17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our reading, a man brought 20 loaves of barley bread to the prophet Elisha. Elisha asked him to give the bread to the people to eat. The man could not believe that would be enough to feed all the people. God promised them that there would be enough to eat and there was even bread left over when they were done eating.
In our gospel, Jesus was up on a mountain with his disciples. There was a large crowd of 5,000 who were listening to Jesus like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus wanted to feed the crowd so he asked Philip where they could buy enough food. Philip said it would be too much money. Andrew found a young boy who had 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus told them to have the people sit down. He took the loaves of bread, gave thanks, and passed the bread and fish around for everyone to eat. When the leftovers were gathered, there were 12 baskets full.
Special Saint/Feast Day: - St. Joachim and St. Anne – July 26
St. Anne and St. Joachim are honored as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They spent their lives worshiping God and doing good.
For decades, they had not been blessed with any children. For years and years Anne had begged the Lord to give her a child. She promised to consecrate the baby to him.
When she was already old, God answered Anne’s prayer when Mary was born. Mary, of course, dedicated her life to God in a very special way by being the mother of Jesus.
St. Anne and St. Joachim were the parents of Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. We can ask them to bring us closer to Jesus and Mary.