Saturday, August 12, 2006
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 13, 2006
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
1 KINGS 19:4-8
Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom
tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death saying: "This is enough, O
LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." He lay down
and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and
ordered him to get up and eat. Elijah looked and there at his head was
a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down
again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him,
and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for
you!" He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he
walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.
EPHESIANS 4:30-5:2
Brothers and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which
you were sealed for the day of redemption. 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. So be imitators of God, as beloved
children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over
for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
JOHN 6:41-51
The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that
came down from heaven, " and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of
Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I
have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop
murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who
sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written
in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens
to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen
the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the
bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they
died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat
it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will
give is my flesh for the life of the world."
REFLECTION
>From the beginning of time, people have dreamed of immortality. They
have dreamed about eternal life. And with each death of a loved one,
that dream became more and more of an obsession with people.
The 16th century explorer Ponce de Leon sailed to America in search for
the legendary fountain of youth.
Today, people still strive to be immortal. Just count the number of TV
ads offering products that will help make you stay young, feel and look
younger. People in positions of power will build monuments to
perpetrate at least the memory of their name.
We always hear people speak of "the untimely death of someone...."
People always look at death as "untimely," because they aspire to live
on and on.
When Jesus appeared in Palestine and began talking about eternal life,
people flocked to hear what he had to say. Jews were especially
interested in the after life. Since the time of Abraham and Moses, they
were in the dark about what happened to the dead.
They believed there was a "world of the dead," but they had no idea
what that world was like. And so any light Jesus could throw on the
mystery was welcome. And one of the most remarkable things Jesus said
about eternal life is what he says in today's Gospel. Listen to his
remarkable words: "I am the bread of life... that comes down from
heaven... If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread
that I will give is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live."
(John 6: 48-51)
Jesus reveals that life in this world isn't the end of things. There's
another life to come. And that life will never end. It is eternal life.
It is everlasting life
The Second Vatican Council in its document, "The Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy," declares: "Christ is always present in the Church,
especially in the actions of the liturgy. He is present in the
Sacrifice of the Mass, in the person of the minister... and most of all
under the Eucharistic species."
The Council continues: "Christ is present in the sacrament by his
power, in such a way that when someone baptizes, Christ himself
baptizes."
Christ is "present in his word, for it is he himself who speaks when
the Holy Scriptures are read in the Church." Jesus is with his Word.
What he said more than 2,000 years ago to the people is what he said to
us a few minutes ago in today's Gospel. Jesus is with us in his
representative, the priest. Speaking to the representatives, Jesus
said, "Whoever listens to you listens to me." (Luke 10:16)
Finally, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he himself
promised: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in
their midst." (Matthew 18:20)
Of all the ways Jesus is present among us, his presence in the
Eucharist has always been special to us Catholics. Jesus is with us in
the Sacrament of Eternal Life. It was concerning this sacrament that he
says in today's Gospel, "I am the bread of life.... If anyone eats this
bread, he will live forever."
In the light of all this, is it any wonder that Jesus says to us: "How
blest you are to see the things you see! I tell you that many prophets
and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear
what you hear, but they did not." (Luke 10:23-24) All we can do in the
face of such a great mystery is pray:
"God our Father, you have given us so much. Forgive us if we ask for
one more thing. Give us the faith to recognize the Spirit of Your Son
in the hearts of our brothers and sisters. Give us the faith to
recognize the voice of your Son in the words we have just read and
heard explained to us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord,
through whom, and in whom, we will one day live with You and the Holy
Spirit Forever and ever. Amen."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
-for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
-for good medical results for Lilian
-for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
-for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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� 2006 Daily-Homily
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