Weekly Miracle
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.” John 6:9
Feeding the Five Thousand by Marten van Valckenborch, circa 1580
This week marks the beginning of a kind of “liturgical detour.” We have been listening to Saint Mark’s Gospel during this liturgical year (Year B). Today we begin to hear a long section from John’s Gospel, starting with the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. This miracle story is a prelude to the Lord’s statements that we will begin hearing in a few weeks, in which Jesus refers to himself as the “bread of life.” Each week we witness a miracle at Mass. We do not see a multiplication of loaves before us. What our eyes of faith allow us to see is the miracle of the transformation of common elements—bread and wine—into the Lord’s Body and Blood. Once we have received the Lord, the multiplication begins, for in the Eucharist we are strengthened to multiply our efforts to feed the poor, shelter the homeless, and bring comfort to the despairing.
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Readings for the Week
Monday: Jer 13:1-11; Dt 32:18-21; Mt 13:31-35
Tuesday: Jer 14:17-22; Ps 79:8, 9, 11, 13; Mt 13:36-43
Wednesday: Jer 15:10, 16-21; Ps 59:2-4, 10-11, 17-18; Mt 13:44-46
Thursday: Jer 18:1-6; Ps 146:1b-6ab; Mt 13:47-53
Friday: Jer 26:1-9; Ps 69:5, 8-10, 14; Mt 13:54-58
Saturday: Jer 26:11-16, 24; Ps 69:15-16, 30-31, 33-34; Mt 14:1-12
Sunday: Ex 16:2-4, 12-15; Ps 78:3-4, 23-25, 54; Eph 4:17, 20-24; Jn 6:24-35
Saints & Special Observances
Monday: St. Peter Chysologus
Tuesday: St. Ignatius of Loyola
Wednesday: St. Alphonsus Liguori
Thursday: St. Eusebius of Vercelli; St. Peter Julian Eymard
Friday: First Friday
Saturday: St. John Vianney; First Saturday