast. Some say that this multiplication meal is a foreshadowing of the Eucharist that will become the great feast for Christians. Jesus then shows himself to be a real true shepherd of Israel. It calls to mind Psalm 23 where the Lord makes people lie down in green pastures. The Gospel quote casts allusions back to the role of God as the Good Shepherd. A shepherd knows the needs of his flock and does the best to care for it. Jesus responds spontaneously because he knows they must be fed. Other leaders would have sized up the situation and sent the people home. While it may have seemed prudent to send them along, it does not reveal a compassionate response. The crowd was a huge number. They left satisfied and many who were there realized the complexity of the dilemma and knew a mysterious power was behind the distributed meal. No caterer today could match the efficient and effective response.

          I think of two situations in the world when I reflect upon our need to give more freely to others. Sure, we sometimes want to impose conditions on our generosity, but that means our generosity is not freely given. I've had numbers of times when I've given to others in hopes that they would respond in a way that benefits their overall situation and I've mostly been disappointed. Some will undoubtedly make poor choices. I can never take away the good intentions and desires I've had for the others. In a time when our economy is mightily struggling, I wonder what it would look like if we were to double or triple our generosity to others. A more equitable distribution of resources will help those in the most dire need. We cannot fix other people's problems because free will is always operative, but the effect of goodness towards others lasts forever. I gratefully remember those who were generous to me. No one has ever become poor by being generous.

          I also think of the religious sisters who have historically lived in near subsistence lifestyles. They gave much of their lives without an adequate stipend or the dignity of wages. They have always given out of charity - especially to their own institution and have not been treated well by them in return. Today, as they attempt to enter into dialogue with church authorities, they continue to generously put their lives forth as good shepherds care for their own. They gently hold their leaders compassionately and wait to see what their goodwill brings. They do not know the outcome and at times it looks bleak, but no one has ever become poor by being generous.

         

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: The Lord tells Jeremiah to bury a linen loincloth in Parath where it will rot. The rot symbolizes the great pride of Jerusalem. The loincloth is designed to cling to a man just as Israel is designed to cling to God, but pride separates the nation from God. The people are filled with sorrow because God is promising to destroy those whom he loves dearly. They plead for God to change his course. Jeremiah begins his laments. He is sorry that he is born because has been called to a difficult task that he dislikes. In his pity, the Lord asks him to rise up and go to the potter's house where he will receive a message. The word came to him that God will make and remake Israel many times like a potter molds clay until it is in the form he wants. Jeremiah gets the courage to speak God's word to the people of Judah, but the religious authorities forbad him to speak further and said he should be put to death. As Jeremiah defends himself, some of the priests come to his aid and spare his life.

Gospel: Jesus speaks more parables to describe qualities in the kingdom of heaven. It can be likened to a mustard seed's miraculous growth or like yeast that invisibly causes wheat flour to rise. Jesus dismisses the crowds to explain to his closest friends that the one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man and the weeds are the children of the Evil One and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The Son of Man will come at the end times to collect the good seeds and bring them to his heavenly Father. The kingdom of heaven is also like a field where a person find a treasure. The wise person buys the field so the treasure is safe. Finally, he proclaims the kingdom is like a fisher's net that collects many types of fish and other debris that are separated from the good harvest. The scribes are like the head of a household who bring forth both the old and the new. When Jesus returns home to teach in the synagogue, his neighbors question the source of his authority. At the same time, Herod the tetrarch was hosting a dinner and made a promise to his new wife's daughter. She desired the head of John the Baptist on a platter. So it was done. John's disciples came to take away the corpse, then they told Jesus.

Saints of the Week

July 29: Martha (1st century), is the sister of Mary and Lazarus of Bethany near Jerusalem. Martha is considered the busy, activity-attentive sister while Mary is more contemplative. Martha is known for her hospitality and fidelity. She proclaimed her belief that Jesus was the Christ when he appeared after Lazarus had died.

July 30: Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor (406-450), was the archbishop of Ravenna, Italy in the 5th century when the faithful became lax and adopted pagan practices. He revived the faith through his preaching. He was titled Chrysologus because of his 'golden words.'

July 31: Ignatius of Loyola, priest (1491-1556), is one of the founders of the Jesuits and the author of the Spiritual Exercises. As a Basque nobleman, he was wounded in a battle at Pamplona in northeastern Spain and convalesced at his castle where he realized he followed a methodology of discernment of spirits. When he recovered, he ministered to the sick and dying and then retreated to a cave at Manresa, Spain where he had experiences that formed the basis of The Spiritual Exercises. In order to preach, he studied Latin, earned a Master’s Degree at the University of Paris, and then gathered other students to serve Jesus. Francis Xavier and Peter Faber were his first friends. After ordination, Ignatius and his nine friends went to Rome where they formally became the Society of Jesus. Most Jesuits were sent on mission, but Ignatius stayed in Rome directing the rapidly growing religious order, composing its constitutions, and perfecting the Spiritual Exercises. He died in 1556 and the Jesuit Order was already 1,000 men strong. 

August 1: Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor(1696-1787), founded a band of mission priests that became the Redemptorists. He wrote a book called "Moral Theology" that linked legal aspects with kindness and compassion for others. He became known for his responsive and thoughtful way of dealing with confessions.

August 2: Peter Faber, S.J., priest and founder (1506-1546), was one of the original companions of the Society of Jesus. He was a French theologian and the first Jesuit priest and was the presider over the first vows of the lay companions. He became known for directing the Spiritual Exercises very well. He was called to the Council of Trent but died as the participants were gathering.

August 2: Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop (d. 371), was ordained bishop after becoming a lector. He attended a council in Milan where he opposed the Arians. The emperor exiled him to Palestine because he contradicted secular influences. He returned to his diocese where the emperor died.

August 2: Peter Julian Eymard, priest (1811-1868) left the Oblates when he became ill. When his father died, he became a priest and soon transferred into the Marists but left them to found the Blessed Sacrament Fathers to promote the significance of the Eucharist.

August 4: John Vianney, priest (1786-1859) became the parish priest in Ars-en-Dombes where he spent the rest of his life preaching and hearing confessions. Hundreds of visitors and pilgrims visited him daily. He would hear confessions 12-16 hours per day.

This Week in Jesuit History

·         Jul 29, 1865. The death in Cincinnati, Ohio of Fr. Peter Arnoudt, a Belgian. He was the author of The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

·         Jul 30, 1556. As he lay near death, Ignatius asked Juan de Polanco to go and obtain for him the blessing of the pope.

·         Jul 31, 1556. The death in Rome of Ignatius Loyola.

·         Aug 1, 1938. The Jesuits of the Middle United States, by Gilbert Garrigan was copyrighted. This monumental three-volume work followed the history of the Jesuits in the Midwest from the early 1820s to the 1930s.

·         Aug 2, 1981. The death of Gerald Kelly, moral theologian and author of "Modern Youth and Chastity."

·         Aug 3, 1553. Queen Mary Tudor made her solemn entrance into London. As she passed St Paul's School, an address was delivered by Edmund Campion, then a boy of thirteen.

·         Aug 4, 1871. King Victor Emmanuel signed the decree that sanctioned the seizure of all of the properties belonging to the Roman College and to S. Andrea.