July 25 - One Bread, One Body
July 25, Seventeenth Sunday Ordinary Time
Cycle B Readings:
1) 2 Kings 4:42-44
Psalm 145:10-11, 15-18
2) Ephesians 4:1-6
John 6:1-15
Multiplication table
"How can I set this before a hundred men?” — 2 Kings 4:43
Many times, what we have to offer seems so inadequate. We may only have a couple free hours a week. So how can we renew the Church? We may be confined to home. Our main contact with people is by phone. Under these circumstances, how can we make disciples of all nations? (Mt 28:19) We have five dollars to give, but the church needs $100,000 to shelter the homeless. What good is five dollars?
We often find ourselves in the same situation as Jesus when He found Himself with five loaves, two fish, and fifteen to twenty thousand people to feed (Jn 6:9). Perhaps we don’t need food multiplied as much as time, energy, and money multiplied. We need Jesus’ multiplication miracle daily to change our inadequacy into His sufficiency. Jesus works this miracle daily in the Mass. Because of this, the early Church called the Mass “breaking of the bread” (see Acts 2:42). When Jesus breaks bread, our little lives are multiplied to transform the world.
Prayer: Jesus, I give You all of my little life. Multiply it.
Promise: “Make every effort to preserve the unity which has the Spirit as its origin and peace as its binding force.” —Eph 4:3
Praise: “Indeed, God calls even the body to resurrection, and promises it everlasting life” (St. Justin Martyr, Second Century). Praise You, risen Jesus, for inspiring our greatest saints!
Rescript: In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Imprimatur ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from June 1, 2021 through July 31, 2021.
†Most Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio January 20, 2021.
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.