19thSunday in Ordinary Time(Cycle B, Year I)

Community Word:  Those who believe in Jesus, the Living Bread, will neither hunger, nor thirst.

Theme:    We will never hunger or thirst when we partake of the Holy Eucharist.

Promise: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”(Jn 6:51)

Reflection:
Have you ever reached a point in your life when you feel helpless and sapped of energy?  This is clearly what happened to the prophet Elijah in the 1st reading.  He sought rest and refuge by going to the mountain and searching for God who, alone, could give him renewed faith and courage.  True enough, it was as he slept under the broom tree that God gave him the strength he needed to continue on his journey.

As Christian disciples, we too grow weary, and need rest to revive our energies and continue living to the fullest, the life God has given us. In the second reading, St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, gives helpful insight on how to live the kind of living expected of us.“All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice.  And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.”

When faced with hardships, we tend to snap at our neighbor and behave uncharitably,rationalizing our frustrations and disappointments.  Yet, as Christian disciples, we should strive to respond with the response of Christ himself, which is to live “like Him” and to live “in Him.” His life was marked with kindness, compassion, unconditional love and forgiveness.  His is the perfect example we all should aspire to.  But it is the kind of lifestyle that needs constant support and nourishment from the Holy Eucharist, because this is the Bread of Life, the source of our spiritual sustenance.

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever….”As we unite ourselves to Christ through regularly partaking of His body and blood in the Holy Eucharist, we receive the Bread of Life, which is His life in us.  We then start to have new life – new inspiration and vision through the Word of God.  Our faith is renewed and we are given the strength to live out this faith.

Like the Jews in the Gospel who were scandalized and expressed disbelief because they regarded Jesus merely as the son of Mary & Joseph, a carpenter, and as one of them, in reality, we are likewise inclined to complain about all sorts of things, sometimes even about nothing in particular.  The Jews failed to see beyond their complaint.  They failed to see the bigger picture, the implied invitation to align their will to His as Bread of Life, source of all sustenance.  In fact, Jesus declares in the Gospel that no one can come to Him unless drawn by the Father.  Neither can we come to Jesus on our own without God’s help.

The Bread of Life is the Word of God, it is the food that will sustain us in our faith journey through life, just as it sustained Elijah in the 1st reading.  And as His Word shapes our lives, it will empower us to live the kind of life St. Paul exhorts us to follow in the Second Reading – to live a life of love, exemplified by Christ’s love for us, forgiving one another as readily as God forgives us.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, draw us to Yourself, that we may respond positively to the challenges of life, and allow You, the Bread of Life, to nourish, sustain, and refresh our spirit, as wereceive your Body, which is real food, and Blood, which is real drink; that as we partake of the Holy Eucharist we may growin imitation of You.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:
1.    When you partake of the Holy Eucharist, does it satisfy your hunger and thirst for God?  How does it lighten your burden(s)?

2.    Was there ever a time when you were strengthened or nourished by your community brother or sister?  In what way?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
August 9, 2015 (Sun)    1Kgs 19:4-8/Ps 34:2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9/Eph 4:30-5:2/Jn 6:41-51
August 10, 2015 (Mon)   2 Cor 9”6-10/Ps 112:1-2,5-6,7-8,9/Jn 12:24-26
August 11, 2015 (Tue)   Dt 31:1-8/Dt 32:3-4,7,89,12/Mt 18:1-5,10,12-14
August 12, 2015 (Wed)  Dt 34:1-12/Ps 66:1-3,5,8,16-17/Mt 18:15-20
August 13, 2015 (Thu)   Jos 3:7-10,11,13-17/Ps 114:1-2,3-4,5-6/Mt 18:21-19:1
August 14, 2015 (Fri)     Jos 24:21-13/Ps 136:1-3,16-18,21-22,24/Mt 19:3-12
August 15, 2015 (Sat)    Rv 11:19;12:1-6,10/Ps 45:10,11,12,16/1Cor 15:20-27/Lk 1:39–56

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”

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