"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. " (John 12)
Photo copyright : John R Portelli

Friday 6 August 2021

WE ARE TO NOURISH ONE ANOTHER

Readings for Sunday, August 8, 2021 - Year/Sena B

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 116

Id-Dsatax-il Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena



Reading 1           1 KINGS 19:4-8

Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.  He prayed for death saying: “This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!” He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

QARI 1           mill-Ewwel Ktieb tas-Slaten 19:4-8

F’dak iż-żmien, il-profeta Elija rħielha lejn id-deżert. Wara jum mixi waqaf, inxteħet taħt siġra tal-ġummar, talab li jmut, u qal: “Issa biżżejjed, Mulej; ħudli ’l ħajti, għax m’iniex aħjar minn missirijieti!”. U mtedd għad-dell tal-ġummara, u raqad. Kif kien rieqed messu anġlu, u qallu: “Qum u kul!”. Elija dawwar wiċċu, u lemaħ ħdejn rasu ftira moħmija u ġarra ilma; kiel u xorob, u raġa’ mtedd. Għat-tieni darba ġie l-anġlu tal-Mulej, u raġa’ messu u qallu: “Qum u kul, inkella ma tkunx tiflaħ għall-mixja li fadallek”. Elija qam, kiel u xorob, u bis-saħħa ta’ dak l-ikel baqa’ miexi għal erbgħin jum u erbgħin lejl sa ma wasal Ħoreb, il-muntanja tal-Mulej. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.


Responsorial Psalm         PSALM 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

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 afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
       and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

The angel of the LORD encamps
       around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
       blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

SALM RESPONSORJALI          Salm 33(34):2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9

R/. (9a): Ippruvaw u taraw kemm hu tajjeb il-Mulej.


Kull ħin inbierek il-Mulej;
tifħiru dejjem fuq fommi.
Bil-Mulej tiftaħar ruħi;
jisimgħu l-fqajrin u jifirħu. R/.

Xandru l-kobor tal-Mulej miegħi;
ħa ngħollu ismu flimkien.
Jien fittixt il-Mulej, u weġibni,
minn kull biża’ tiegħi ħelisni. R/.

Ħarsu lejh u jiddi bil-ferħ wiċċkom,
u ma jkollkomx għax tistħu.
Dan il-fqajjar sejjaħ u l-Mulej semgħu,
u mid-dwejjaq tiegħu kollha ħelsu. R/.

L-anġlu tal-Mulej jgħasses
madwar dawk li jibżgħu minnu, u jeħlishom.
Ippruvaw u taraw kemm hu tajjeb il-Mulej;
hieni l-bniedem li jistkenn fih. R/.

Reading 2         EPHRSIANS 4:30—5:2

Brothers and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.  All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

QARI 2          mill-Ittra ta’ San Pawl lill-Efesin 4:30–5:2

Ħuti, tnikktux l-Ispirtu s-Santu ta’ Alla, li fih intom issiġillati għal jum il-fidwa. Imrar, saħna, korla, tagħjir, għajat, dan kollu warrbuh minnkom, u wkoll kull ħażen ieħor. Kunu twajba ma’ xulxin, ħennu għal xulxin, aħfru lil xulxin, bħalma Alla ħafer lilkom fi Kristu. Kunu, mela, tixbhu lil Alla, bħala wlied maħbuba, u imxu fl-imħabba, bħalma Kristu wkoll ħabb lilna u ta lilu nnifsu għalina, offerta u sagrifiċċju jfuħu quddiem Alla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.


Gospel          JOHN 6:41-51

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven, ” and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 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.”

