Eucharist – the source and summit of our life as Christians

Dear Friends,
Every three years the readings we hear at mass focus for several weeks in the summer on the gift of the Eucharist – the source and summit of our life as Christians. The connection between the Old Testament readings and the corresponding gospel passages are rich during this time. Because becoming familiar with the Scripture readings before we hear them proclaimed at mass can be a very enriching spiritual practice, I offer the summary below of what we can expect in the coming weeks. Please take advantage of the U.S. Catholic Bishop’s website where you can read the full text of these readings and let them sink deep into your heart www.usccb.org

Week	OT	Gospel
17th Sunday, July 29	2 Kings 4:42-44. Elisha, the man of God, insists on giving his people a gift of loaves: “For thus says the Lord, ‘they shall eat and there shall be some left over.’ And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the Lord had said.”	John 6:1-15. Jesus instructs his disciples to feed a large crowd that had followed him using only five loaves and two fish from a boy in the crowd. Those suffice to feed over 5000, with 12 baskets left over.
​18th Sunday, August 5	Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15. The Israelites, delivered from Egypt but not yet in the Promised Land, grumble for lack of food in the desert. The Lord sends manna from heaven and Moses tells them “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”	John 6:24-35. Jesus explains to the crowd that it was not Moses who gave their ancestors heavenly bread – it was his Father. When they ask for it always, Jesus replies: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger” [nor thirst].
19th Sunday, August 12	1 Kings 19:4-8. The weary and discouraged prophet Elijah lies down in the desert, praying for death. An angel wakes him up and gives him food and drink: “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!” Strengthened, Elijah walks forty days and nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.	John 6:41-51. The Jews murmur among themselves about Jesus saying that he is the bread come down from heaven. He tells them that their ancestors ate manna in the desert but died, and that he is the living bread from heaven, that whoever eats this bread will live forever and that the bread he (Jesus) gives is “my flesh for the life of the world.”
​20th Sunday, August 19	Proverbs 9:1-6. Wisdom has built her house and invited many to share in the feast she has prepared.  ​Wisdom = The Word of God = Jesus Christ	John 6:51-58. Jesus says to the Jews quarreling over his declaration of himself as the bread of life that “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 blood is true drink.”
21st Sunday, August 26	Joshua 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B. Joshua, Moses’ successor, gathers all the tribes of Israel together and requires them to decide whether they will serve the Lord, or other “gods”. “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Israel decides to do the same.	John 6:60-69. Many of Jesus’ disciples struggle with what he has taught and “returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” When Jesus asks the Twelve if they also want to leave, Simon Peter answers “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Siempre Adelante,
Dominic MacAller
Director of Liturgy and Music

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