Sunday - August 19, 2018
Dismiss all anger and look into yourself a little. Remember that he of whom you are speaking is your brother, and, as he is in the way of salvation, God can make him a Saint, in spite of his present weakness.
-- St. Thomas of Villanova
August 19, 2018
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 119
Reading 1PRV 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up her seven columns;
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
"Let whoever is simple turn in here;
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding."
she has set up her seven columns;
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
"Let whoever is simple turn in here;
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding."
Responsorial PsalmPS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Reading 2EPH 5:15-20
Brothers and sisters:
Watch carefully how you live,
not as foolish persons but as wise,
making the most of the opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not continue in ignorance,
but try to understand what is the will of the Lord.
And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Watch carefully how you live,
not as foolish persons but as wise,
making the most of the opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not continue in ignorance,
but try to understand what is the will of the Lord.
And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
AlleluiaJN 6:56
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 6:51-58
Jesus said to the crowds:
"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."
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."
"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."
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."
******************************
Being consumed without being destroyed
In this Sunday's Gospel reading, we hear the Great Eucharistic Command. Jesus says: "Those who feed on me will have life because of me." What kind of life? What's the difference between having his life and the one you were born with?
Jesus gives us his body and blood in every Mass so that we can consume him in his entirety -- all of his humanity and all of his divinity. He wants us to be nourished abundantly by his love. He wants us to receive his strength when we endure trials, his healing when we suffer wounds, and most of all, his life, not just when we go to Heaven, but here and now on Earth.
Consuming Jesus should transform us into his likeness. If we truly believe that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Jesus our Savior, then why would we leave Mass unchanged?
By consciously participating in the Penance Rite at the beginning of Mass, actively listening to the readings of the Word of God, sincerely praying with the priest, and trusting in the power of God when we say, "Lord, I am not worthy ... but say the word and my soul shall be healed," and then consuming the Eucharist with humility and awe, we become one with his body and blood.
Now we, too, are his body and blood on earth, ready for others to consume us, or to put it more accurately, giving them the opportunity to be nourished by the True Presence of Jesus within us.
When we give love to others, they receive God's love. When they fail to return that love, we are being consumed! We are giving more than we're receiving. Similarly, when we give of our time and talents for the sake of God's kingdom without being paid or rewarded, we are being Eucharist. We are one in body and blood with Jesus.
Being consumed without being destroyed is possible only if we receive from Jesus what others fail to give to us. This is why the Eucharistic celebration of Mass is our true nourishment. It needs to be the source and the summit of our lives.
How similar to Jesus are you? What in God's personality do you need to consume more of so that you can become more like him? Ask for it whenever you go to Mass!
Today's Prayer
My Lord Jesus, I beg you to never lose sight of the treasure You have left us in Your Body and Your Blood. I beg you that, throughout my life, in joy and in trial, I always choose You as my true food. Amen.
God Bless You.....
Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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