Work for the Food that Endures to Eternal Life

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 1, 2021

Readings (Click here to read in full)
    Reading I:  Ex 16:2-4, 12-15
    Responsorial Psalm: Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
    Reading II: Eph 4:17, 20-24
    Gospel: Jn 6:24-35

Word Count: 643

    Slow (100 wpm): 6.4 minutes

    Average (130 wpm): 4.9 minutes

    Fast (160 wpm): 4 minutes

Our Gospel today is a continuation of the previous Sunday’s Gospel about Jesus feeding the five thousand men. The people who were fed came back to Jesus, not because they came to believe in Him but because they wanted to receive more free food. Jesus knew what they wanted when they approached Him. He told them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled."

If we examine ourselves in the way we approach Jesus in prayer, most of the time, we ask Him to do something for us. We want Him to provide for our needs, solve our problems, give us good health, protect us from harm, keep us safe, especially in this time of pandemic, etc. We plead for God’s help for many things we need and want in life. Yes, all of these are normal. There is nothing wrong with praying this way. Asking for Divine Providence is our expression of our dependence on God. We need God to provide for us.

Jesus knew the needs of the people who came to Him. But He would like them to understand what they truly need. He taught them, "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." Jesus desired that they work not only for their material needs, but for their spiritual needs as well. He wanted them to realize that what they truly need is nourishment that brings not just life on earth but life that lasts forever, "the food that endures for eternal life." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"

 

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." They can only receive this "food for eternal life" if they come to Jesus not to get but to give something to Him, their belief in Him.

Jesus continued that it is only His Father who can give this food, "the true bread from heaven." When the people expressed their desire for this kind of bread by saying, "Sir, give us this bread always," Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." Jesus wanted them to understand that in order to satisfy their real hunger, they needed to partake of the Bread of Life, Jesus Himself. For all of us today, we can only receive the Bread of Life if we come and fully participate in the Eucharistic Celebration, the Holy Mass.

Jesus is teaching us that we do not only come to Him because we need something from Him to fulfill our superficial needs. Yes, He can and will provide for us according to His will. But, more than all these, He wants us to eat Him, the Bread of Life, because He wants us to be one with Him. However, with our pandemic situation these days, we are prevented from receiving Him in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. This leaves us starving for the Bread of Life. Yet, this should not stop us from coming to Jesus at Mass. The Church offers Virtual Eucharistic Celebrations on many platforms, like radio, television, the internet via Facebook, FB Messenger, YouTube, and Zoom, among others. When we attend Mass through one of these platforms in the safety of our homes, let us participate fully in the celebration and not do anything else while the Mass is going on. This will prepare us to receive Him in Holy Communion, at least spiritually. Even in these times of community quarantine, let us do our best to "work for the food that endures to eternal life."

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

Image credit: pxhere.com

 

Be Serious About The Presence Of God

Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

July 30, 2021

Novena Mass

St. Peter Julian Eymard, Apostle of the Eucharist 

Feastday: August 2

Readings (Click here to read in full)

    Reading I:   Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
    Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab
    Gospel:   Mt 13:54-58

Word Count: 418

Reading speed
    Slow (100 wpm): 4.2 minutes
    Average (130 wpm): 3.2 minutes
    Fast (160 wpm): 2.6 minutes

On this first day of our Triduum Masses in preparation for the feast day of St. Peter Julian Eymard, we reflect on his letter written in 1868 to Mme. Mathilde Giraud-Jordan. He wrote: "Be serious about the presence of God, the knowledge of Jesus Christ, a definite thought of some virtue, and you will have a center of strength and consolation."

 

In our Gospel today, the people of Nazareth refuse to recognize who Jesus truly is. They could not accept what they heard about Jesus, the many things He taught and did. They were skeptical about where He got his wisdom and His power to do mighty deeds. For them, there was never anything extraordinary about Jesus, since they never knew the mysteries behind His birth. For them, Jesus is not the Son of God, He is not the Messiah. He was just the carpenter’s son, the son of Mary. They even took offense at Him. They looked down on him in unbelief. As the Gospel relates, "And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith."

 

Unlike the townsfolk of Jesus, St. Eymard reminds us to "be serious about the presence of God, the knowledge of Jesus Christ, a definite thought of some virtue…." Unlike the Nazareans, we can express our seriousness about Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist and deepen our knowledge and love of Him through our daily adoration. St. Eymard said,

 

"The Object of Eucharistic adoration is the divine Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, present in the Blessed Sacrament. There is nothing greater or holier we can do on earth than this adoration. Eucharistic adoration is the greatest of actions. To adore is to share the life of the saints in heaven who never cease to praise, bless, and adore the goodness, the love, the glory, the power, and the divinity of the Lamb immolated for the love of men and the glory of God the Father. Eucharistic adoration is the holiest of actions…the perfect exercise of all the virtues [including Faith in the hidden Jesus veiled in the Sacred host, the Piety of self-annihilation before Jesus, Love of God, and Charity by praying for your neighbor in adoration]. To adore well we must, above all, talk to our Lord; He will answer us. Everybody can talk to our Lord."

 

By doing this, we "will have a center of strength and consolation" as St. Eymard said, and we will behold Jesus doing many mighty deeds in our lives. 

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

Image credit: www.commons.wikimedia.org

 

Appreciating The Giftedness Of Others

Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

July 30, 2021

Readings (Click here to read in full)
    Reading I:   Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
    Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab
    Gospel:   Mt 13:54-58

Word Count: 305

Reading speed

    Slow (100 wpm): 3 minutes

    Average (130 wpm): 2.3 minutes

    Fast (160 wpm): 1.9 minutes

When we rejoice in the gifts God gives to others, we are opening our hearts to receive gifts as well.

The people of Nazareth failed to rejoice and accept who Jesus had become. They heard so much about what Jesus did in other places, but they failed to recognize anything extraordinary about the Jesus they grew up with. Before Jesus started his ministry, they knew him so well; his family, his abilities and education. Now, they were surprised at what Jesus could do. They said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?" Were they jealous of him? Jesus had become way better than any of them. They could perhaps ask themselves, why him and not us? As they had no knowledge of the mysteries that surrounded the birth of Jesus, they were shocked and took offence at Him. They looked down on Him in unbelief.

If only they accepted Jesus and rejoiced in His abilities, they could have opened their hearts to receive the wisdom Jesus could have imparted to them and experienced the wonders He could have done as He did to others. The Gospel ended by stating, "And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith."

Like the townsfolk of Jesus, at times, we too can become envious of others who have received so many blessings in life. We feel that they are more favored than us, that God has blessed them more than us. And because of this, we have become bitter towards them. We refuse to accept them as they are. Since we are envious, we fail to see how God has blessed us as well. Our Gospel today reminds us that we can only experience and receive the grace of God if we appreciate and rejoice in the blessings God bestows on others.

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

Image credit: pixabay.com