A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK 13:24-32

 Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation/ the sun will be darkened,/ and the moon will not give its light,/ and the stars will be falling from the sky,/ and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. “And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” The Gospel of the Lord. 

 Mark 7

The Tradition of the Elders

7 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

“This people honor me with their lips,

   but their hearts are far from me;

7 in vain do they worship me,

   teaching human precepts as doctrines.”

8 You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’

9 Then he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! 10 For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.” 11 But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban” (that is, an offering to God)— 12 then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.’

14 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’

17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, 19 since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus, he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

 John 6: 51-58

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ 53 So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.’ 59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

 7/25/21 110      17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B         2 Kgs 4:42-44  Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18       Eph 4:1-6            Luke 7:16        John 6:1-15

Gospel Jn 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee..A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick..Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples..The Jewish feast of Passover was near..When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”.He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do..Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”.One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”.Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”.Now there was a great deal of grass in that place..So the men reclined, about five thousand in number..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..When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”.So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat..When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”. Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone..

 

Gospel

Mk 6:30-34

The apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught. 
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” 
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat. 
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. 
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. 
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.

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.

 Gospel Mk 6:1-6 

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.  When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished.  They said, “Where did this man get all this?  What kind of wisdom has been given him?  What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!  Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?  And are not his sisters here with us?”  And they took offense at him.  Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”  So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. 

 After 2 coronary heart bypasses and partial blindness and life in a wheelchair, the words of this poem by MERRIT MALLOY really capture my spirituality and hope:

“When I die

Give what’s left of me away

To children

And old men that wait to die.

And if you need to cry,

Cry for your brother

Walking the street beside you

And when you need me,

Put your arms

Around anyone

And give to them

What you need to give to me.

I want to leave you something,

Something better

Than words

Or sounds.

Look for me

In the people I’ve known

Or loved,

And if you cannot give me away,

At least let me live in your eyes

And not on your mind.

You can love me most

By letting

Hands touch hands

By letting

Bodies touch bodies

And by letting go

Of children

That need to be free.

Love doesn’t die,

People do.

So, when all that’s left of me

Is love,

Give me away”

― Merrit Malloy

 God Heals through hands-on love. Ministering as a chaplain in a local hospital I was privileged to bring the sacraments to a young man who was shot five times (three in the stomach and one in each arm). There was little hope. His elderly parents stayed by his side, morning, noon, and night. They prayed with simplicity and love. After multiple surgeries, he woke up from a coma. It was a slow awakening not like in the movies. After many weeks with his committed parents by his side, he sat up in bed and was able to drink water. Eventually, he went home. His true loving parents were always by his side. His girlfriend received a lengthy jail sentence.

 CUERPO DE CRISTO   CORPUS CHRISTI    Mk 14:12-16, 22-26

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there." The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover. While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives

 After 2 coronary heart bypasses and partial blindness and life in a wheelchair, the words of this poem by MERRIT MALLOY really capture my spirituality and hope:

“When I die

Give what’s left of me away

To children

And old men that wait to die.

And if you need to cry,

Cry for your brother

Walking the street beside you

And when you need me,

Put your arms

Around anyone

And give to them

What you need to give to me.

I want to leave you something,

Something better

Than words

Or sounds.

Look for me

In the people I’ve known

Or loved,

And if you cannot give me away,

At least let me live in your eyes

And not on your mind.

You can love me most

By letting

Hands touch hands

By letting

Bodies touch bodies

And by letting go

Of children

That need to be free.

Love doesn’t die,

People do.

So, when all that’s left of me

Is love,

Give me away”

― Merrit Malloy

 

Gospel Jn 17:1-11a      

 

 Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.  “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

 

John 15

Jesus the True Vine

15‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

 Jesus Appears to the Disciples. Jesus' presence dispelled the fears of his disciples.  May HIS peace relieve our fears and doubts.

John 20, 19-31  19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ 

 

Jn 13:21-33, 36-38  Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,  “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”  The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.  One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,  was reclining at Jesus’ side.  So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.  He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,  “Master, who is it?”  Jesus answered,  “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”  So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,  son of Simon the Iscariot.  After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.  So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”  Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.  Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,  “Buy what we need for the feast,”  or to give something to the poor.  So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.  When he had left, Jesus said,  “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.  If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,  and he will glorify him at once.  My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.  You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,  ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”  Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”  Jesus answered him,  “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,  though you will follow later.”  Peter said to him,  “Master, why can I not follow you now?   I will lay down my life for you.”  Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?  Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow  before you deny me three times            

 Mk 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue

Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.

Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.

They immediately told him about her.

He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.

Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,

they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.

The whole town was gathered at the door.

He cured many who were sick with various diseases,

and he drove out many demons,

not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left 

and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Simon and those who were with him pursued him

and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages

that I may preach there also.

For this purpose have I come.”

So he went into their synagogues,

preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

 

 

 

PRIESTLY SACRIFICE- Holy Spirit also testifies to us.

Reading I Heb 10:11-18 Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying:   This is the covenant I will establish with them     after those days, says the Lord:   “I will put my laws in their hearts,     and I will write them upon their minds,” he also says:   Their sins and their evildoing     I will remember no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.

 

 The First Disciples of Jesus

Juan-John 1  35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ 37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ 39He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). 42He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).