19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Praise be to Jesus Christ
Let us greet one another: “Praise be to Jesus.”
How did you spend your week?
May God lead us toward the path of everlasting life.
We heard a story of the bread of life last week. Jesus told us to not work for the food that perishes but the bread of life that gives an everlasting life. He also stated that he is the bread of life.
We also read about the bread of life this week.
We eat food to replenish our body. The first reading is about Elijah who is the most important prophet in the Old Testament and Elisha’s teacher. Elijah defeated 450 Baal prophets but runs for his life into the desert when Queen Jezebel tries to kill him.
In the desert, Elijah fell asleep. Then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched and ordered him to eat: “Then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.” (Kings 19,8)
Today’s gospel is also about the bread of life.
Jesus proclaims: “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:48) Also “whoever eat this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)
The bread of life that gives the everlasting life is Jesus’ flesh and blood that is the Eucharist.
Just as Elijah suffered for his faith and in his life, we will also face many challenges and afflictions as well as falling into a rut and lose hope. However, during a mass, we receive our spiritual nourishment so that we may replenish ourselves.
Once we recover, as written in the second reading, we continue to live a mature religious life: “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice.” (Ephesian 4,31) Also, you need to be kind, forgiving, and loving to one another.
I hope that you will rejuvenate with the spiritual nourishments, Eucharist, during the mass so that you would avoid evil and do good deeds so that you may joyfully walk towards the path of everlasting life.
Let us meditate for a moment.
