Catechism
Links[1]
CCC 1333-1336: Eucharistic signs of bread and wine
CCC 1691-1696: Life in Christ
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| "The Gathering of the Manna” by Guido Reni, 1614-15 |
Reading 1: Exodus 16:2-4,
12-15
The whole Israelite community
grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The Israelites said to them,
“Would that we had died at
the LORD’s hand in the land
of Egypt
as we sat by our fleshpots
and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into
this desert
to make the whole community
die of famine!”
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“I will now rain down bread
from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go
out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my
instructions or not.
“I have heard the grumbling
of the Israelites.
Tell them: In the evening
twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall
have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I,
the LORD, am your God.”
In the evening quail came up
and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all
about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated,
there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like
hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the Israelites
asked one another, “What is this?”
for they did not know what it
was.
But Moses told them,
“This is the bread that the
LORD has given you to eat.”
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Commentary on Ex 16:2-4, 12-15
Having
successfully escaped from Egypt and Pharaoh’s army, the Israelites now find
themselves in difficult surroundings with little food. God's initial anger at
the ungrateful people is turned to mercy. In response to their plight, God
feeds them through the auspices of Moses, by providing manna to sustain them.
This “bread from heaven” is seen as a gift from God; the manna is said
to come down from the sky.(see also Psalm
78:25; Wisdom 16:20). This manna is later compared by Christ
to the Eucharist he offers (see John 6:
31ff). This
selection is a contraction of a longer dialogue between God, Moses, and the
Hebrews being led out of Egypt. Even after the miracle of manna, they are
still not satisfied and in later verses they complain about manna as well, asking
for meat to eat. Once again, God's initial indignation at the greed of the
people gives way to compassion and he sends quail for them to eat. (See
also Numbers 11:1-35.)
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 78:3-4,
23-24, 25, 54
R. (24b) The
Lord gave them bread from heaven.
What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have
declared to us,
We will declare to the
generation to come
the glorious deeds of the
LORD and his strength
and the wonders that he
wrought.
R. The Lord gave them
bread from heaven.
He commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of
heaven;
he rained manna upon them for
food
and gave them heavenly bread.
R. The Lord gave them
bread from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in
abundance.
And he brought them to his
holy land,
to the mountains his right
hand had won.
R. The Lord gave them
bread from heaven.
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Commentary on Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
Psalm 78 is a
historical recital recounting the encounter of the Israelites with God, their
rejection of his gifts, and the punishments for these rejections. In this
selection the psalmist recalls the journey in the wilderness, and the people's
anger at God for leading them on without food. God answered their plea with
manna (Exodus 16:1ff).
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Reading II: Ephesians
4:17, 20-24
Brothers and sisters:
I declare and testify in the
Lord
that you must no longer live
as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their
minds;
that is not how you learned
Christ,
assuming that you have heard
of him and were taught in him,
as truth is in Jesus,
that you should put away the
old self of your former way of life,
corrupted through deceitful
desires,
and be renewed in the spirit
of your minds,
and put on the new self,
created in God’s way in
righteousness and holiness of truth.
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Commentary on Eph 4:17, 20-24
St. Paul begins this passage of his
letter to the Ephesians by describing the hope in the resurrection brought to
them in Christ. This hope was absent in those who lived out of intellect (see
also Wisdom 3:2-5). He goes on to point out that
those who were “taught in him, as truth is in Jesus” (that is, those who
received authentic teaching about Christ) live in the spirit as opposed to the
flesh. He enjoins them to renew that spirit, to “put on the new self.”
"The sacred text emphasizes
two basic points--one's duty to put off one's 'old nature' (the 'old man') and,
in parallel with that, the urgent need to put on the 'new nature' (the 'new
man'). These two expressions refer directly to the symbolism of Christian
Baptism, which effects the transition from the life of sin to the life of
grace, thanks to the merits of Christ (cf. Romans 6:3-11)." [5]
CCC: Eph 4:23 1695; Eph 4:24 1473, 2475, 2504
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Gospel: John 6:24-35
When the crowd saw that
neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into
boats
and came to Capernaum
And when they found him
across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get
here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“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.
Do not work for food that
perishes
but for the food that endures
for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will
give you.
For on him the Father, God,
has set his seal.”
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.”
