God Helps Those...

God helps those...
who are ready to help Him!



It's Sunday!


July 31 - XVIII Sunday in Ordinary Time


Today's Gospel by Matthew is found also in Mark, Luke and John. In John's Chapter 6 it precedes the dramatic encounter between Jesus and some of those he had previously fed, who come looking for more, but are told rather brusquely that it's in their real interests to eat not just ordinary bread but the bread he will give them, i.e. his flesh and blood!


This development is foreshadowed in the First Reading from Isaiah: corn, oil, milk and bread are good and indeed rather essential things but. . . there is something even better and in this connection, God has made a covenant or freewill agreement to provide this something better which will be His general care for all His creation and in our special case the holy Eucharist.


The Responsorial Psalm - as usual - is a gracious repetition of the idea in the Reading: the Lord is kind, just and loving.


The Second Reading finds our holy Patron at his exuberant best in the Letter to the Romans. This was not written (as so many other Letters were) under the stress of some challenge or buoyed up by some unexpected good news. It shows instead the Apostle's sober but yet enthusiastic conviction of the all-embracing care for all His creation made visible in his Son, "Christ Jesus our Lord.


Finally, the Gospel makes two points. The first we have just seen: the incessant love and care of the Creator for every smallest aspect of His creation. But is this all? No, God has given each of us more than sufficient time, energy and talents and he expects us to use them if at all possible. The Lord did not need the five loaves and two fish to provide a meal for the huge crowd but he wanted to ensure human cooperation with his action and so he used them. "God helps those who help themselves" is an old and valid proverb. We begin life as helpless infants but it is very important not to remain infants all our lives. One of the least-helpful remarks is: " Somebody should do something about this." Reply: YOU DO IT!!