17th Sunday of Year B
CENTRAL IDEA
SELF GIVING
By Kevin Aldrich
Overview of
Doctrinal Homily
Outlines
Kevin Aldrich
Written as an aid for homilists and a resource for the faithful, this doctrinal homily outline (1) provides insights into the Lectionary readings, (2) explicates a doctrine of Catholic Faith or morals from them, and (3) shows specific ways lay persons can live these truths.
First Reading
- Elisha made the food a man gave him enough to feed a hundred people. Jesus made the food a boy gave him enough to feed five thousand.
Responsorial Psalm
- This psalm is really a prayer of thanksgiving for the God-given ecology, which gives us physical life and sustenance.
- But this “natural” giving is not enough, because there is still poverty, sickness, floods, drought, and many other natural evils. So we rightly call upon the Lord for the help that we need.
Second Reading
- All human beings by nature are social and interdependent. Therefore, we have an obligation to help each other out.
Gospel
- This miracle of the loaves and fish prefigures the Eucharist. “The miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique bread of his Eucharist” (CCC 1335).
DOCTRINE
THE EXCHANGE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH
Along with this unity, there is great diversity within the Church due to “the variety of God’s gifts and the diversity of those who receive them” (CCC 814). This diversity is a very good thing, since everyone’s individual good is meant to be a gift to benefit everyone else.
Some aspects of this communion are:
Communion in the faith….
Communion of the sacraments.…
Communion of charisms…
Communion of goods…
Communion in charity…
Communion among the three states within the Church of heaven, purgatory, and earth…
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
WAYS TO LIVE THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH
At Mass each Sunday, we can be mindful of what unites us with the communion of saints: we repent of our only enemy: sin; we make our profession of faith together; and then, through the actions of the priest ordained through apostolic succession, receive Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist along with an influx of his charity.
We can be friends with each person of the Blessed Trinity, our guardian angels,…
17th Sunday of Year B

The miracle of the loaves and fishes prefigures the Eucharist

Generosity: The Greatest Spiritual Gift
ASCENSION PRESENTS (5:08) – In Matthew 17:20, Jesus tells us if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we could move mountains. The problem is most of us don’t put our faith to use. In this video, Fr. Mike invites us to make use of the gifts God has already given us. In doing so, we may become so overjoyed by our natural gifts that we can’t help but share them with others.
Catechism Themes
“The following paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church resonate with the biblical readings for this Sunday. They were chosen either because they cite or allude to the specific readings, or because they treat topics found in the readings.” —Homiletic Directory
JULY 2021
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1335: the miracle of the loaves and fishes prefigures the Eucharist
CCC 814-815, 949-959: sharing of gifts in the communion of the Church
AUGUST 2021
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1333-1336: Eucharistic signs of bread and wine
CCC 1691-1696: life in Christ
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1341-1344: “Do this in memory of me”
CCC 1384-1390: take and eat: Communion
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1402-1405: the Eucharist, pledge of future glory
CCC 2828-2837: the Eucharist is our daily bread
CCC 1336: scandal
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 796: the Church as the Bride of Christ
CCC 1061-1065: God’s utter fidelity and love
CCC 1612-1617, 2360-2365: marriage in the Lord
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 577-582: Christ and the Law
CCC 1961-1974: the Old Law and the Gospel
SEPTEMBER 2021
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1503-1505: Christ the Physician
CCC 1151-1152: signs used by Christ; sacramental signs
CCC 270-271: the mercy of God
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 713-716: the path of the Messiah traced out in the “Servant Songs”
CCC 440, 571-572, 601: Jesus suffered and died for our salvation
CCC 618: our participation in Christ’s sacrifice
CCC 2044-2046: good works manifest faith
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 539, 565, 600-605, 713: Christ, obedient Servant of God
CCC 786: to serve is to reign
CCC 1547, 1551: priestly ministry as service
CCC 2538-2540: the sin of envy
CCC 2302-2306: safeguarding peace
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 821, 1126, 1636: ecumenical dialogue
CCC 2445-2446, 2536, 2544-2547: the danger of immoderate riches
CCC 1852: jealousy
OCTOBER 2021
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1602-1617, 1643-1651, 2331-2336: conjugal fidelity
CCC 2331-2336: divorce
CCC 1832: fidelity, a fruit of Spirit
CCC 2044, 2147, 2156, 2223, 2787: the fidelity of the baptized
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 101-104: Christ, unique Word of Scripture
CCC 131-133: Scripture in life of the Church
CCC 2653-2654: Scripture as a fountain of prayer
CCC 1723, 2536, 2444-2447: poverty of heart
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 599-609: Christ’s redemptive death in the plan of salvation
CCC 520: Christ’s self-emptying as an example for us to imitate
CCC 467, 540, 1137: Christ the High Priest
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 547-550: Jesus performed messianic signs
CCC 1814-1816: faith, a gift of God
CCC 2734-2737: filial confidence in prayer
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 2083: commandments as a call for a response of love
CCC 2052, 2093-2094: the first commandment
CCC 1539-1547: holy orders in the economy of salvation
NOVEMBER 2021
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 519-521: Christ gave his life for us
CCC 2544-2547: poverty of heart
CCC 1434, 1438, 1753, 1969, 2447: almsgiving
CCC 2581-2584: Elijah and conversion of heart
CCC 1021-1022: the particular judgment
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1038-1050: the Last Judgment; hope of a new heaven and a new earth
CCC 613-614, 1365-1367: Christ’s one perfect sacrifice and the Eucharist
Solemnity of Christ the King: Christ the origin and goal of history
CCC 440, 446-451, 668-672, 783, 786, 908, 2105, 2628: Christ as Lord and King
CCC 678-679, 1001, 1038-1041: Christ as Judge
CCC 2816-2821: “Thy Kingdom Come”