Second Sunday of August
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Read Silently
John 6: 41-51
Meanwhile the Jews were
complaining to each other about
him, because he had said, 'I am
the bread that has come down
from heaven.' They were saying,
'Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph,
whose father and mother we know.
How can he now say, "I have come
down from heaven?" Jesus said in
reply to them, 'Stop complaining to
each other. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent
me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the
prophets: They will all be taught by God; everyone who has listened to the
Father, and learnt from him, comes to me. Not that anybody has seen the
Father, except him who has his being from God: he has seen the Father. In
all truth I tell you, everyone who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of
life. Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the
bread which comes down from heaven, so that a person may eat it and not
die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who
eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh,
for the life of the world.
Reflect: Jesus says in today’s gospel, “I am the living bread that has come
down from heaven.” The Eucharist is the gift of Jesus’ very self. If the gift of a
teddy bear touches our hearts, how much more should the gift of the Bread
of Life change our lives. When we receive the Eucharist, it makes us
profoundly indebted to God. It also makes us responsible to build God’s
kingdom, to see that God’s will is done on earth. The bread, which is the sign
of the Eucharist, is also the sign of what that responsibility entails. Every
piece of bread is a sign of our connectedness to the rest of humanity. Every
time we eat any piece of bread we enact our connection to the farmers who
grew the wheat and harvested it, to those who made the wheat into flour
and packaged it, to those who transported it, to those who marketed it, to
those who took the flour and baked it. When any piece of bread becomes
Eucharist, Christ’s very self, the sacrament impels us to see all of those
human connections in light of the gospel. We are connected to the people
who provide us with bread, to the people who sew our clothes, to the people
who provide the services of life on which we depend. Every time we receive
the Eucharist we are impelled to ask, “Are those people to whom we are
connected receiving a just wage? Can they provide education for their
children? Are they free to live life in liberty and in the pursuit of happiness?”
We cannot receive the Eucharist and at the same time distance ourselves
from those who make the bread. We cannot receive the Eucharist and
separate ourselves from the rest of humanity. Jesus tells us today, “Take and
eat.” In a few moments we will have the freedom to step forward and receive
this tremendous gift of Jesus himself. But if we take, we must also know that
we become responsible, responsible to the giver of this immeasurable gift. If
we receive this bread from heaven, we become connected to the problems of
this earth and to God’s determination to resolve them. When we receive
what Jesus offers, we become responsible, responsible to build the Kingdom,
responsible to act for love and justice in our world. “I am the bread of life,”
Jesus says. “Take and eat.” AMEN
Points to Ponder:
1. Reflect on a time when you have felt spiritually hungry or thirsty.
How did prayer life provide comfort and sustenance in that moment?
2. In what ways do you seek spiritual nourishment in your daily life? How
can you deepen your relationship with Jesus, in your spiritual practices?
3. How can I encourage my students to develop a personal relationship
with Jesus, through prayer and reflection?
Act: We are invited to….
Come to Jesus, the bread of life, and partake in the spiritual nourishment
and sustenance that He offers. By believing in Him and accepting His
teachings, individuals are invited to enter into a deeper relationship with
Jesus and experience the fulfillment and eternal life that He provides. The
invitation is to seek spiritual nourishment and sustenance through a
deeper relationship with God, who offers the ultimate source of life and
fulfillment. It calls for a response of faith, belief, and a willingness to
follow Jesus as the bread of life.
Let us seek God in our everyday life, be faithful with our personal prayer,
go to Mass every Sunday and all days of obligation, and be a source of
nourishment.
Confession
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Readings (Scripture Reading, Life of the Saints, and
Inspirational Books)
