August 2, 2020: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.“
Matthew 14: 19
Pastor’s Message
Today, we celebrate the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The central message of the passage is the pivotal role that Jesus plays in relation to the pastoral duties of the disciples and the pastoral needs of the multitude. The disciples know that the day is growing late and that they should do something to satisfy the crowd. Jesus challenges them to feed the crowd, which they cannot do alone. When Jesus is presented with the miniscule portion of five loaves and two fishes, he accepts that gift, finds it adequate, blesses it, and hands it over to the disciples to be distributed.
The Gospel teaches us that, even with sparse resources, the work of Christ is accomplished, when we cooperate with him, and when we work explicitly in his name. The implication of the gospel is highly symbolic. Jesus and the disciples are capable of meeting the spiritual needs of a large crowd as well. This requires that the disciples rely and depend on the work of Jesus. On their own, they can do nothing. Finally, we need to ask ourselves why bread is used as the symbol for Jesus and the disciples meeting the spiritual needs of the crowd. Is the imagery Eucharistic? Of course.
As we move into the month of August, we are anticipating and planning for our parish organizations to return. We are looking at the Archdiocesan Guidelines for organizations to return to in-person gatherings and meetings. We will post them as they become clearer.
Our Parish PREP, RCIA & Confirmation for 2021 programs will be taking registrations for the Fall classes. Please contact Sr. Sophie to set up an appointment to register and receive the materials. See page 3 for more information.
Thanks for reading, stay healthy, reach out to those close to you and last but not least have a good week.
Your Brother and Shepherd,
Rev. Msgr. Joseph Trinh