Good Shepherd Catholic Parish

Readings: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Psalm 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18 (R. “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”); Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15

Unless there was a very late cancelation the opening ceremonies for the 2020 Olympics took place on Friday—one year late, due to the pandemic. So already one “record” has been set. Another record will be the nonexistent crowds, which reminds us that the pandemic is not yet over. I imagine many of us hope that there will be the other kind of records set, namely, for the fastest, strongest, most agile, etc., etc. It seems pretty basic that records are set to be broken; that is also seen in the Scriptures!

Elijah, the prophet before Elisha, had done a remarkable thing. In the midst of a prolonged drought, Elijah had managed, through God’s promise, to feed a widow, her son and himself on a handful of meal and a little oil for many days—until the drought ended (1 Kings 17:7-16). Then, along comes Elijah’s protégé, Elisha; through God’s promise (today’s 1^st reading), Elisha is able to convert a gift of twenty barley loaves and some grain into food for 100—normally at least one loaf per person would be required. Then Jesus, portrayed in the Gospels as very much a prophet in the line of Elijah and Elisha, demolishes the record: With five barley loaves and two fish Jesus feeds five thousand men—plus any women and children who were part of the “large crowd” —with plenty left over.

It is not surprising that of all the miracle stories attributed to Jesus, this record breaker is the only one that appears in all four canonical Gospels. Besides this nature miracle’s remarkableness, this is also a rich theological story. Although Jesus is portrayed as one in the line of Elijah and Elisha, the feedings attributed to the earlier prophets came through the power and promise of the LORD GOD, while Jesus is shown as the source of power in the Gospel of John. In addition, like God in the earlier stories, Jesus is the one who takes initiative when he sees the crowd. This is considered a “nature miracle”, because Jesus overcomes the limitations of nature, and he satisfies the huge hungry crowd. In this way, Jesus is shown as more than a prophet—which the crowd fails to see at the end of the story. For John, if Jesus can so overcome nature, he has within himself the power of the Creator—as John put it in his opening prologue: He is the Word, and “all things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be” (1:3).

In addition, to Elijah and Elisha, the story reminds the reader of the time of Moses. After the first Passover, Moses led the people out of Egypt, the land of slavery, and God fed his people in the wilderness. In that way, the feeding of the 5000 foreshadows the Last Supper and the celebration of the Eucharist in the early Christian communities. When receiving the Body of Christ, may we tap into the same sense of being nourished and satisfied that are reflected in the Feeding Story. That barley bread is used (as in Elijah’s action) also points to the practice in the early Church; barley bread was also the bread of the poor, for it was about one third the price of wheat flour. Lastly, that there were 12 wicker baskets left over means that the Lord desires that all people will eat of this meal.

The feeding stories of Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and especially Jesus (with the help of his apostles) could all too easily be spiritualized. Yet in all of these stories we encounter a God and his only begotten Son who see the need of the people and take the initiative to address their need. That is an invitation, or a challenge, for us to have similar compassion toward people’s needs by responding—with God’s help—however we are able. When we are sent forth from our Eucharistic Liturgy, this kind of compassion and response is part of our mission. With Philip, we can easily feel overwhelmed, but our Lord only asks us to offer what we have available. If I don’t do my part, no one else can do it for me. The widow of Zarephath of Sidon entrusts what she has to Elijah; the man of Baal-shalishah gave what he had to Elisha; the young boy sacrificed what he had to Jesus. What are you and I being invited to entrust to the Lord so as to respond to the needs of his Church and all people?

This is an important part of the call we all have from God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May we take encouragement and direction from the Letter to the Ephesians: “I … urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call…” (from today’s reading).

THANK YOU to all the faithful in the CTKCC community parishes for your kind wishes, beautiful cards, and generous gifts that I have received these last weeks before I move on to serve the parish communities in Remsen and Marcus. I especially want to thank all the parish guilds and men and women clubs who helped in the farewell gatherings at St. Elizabeth Seton in Glidden and St. John the Baptist in Arcadia. It was very heartwarming to see people from all the parishes come together to say goodbye. To all the volunteers who helped load the moving trailer with my earthly possessions, Thank you! My new address is Fr. Tim Pick, St. Mary Parish, PO Box 509, Remsen, IA 51050. Be assured of my prayers for the parishes in Arcadia, Breda, Halbur, Mount Carmel, and Templeton as you move on to a new chapter in your parish community life as Good Shepherd Catholic Parish in western Carroll County and for St. Elizabeth Seton in Glidden as a secondary merged church in the other parish in Carroll County, John Paul II. Finally, I ask again for your prayers as I move on to the next chapter in my priestly ministry. Blessings to all! ~Fr. Tim Pick

This is a “Stewardship Prayer” from Our Sunday Visitor. This prayer provides all of us good food for reflection.

My parish is composed of people like me. I help make it what it is.
It will be friendly, if I am.
It will be holy, if I am.
Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them.
It will do great work, if I work.
It will be prayerful, if I pray.
It will make generous gifts to many causes, if I am a generous giver.
It will bring others into worship, if I invite and bring them in.
It will be a place of loyalty and love, of fearlessness and faith,
of compassion, charity and mercy,
if I, who make it what it is, am filled with these same things.
Therefore, with the help of God,
I now dedicate myself to the task of being all
the things that I want my parish to be.
Amen.

PASTOR
Rev. Timothy A. Friedrichsen
206 N 2nd Street  PO Box 39
Breda, IA  51436
Breda Rectory Office (712-673-2351) t.a.friedrichsen@gmail.com

BOOKKEEPER/ADM ASSISTANT
Cindy Lawler
Good Shepherd Catholic Parish
304 N 2nd Street  PO Box 29
Breda IA  51436
Phone: 712-673-2582
Office Hours Mon - Fri: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 
goodshepherd@westianet.net

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST-Arcadia
Julie Eich, Administrative Assistant
Office Hours: Mon & Fri 7:30-11:30 am Phone: 712-689-2595
stjohnarcadia@gmail.com

ST AUGUSTINE-Halbur
Rosie Sporrer, Administrative Assistant
Office Hours Mon & Fri: 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Phone: 712-658-2464
Fax: 712-658-2464 staug@iowatelecom.net