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SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—July 29, 2018 – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—July 29, 2018 – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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John 6:1–15

“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” –John 6:12

There are always fragments left over. No matter how scarce resources seem, there are bottles and pages to be recycled, plastic bags to be returned to the supermarket. There are clothes in our closets we never wear, books we won’t read again, gadgets that take up room and gather dust but serve no purpose. There are extra dollars to buy a lottery ticket or an ice cream. No matter how busy we keep saying we are, there are hours wasted on television while relationships are squandered for lack of attention.

During my last move, I gave away one-third of my clothes because the new closets were smaller than the old. I never missed a single blouse or slipper. I’m convinced that I could put half my life out on the curb and not miss a stick of it, eat half of what’s on the plate and still be well fed. It would be terrible to drown in abundance, still believing we never got enough.

What do you need to give away most right now: love, time, money, possessions?

LET US PRAY…

Lord, you give us the gift of time that unfolds with its many lessons to learn and opportunities for love and compassion. Still, we seek the familiar way of self-will and waste our hours in pursuits of no lasting value. Open our eyes to the purpose of each hour so that we may serve your will in all things. Amen.

While The Gospel at Home takes a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings.

 

Image credit: Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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