ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN SERMON ON 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN SERMON ON 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: “GOD IS FAITHFUL, AND IF WE SERVE HIM FAITHFULLY, HE WILL PROVIDE FOR OUR NEEDS.”

BY: Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen

2 Kings 4: 42-44, Ps. 145, Eph. 4: 1-6, John 6: 1-15

“God is faithful, and if we serve Him faithfully, He will provide for our needs.” – St Richard of Chichester

“In the Old Testament, God was pleased to use trivial and insignificant things to fulfil His purposes, like the flag on the cradle of a babe which won the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter, or the shepherd’s stick of Moses which worked miracles in Egypt, or the slingshot of David which overthrew the Philistines. Because bread was now involved, there was even a kind of a parallel to the gestures that were later used at the Last Supper.

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“‘And He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave these to His disciples.’ (Mark 6:41)

“As a grain of wheat slowly multiplies in the ground, so the bread and fishes, by a Divinely hastened process were multiplied until everyone had his fill. If He had given money, no one would have had his fill. Nature was to go as far as it could, then God supplied the rest. He ordered that the fragments be gathered up; they filled twelve baskets. In the reckoning of men there is always a deficit; in the arithmetic of God, there is always a surplus.

“The effect of the miracle on the multitude was stupendous. There was no denying the fact that Christ had Divine power; He showed it in multiplying the bread. It brought their minds back immediately to Moses, who had given their forefathers manna in the desert. And had not Moses said that he was the prefigure of Christ or the Messiah?

“‘No, the Lord thy God will raise up for thee A prophet like myself, of thy own race, A Brother of thy own; it is to Him Thou must listen.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15)

“If Moses had authenticated or sealed himself by bread in the desert, was not This the One to Whom Moses had pointed, since He too gave bread miraculously? Who, then, could be a better King for them to throw off the yoke of the Romans and make them free? Here was a Deliverer, greater than Josue, and here were five thousand men ready to take up arms; here was a King greater than David or Solomon, Who could rebel against the tyrants and set the people free. They had already acknowledged Him as a Prophet and Teacher; now they would proclaim Him as King. But the Reader of hearts knew how worldly were their ambitions for Him:

“‘Knowing, then, that they meant to come and carry Him of, so as to make a King of Him, Jesus once again withdrew on to the hillside all alone.’ (John 6:15)

“They could not make Him King; He was born a King. The Wise Men knew this as they asked: Where is He that has been born The King of the Jews: We have seen His Star out in the East, and we have come to worship Him.’ (Matthew 2:2) His Kingship would come through the Divine “must” of the Cross, and not through popular force. This was the second time that He declined a crown; the first was when Satan offered Him the kingship of the world, if He would fall down and adore him. ‘My Kingdom is not of this world,’ He would tell Pilate later on. But the crowd would push Him to a throne; He said He would not be pushed; He would be ‘lifted up’ to it and the throne would be the Cross, and His Kingship would be over hearts.” (Life of Christ)

Prayer to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
Precious Blood, ocean of divine mercy: Flow upon us!
Precious Blood, most pure offering: Procure us every grace!
Precious Blood, hope and refuge of sinners: Atone for us!
Precious Blood, delight of holy souls: Draw us! Amen. 💐💖🙏
(St Catherine of Siena)

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