EVANĠELJU          Qari skond San Ġwann 6:41-51

F’dak iż-żmien, il-Lhud bdew igergru fuq Ġesù għax kien qal: “Jiena hu l-ħobż li niżel mis-sema”. U bdew jgħidu: “Dan mhuwiex Ġesù bin Ġużeppi? Lil missieru u ’l ommu ma nafuhomx? Mela kif qiegħed jgħid: ‘Jiena nżilt mis-sema’?”. Ġesù weġibhom: “Toqogħdux tgorru bejnietkom. Ħadd ma jista’ jiġi għandi jekk il-Missier li bagħatni ma jiġbdux lejja; u jiena nqajmu mill-imwiet fl-aħħar jum. Hemm miktub fil-Profeti: ‘U kulħadd ikun imgħallem minn Alla’. Mela kull min jisma’ lill-Missier u jitgħallem minnu jiġi għandi. Mhux għax xi ħadd qatt ra lill-Missier ħlief dak li hu minn Alla; hu dan li ra lill-Missier. Tassew tassew ngħidilkom, min jemmen għandu l-ħajja ta’ dejjem. Jiena hu l-ħobż tal-ħajja. Missirijietkom kielu l-manna fid-deżert, u mietu; dan hu l-ħobż nieżel mis-sema, biex min jiekol minnu ma jmutx. Jiena hu l-ħobż il-ħaj, li niżel mis-sema. Jekk xi ħadd jiekol minn dan il-ħobż jgħix għal dejjem. U l-ħobż li jiena nagħti huwa ġismi għall-ħajja tad-dinja”.Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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Eight-minute  Gospel reflection by Fr Antony Kadavil   

WE HUNGER SPIRITUALLY  

 

Introduction: 

We are living in a world where people of all races and creeds hunger more for spiritual sustenance than for physical food.  In response to the spiritual hunger of people in his own day, Jesus proclaims Himself to be “the Bread of Life that came down from Heaven” and feeds them with His words.

Scripture lessons summarized:

The first reading describes the physical and spiritual hungers experienced by the prophet Elijah.  The Bread of Life Jesus speaks about is prefigured in this reading by the miraculous food with which the angel nourished the Prophet Elijah in the desert while he was fleeing from the soldiers of Queen Jezebel.  After being nourished by the Lord, Elijah was strengthened for the long journey of “forty days and forty nights,” to Mount Horeb where God instructed Elijah to continue his prophetic work. 

The second reading presents Christ Jesus, the “Bread of Life,” as a “sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.”  Paul reminds the Ephesian Christians that, instead of seeking satisfaction in the stale food of anger, slander, bitterness, and malice, they are to nourish one another with the spiritual food of compassion, kindness and mutual forgiveness. 

sUNday’s Gospel describes Jesus’ discourse in the synagogue at Capernaum on his return there after his miraculous feeding of the five thousand.  During the discourse, Jesus reveals himself as the true “Bread of Life that came down from Heaven,” to give life to the world.  Jesus proclaims that it is He himself, the Incarnate Son of God, who is the new and perfect manna, literally “come down from Heaven.”  This means that in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus gives us a share of eternal life while we are still on earth.  But some of Jesus’ followers turn away when Jesus explains the Source of His mysterious power and Heavenly origin.

Life messages:

# 1) Let us accept the challenge to become bread and drink for others: “You are what you eat?” Let us recognize that Jesus whom we consume in the Holy Eucharist is actually God Who assimilates us into His being. Thus, from Sunday to Saturday we will grow into Jesus, as Jesus grows in us, our lives will be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we will become more like Jesus. In this way, we shall share in the joyous and challenging life of being the Body of Christ for the world – Bread for a hungry world, and Drink for those who thirst for justice, peace, fullness of life, and even eternal life. In other words, the Eucharist challenges us to sacrifice ourselves for others, as Christ has done for each of us.

# 2) Let us  appreciate Christ’s presence in the Holy Eucharist:   Since the Holy Eucharist is “the Body and Blood, together with the soul and Divinity, of our Lord, Jesus Christ,” the Sacrament a) increases our intimate union with Christ; b) preserves, increases, and renews the Sanctifying Grace we received at Baptism; c) cleanses us of past sin and preserves us from future sins; d) strengthens the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity in us, thus enabling us to be separated from our disordered attachments and to be rooted in Christ; and e) unites us more deeply with the mystery of the Church
.

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