Cycle B - Year I:  

8 August 2021: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        1 Kings 19:4-8

Second Reading:   Ephesians 4:30--5:2

Gospel:  Please Read  John 6:41-51 

The Living Bread from heaven!

 The Good News this Sunday has something to do with food, about the food that sustains us to life eternal and food that cannot spoil.

Consider that as human beings we need food to nourish our body and sustain life while in journey in this world.  And bread is the universal symbol of food.

But then the reality is that even with food that we partake for our physical body we can still perish, and the food that nourishes life can get spoiled over time if not properly handled.

So today we hear Jesus Christ reveal Himself as the Bread of Life.  Recall that two Sundays ago the Gospel readings served as the springboard to Jesus' discourse on Himself as the Bread of Life.

In His claim that He is the "Bread of Life" our Lord Jesus Christ is actually showing us the depth of His humble and self-effacing love.  This revelation lies at the very heart of our Lord's preaching, which also forms the very foundation of our belief in the Holy Eucharist.  Reflecting deeper in this mystery, we realize that it was not enough that our Lord took our humble nature upon Himself in all things but sin. It was not enough that He also died at Calvary for our redemption. And now He goes the extra mile, so to speak, by choosing to remain physically with us always in our world until the very end of time, in the sacramental form of the Holy Eucharist.

 At that time Jesus' hearers cannot believe the seemingly unbelievable claim of "Bread of Life". Because the Jews cannot accept something even more fundamental in Jesus' claim that He is indeed the Son of God.  That is why they murmur among themselves because to them Jesus is simply the son of Joseph and Mary, so just another man like them.

Generations have passed since Jesus' time. For those who do not accept the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the murmuring of disbelief in the Gospel continues in our own day. This is particularly sad and disturbing when the "murmuring" comes from within our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith who want to call themselves "Catholics".  But one cannot be "Catholic" without believing the Real Presence of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

It is, therefore, sad when there is a significant decline of Catholics who believe in the Real Presence, when Mass attendance in certain parts of the world is at all-time low, when people's attire for Mass shows an obvious lack of due respect or recognition of the miracle occurring  on the altar, when many fail to keep the one-hour Eucharistic fast, or even worse, when people come forward to receive holy Communion in a state of mortal sin.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts so that we may understand the teaching revealed to us in this Sunday's Gospel. Let us pray that we continue to grow in our belief of the seemingly unbelievable because our Lord Jesus Christ Himself has revealed the truth to us, and to each others to love our Lord in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

In every celebration of the Holy Mass, let us open ourselves to the Father's invitation that we listen and believe in His beloved Son: "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." Amen. (Jn 6:51)

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!