July 28, 2012
Saturday
Anticipated Sunday Mass
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Rev. Fr. Jun Sescon
Greenbelt
First Reading: 2 Kings 4:42-44
1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiber'i-as. 2 And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" 6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!" 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
HOMILY
Father Jun said that we should be reminded and challenged by our missionary vocation by virtue of our baptism. As missionaries, we should be one with the Church in sharing God’s love and gift of faith to others, thankful that we also received this faith. We should pray for the grace to grow more in trust and in hope, under God’s provident love.
Father Jun asks us to pray for our Filipino missionaries and their families who are sacrificing for the sake of spreading God’s Word. Apart from our financial support, our prayers inspire and strengthen our missionaries in answering the call to sharing God’s faith throughout the world.
