16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B (2024)

About the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B

Sunday, July 21, 2024

The readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time for Year B are focused on Jesus Christ as the one who loves and cares for us as a shepherd and also the need to care for ourselves. In the first reading God warns against those who lead his people astray and scatter his flock. And in the gospel Jesus and his disciples leave to get some rest, but when followed by the crowd, he is moved by how lost the crowd is and how much they need a shepherd.

Discussion for these readings might focus on the need for rest, especially Sabbath rest, the emotions of Jesus, or how God always cares for us. Here are some ideas:

Resources

• Celebrating the Lord’s Day
• Souls at Rest: An Exploration of the Eucharistic Sabbath
• The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise

Daily Mass Readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

• First Reading – Jeremiah 23:1-6: “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply.”
• Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”
• Second Reading – Ephesians 2:13-18; “He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
• Gospel – Mark 6:30-34: “When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.”