17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
Sunday, July 28, 2024
Mass Readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
- First Reading – 2 Kings 4:42-44: “And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.”
- Responsorial Psalm –Psalm 145: “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”
- Second Reading – Ephesians 4:1-6: “I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”
- Gospel – John 6:1-15: “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.”
Themes for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B tell of how God provides for all of our needs and feeds us spiritually. In the first reading Elisha assures his servant that 20 barley loaves will feed 100 people, and it does just as the Lord promised. And in the gospel Jesus feeds the crowd of five thousand with five loaves and two fish, a foreshadowing of the Eucharist.
- The Eucharist
- Recognizing the abundance in our lives
- God multiplies what we offer
See the Homilies and Reflections section and the More Thoughts section for further expansion on these readings and some reflection questions for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B.
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Resources for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
God Sustains Us
We know God sustains us and cares for us. This is a prayer based on Psalm 145, which is the responsorial psalm for this Sunday. This prayer expresses praise to God for the way he watches over us.
Loaves and Fishes: Eucharist Lesson Plan
This Eucharist lesson plan will help youth understand that God provides for all of our needs. He especially cares for our spiritual needs through the gift of Himself in the Eucharist.
Sacrament Scavenger Hunt
This sacrament scavenger hunt introduces some of the symbols and concepts of the sacraments in a fun way. Hide various sacrament related items around your meeting space or grounds. Here is a list and some tips
Homilies and Reflections for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
What You Need to Know about the Catholic Mass
From Bishop Robert Barron. Let us pay close attention to our Gospel today, which is John’s account of the miraculous multiplication of the loaves, to form a better appreciation of the miracle we partake in at every Mass.
The Unity of the Eucharist
Jeff Cavins explains how the Eucharist unites us. Even we are not physically together, we are united with the entire Body of Christ all over the world.
Bread Left Over
From Scott Hahn. Today’s liturgy brings together several strands of Old Testament expectation to reveal Jesus as Israel’s promised Messiah and King, the Lord who comes to feed His people..
The Mystery of the Mass
Also from Bishop Barron. The sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, from which we will be reading these next several weeks, is a sustained meditation on the meaning of the Mass and the Eucharist. Our passage for today, when read symbolically, illumines the major movements of the Mass.
More Thoughts for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. This indicates how important this miracle was to early Christians.
This miracle would have been significant because of its relationship to the Eucharist, which we know was a true experience of the presence of the Lord to these first Christians. The breaking of the bread was a liturgical practice which united them as the faith spread.
It also would have reflected the mission of the early Christian community to care for each other. From the first days of the Church, the act of using what the community had available to provide for all was clearly a core part of the mission of building the Kingdom of God.
Reflection Questions for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
- Have I ever seen my meager contribution multiplied by the Lord?
- When I feel like I do not have much to offer, do I entrust it to the Lord anyway?
- How is what I offer tied to the celebration of the Eucharist?
Quotes and Social Media Graphics for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
This quote from Psalm 145 assures us that the hand of the Lord feeds us. God is looking out for us. He knows what we need and He provides for us. This is especially true of how God feeds us through the Eucharist.
With the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus wants to educate His friends, both then and now, about God’s logic: the logic of taking responsibility for others.
Pope Francis
It would be good to ask ourselves every day: “What do I bring to Jesus today?”. He can do a lot with one of our prayers, with a gesture of charity for others. This is how God loves to act: He does great things, starting from those small things.
Pope Francis