Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, July 21, 2024
(EPISODE: 488)
Readings for Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B
FIRST READING: Jer 23: 1-6
Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6. "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want."
SECOND READING: Eph 2: 13-18
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 10: 27). Alleluia, alleluia! My sheep listen to my voice, says the Lord. I know them, and they follow me.
GOSPEL: Mark 6: 30-34
Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Photo Description - Stock Photo ID: 1210022278 -PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - OCTOBER 13, 2018: The mosiac of miralce The Feeding the multitude in church kostel Svatého Václava by artwork of S. G. Rudl in workroom of Albert Neuhauser (1928.) Important information Editorial Use Only. Photo Contributor - Renata Sedmakova
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, July 21, 2024, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-16th-sunday-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-488/s-9yghCU9qKCt
(EPISODE: 488)
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(Homily: Fr Paul Kelly).
"He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd."
There's a beautiful line in the second reading today that one could spend a whole week or a whole lifetime contemplating the meaning of it. Jesus is our peace, he who made both one, and broke down the dividing wall through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace. This is really fascinating, so peace is not just a state of mind or body, and reconciliation and forgiveness is not just something we do or do not do, peace is actually a person.
Forgiveness is a person, and that person is Christ, who is the Lord of Peace and the Prince of Mercy. The writer and poet Alice Camille tells of an incident in her life that brought this kind of personal dimension of peace home to her. She says, There was no way I was going to speak to that guy who offended me ever again.
No way. I repeated this mantra several times to fortify my resolve. I was outraged, I was hurting.
As I rehearsed for the twentieth time the righteousness of my position against my enemy who had offended me, then I remembered, peace wasn't something that was mine to give or deny. Jesus is our peace. Jesus is the way of peace.
Unity with him is unity with peace and reconciliation. To withhold reconciliation is to withhold Christ and what Christ can do. The balance between reflection and action, prayer and good works, work and rest, comes into focus in this weekend's Gospel.
It's often hard to get that balance right in our lives. So many demands of our time, many good projects that can be called on us. And so the balance of work, rest, prayer, action is quite challenging.
Our Lord knew this balance was difficult, and he responded and was flexible and even changed his plans when situations unexpectedly arose. But at the same time, there's a deep sense about Jesus that he kept the balance within his heart and was able to be peaceful and loving in his response, despite the many demands. Jesus knew the benefit of taking some time to get away from it all and revive, to rest, pray, and have time to nourish ourselves in body, spirit and mind.
He showed that care for himself and his disciples was important, even in the midst of the heavy demands of his ministry, whilst facing crushing needs of countless people who came to see him, hear him, and to touch him. Their need was so great. Among the natural benefits of taking time out is renewal and physical and spiritual recuperation.
There's also the valuable chance to stop, take a breath, and look where we are. Look where we're heading and what we're trying to achieve. If we constantly respond only to the urgent, we may miss getting a chance to weigh up whether it's also important.
This was something that came as a bit of a shock and a revelation to me, that something can be urgent, but not necessarily important. And that's a wonderful insight. Some of the most important things in life may not present themselves to us as urgent, but if neglected, these needs could cause major difficulties and even cause us to lose sight of the things that really matter.
Also, we believe that our God can be encountered in the silence and the stillness, so we must make time for that silence and stillness. I'm impressed by the quote from Saint Teresa, which says, Settle yourself in solitude and you will come upon him in yourself. Another really striking thing about today's gospel passage is that although Jesus knew he needed to get away from it all and give himself and his disciples time to eat, to rest and to pray, and to gain renewal and focus his attitude towards the needy crowds when he saw them is important and inspiring.
He gets to the place where he is heading for a well-deserved rest, only to find the crowds have found their way here too. We could be forgiven in some way if in exasperation we reacted in a similar situation by saying, oh please give me a break, go away, I'm tired, I'm too tired to do anything, leave me alone. But of course our Lord's reaction is not that.
Our Lord's reaction is the same as what many parents and carers would also do when they're faced with the all-too-real needs of their beloved. It's a response of love, of deep compassion and inclusion. Christ understands them, he knew their needs and he could see into their hearts.
He did not see the crowds as if they were nothing to do with him, they were never just people he spoke to and taught and then switched off. They had a connection to him and he to them. These needy people, these crowds, were not disconnected from him, he identified himself with the people.
He was like a parent to a child, like a spouse to their beloved. This was not a case of them and us when it came to relating to the crowd. Christ's attitude to his ministry wasn't like the proverbial shop assistant who would say, this job would be really good if it wasn't for all these customers.
No, Jesus was fully immersed in what he was on about. Jesus' compassionate reaction to the crowd was because although he wasn't denying his needs, he knew them too well and he knew his disciples' needs too, for rest, prayer and reflection. But when he came across the crowds, he recognised their needs as also important.
That's such an important key point. All of these needs are important, no doubt, and denying one over the other is not the solution but finding a way to meet all of them as best one can. So, for our Lord, it was always a case of not them and us, but us and us.
His needs and the needs of his disciples were as important as the needs of the crowds, and the crowds' needs were as real and important to him as his own. He kept that in his mind, and more importantly, in his heart. And his response reflected that.
He solved the slightly conflicting needs, equally important, by responding in compassion to the lost and desperate needs of those he encountered. And I'm sure after that, he went off and gave himself and his disciples the space they needed afterwards.
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References:
Homily –Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly
Quote from Alice L. Camille. Reflection in PrepareTheWord.com. - PrepareTheWord.com, ©2012, TrueQuest Communications, LLC.}
Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Photo Description - Stock Photo ID: 1210022278 -PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - OCTOBER 13, 2018: The mosaic of miracle The Feeding the multitude in church kostel Svatého Václava by artwork of S. G. Rudl in workroom of Albert Neuhauser (1928.) Important information Editorial Use Only. Photo Contributor - Renata Sedmakova
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B (Sunday, July 21, 2024) (EPISODE: 488)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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{{May Our Lord's care, comfort you}} welcome everyone, we gather - To take time to reflect upon the meaning of God's word for our everyday lives
Brothers and sisters, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Lord's supper, let us recall our sins and acknowledge them in silence.
Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life: Lord, have mercy// //Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins: Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you feed us with your body and blood: Lord, have mercy//
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6. "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want."
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 10: 27). Alleluia, alleluia! My sheep listen to my voice, says the Lord. I know them, and they follow me.
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PREFACE: Sundays III
EP II
(theme variation: 2)
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{Thanks everyone and have a grace-filled and compassion-filled week. }
Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to our weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.
Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).
Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.
- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John (Bill) Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.
- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.
Microphones: -
Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser.
Editing equipment: NCH software - MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software
NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 12.44
Sound Processing: iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor
[ Production - KER - 2024]
May God bless and keep you.
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