17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Today the Lectionary takes a break from the Gospel of Mark, until the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, leaving space for chapter six of the Gospel of John. This is partly due to the brevity of the Markan Gospel; however, I think there is also a theological motivation. In previous weeks we have heard how Jesus summons, authorizes and sends out the Apostles. Subsequently, the Apostles return, debrief and are taken away for respite. What follows in Mark is the Feeding of the Five Thousand. Chapter six of John's Gospel similarly begins with the multiplication of food in Bethsaida then continues with the Bread of Life discourse in Capernaum. For Catholics all of this is profoundly eucharistic. Thus, it has direct relevance to the Mass we celebrate every Sunday. To put it briefly, the centrality of the Holy Eucharist is crucial to our understanding of our call as missionary disciples. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read: "The Eucharist is the 'the source and summit of the Christian life' 'The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesial ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, the Pasch.' " (CCC 1324) I invite parishioners to reflect on this mystery in the coming weeks as we reflect on these readings. We cannot separate our environmental, social justice and pastoral activity from the Holy Eucharist which gives shape and meaning to the whole of the mission.