The Nazareth Page- A gospel meditation for your home

July 28, 2024 – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - John 6:1-15

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Today’s gospel is one most of us are familiar with: the great bread and fish meal on the hillside. Many connect this with the creation of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. Jesus is with us as food for our journey by being with us, and even in us along the way. Certainly, a remarkable gift to us.

But this gospel also serves as a reminder of our responsibility to feed the hungry, one of the great corporal works of mercy. And many do this without a thought that they are doing something very sacred. And much needed.

Primarily this feeding the hungry happens in ordinary family life. Putting food on the table for hungry kids (and their friends), for a famished spouse or anyone else who shows up at dinnertime, while it may seem common or ordinary, is also a holy matter. Further, many good people volunteer at parish kitchens, shelters, food banks and other facilities that “feed the hungry” in our midst. Add also assistance given to grown children and their families who may need extra support to insure adequate nourishment for their families.

Many send donations to organizations who feed the hungry around the world. Experts in this field have stated that we probably produce enough food on the planet to feed everyone. But distribution is a challenge. Groups like Bread for the World, Catholic Relief Services, The Catholic Worker Movement and many other operations are dedicated to feeding the hungry around the world.

This summer, the Christian Family Movement (CFM) celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary. It was founded in Chicago as part of a global effort to involve lay Catholics more fully in the mission of the church. When I was a seminarian at the University of Notre Dame, I was invited by one of the Holy Cross priests there to accompany him to a meeting of this organization in South Bend. It was new and I was always looking for opportunities to experience new ways of being church. I immediately signed up.

The group met in a home not far from the Golden Dome. The meeting included time for prayer and socializing, but its major task was to apply Christian principles to the pressing social issues of the day. I can still remember that exchange. The topic was this: After we use our financial resources to take care of family needs, what is our obligation to share our extra money to meet the needs of those in need. Many said it was a major challenge.

David M. Thomas, PhD