So they said to him,
“What sign can you do, that
we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in
the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from
heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the
bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true
bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that
which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
So they said to him,
“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.”
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Commentary on Jn 6:24-35
This dialogue with the people
begins St. John’s great discourse on the bread of life. In this selection Jesus
begins by telling the crowd, which had just been witness to the feeding of the
multitude with the barley loaves, that they should focus on spiritual food
rather than filling their stomachs. His reference here is that through their
belief in him as the Son of God, they are doing God’s will.
The people misunderstand and think
Jesus is asking for faith in order to perform a sign (see also Mark 8:11, Matthew 16:1, and Luke 11:16). The Jews
in dialogue with Jesus refer to the favor shown by God, as in the desert
following the exodus, God showered manna upon the people. They quote Nehemiah 9:15, again
seeking physical bread when Jesus is offering the spiritual. In this selection
St. John provides the most solemn of statements by Jesus which are unambiguous
statements about his real presence in the Eucharist: “I am the bread of
life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will
never thirst.” In this offer, Jesus provides sustenance for the spirit
while physical bread only supports the mortal body.
CCC: Jn 6 1338; Jn 6:26-58 2835; Jn 6:27 698, 728, 1296; Jn 6:32 1094; Jn 6:33 423
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Homily:
Before Mass this today I
looked at the news headlines from a couple of different sources. Because the news media is so polarized
politically, I generally start with BBC World News doing my best to avoid the
political slanting that dominates domestic media. I wanted to pull out some real-time examples
for shock value when I realized that most of you would have at least taken a
quick look and saw the same depressing stories I did. I am supposed to proclaim the Good News of
Jesus’ gifts to us so I will simply summarize by saying: More than ever, our
society needs the Church to be a welcoming light that invites people to free
themselves from the burdens placed upon them by the world in which we live and
to find peace and happiness in the love of God expressed perfectly in his Son,
Jesus.
So we ask the question: What
is the Church that it should be this welcoming light? Fr. Bill, the parish
staff, and the Parish Pastoral Council have been asking that same question for
the past several months. The have been putting the answer into words as it
relates to our parish, St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. For most of you this is probably news, but
you will be hearing much more about this over the next few months as it is
shouted from the rooftops, as they say. The have developed a vision statement
that is being rolled out to the parish.
The vision statement is what
it sounds like. It is a picture in words
of what our parish should be. To use the
words of Fr. James Mallon whose book “Divine Renovation,” was used by the leadership
in shaping some of our future actions; the vision statement is analogous to the
sign on the front of a bus that tells the people where it is heading.
Here is our Parish
Vision. A few of the words may be
changed as we press forward, but this is the essence of it:
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church is a welcoming and growing community which exists to make disciples of each person by offering them a transformative encounter with Jesus Christ, the Gate of Heaven, and by equipping them to make disciples. As spirit-filled disciples, we connect and share our life together, love and serve the greater community, and worship and adore the living God.
Think for a moment what this
sacred space we occupy would be like if we were already there. It all starts, of course, with what Jesus
told one of the Pharisees in St. Matthew’s Gospel (22:37-39).
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The
second is like it:* You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
This “greatest commandment”
leads directly to the Gospel proclaimed today.
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever
believes in me will never thirst.”
How great God’s love for us
must be that he gave us his Son to share with the whole world. God our loving parent gives us his spiritual food
that we might be transformed and in being transformed into disciples of his
Son. The vison says clearly that our
community offers: a transformative
encounter with Jesus Christ, the Gate of Heaven.” And those
words, “the Gate of Heaven,” are inscribed around the arch of this
sanctuary. Indeed as we come to receive
the true bread that came from heaven we are approaching the gate of heaven.
Much more will be said about
how we will strive to become out vision, for today we contemplate the Good News
for us. God becomes present for us as
the glorified Body of Christ is given to us in the Eucharist we share. In receiving that great gift, we pray that we
are transformed through God’s grace into the disciples of the one true God who
feeds us and shows us the way to peace and salvation.
Pax
In other years on August 5th:
Optional Memorial for the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint
Mary Major
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation
for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2]
The picture is "The Gathering of the Manna” by Guido Reni, 1614-15.
[4]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[5]
Letters of St. Paul , The Navarre Bible, Four Courts Press, 2003, p 397.
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