17th Sunday  in Ordinary Time 



2 Kings 4:42-44

Psalm 144(145):10-11,15-18

Ephesians 4:1-6

John 6:1-15


The eyes of all creatures look to you

 and you give them their food in due time.



John’s Gospel is shot through with eucharistic ideas and glimpses. In today’s gospel, St. John recounts how Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to those who were there. All were satisfied. These actions form a familiar sequence with the liturgical celebration of the Holy Mass. 



As Catholics, we believe that in the Mass the bread and wine on the altar becomes the Body and Blood of Christ. This transformation is difficult for an agnostic or atheist person to imagine, for as St. Thomas put it, “faith our outward sense befriending makes the inward vision clear.” This we know through revelation by God, that in receiving Holy Communion we receive food richer and more nourishing than any meal we might sit down to eat. 


The young boy in today’s gospel offered his gifts of five barley loaves of bread and two fish and God multiplied it so it is with us when we offer ourselves to God that we become thanks-givers offering Christ to the Father who is equally the offerer. 




Right From the beginning of the Church’s history, priests and people risked their lives to celebrate Mass. Nowadays, it is all too easy to take the Mass for granted. God forbid that we should become so slipshod and ungrateful.Cultivating a spirit of gratitude for all that God gives us in the Mass is very important. We are reminded of this by the fact that the Ancient Greek name, Eucharist, itself means Thanksgiving, and the quiet moments after receiving Holy Communion from a perfect time specifically to thank God for Holy Communion the spiritual food we take into our bodies and souls. 





Let us cultivate a spirit of awareness and thankfulness for all God’s blessings, day in and day out, and restore the habit of saying thank you to God for the daily food that sustains our body and soul. 


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