ATTAINING AND MAINTAINING QUALITY OF LIFE.

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR B.
July 26, 2009
(1st. Reading 2 Kings 4:42-44) (2nd. Reading Ephesians 4:1-6)
(Gospel John 6:1-15)


ATTAINING AND MAINTAINING
QUALITY OF LIFE.

For most people, the concept of "quality of life" usually refers to an improved level of physical or mental health which allows a person to go on living with a comfortable or acceptable degree of self sufficiency and a minimal level of pain. This concept reduces "quality of life" to the category of a medical term.

The concept of quality of life, however, has a much broader significance as it encompasses all aspects of human life, i.e. physical, mental, spiritual, social, economic, political. Quality of life involves our relations with other human beings and with God.

In order to enjoy quality of life we must first attain it and then maintain it.
I. Attaining Quality of Life.
Saint Paul says that we attain quality of life by living "in a manner worthy of the call" we have received from the Lord Jesus, living "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". (Ephesians 4:1-4)

A life of the highest quality, therefore, is:
- A life of humility, that is, a life where human beings are all equal. True humility is the recognition of our equality as members of the human race.

- A life of Gentleness, that is, a life of mutual respect for one another. Gentleness is the courage to respect one another.

- A life of patience, never giving up even when our efforts to bring about equality are not immediately fruitful.

- A life where we support one another, bear with one another, in our efforts to strengthen the unity among us. That is Christian love.

- A life of peace, causing no harm to anyone, doing everything for the well being of others.

II. Maintaining Quality of Life.
Today's gospel says that a large crowd followed Jesus. We maintain the quality of our life by following Jesus, by allowing him to multiply what we have just as he multiplied the five barley loaves and the two fish given him by a "young boy". We must give Jesus our peace, humility, gentelness, patience, justice, unity, equality, truth, and he will multiply them in our world.