Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Welcome back for another edition of deacon rudy’s notes! I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal, and together we’re going to break open the Word!

I apologize for posting so late these last couple of months. Now that we’re stateside, I’ve got to develop a better routine!

You know this week’s readings are so interesting to me. Of course, we’re talking about the Eucharist, but through these readings which point to the Eucharist, what is Jesus asking of each one of us? Now that is an interesting question!

How many of us listen to the second reading from Ephesians and think to ourselves how much that sounds like our world – bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling! Add to that the various weather calamities and social and political unrest. Honestly, it’s exhausting to listen to the news or even listen to some of our friends and families drone on!

I’m sure there are many people who at some point feel like Elijah from our first reading – beg the Lord to let us die! Or at least, find some secluded place to help us unplug from the world.

Or maybe we’ve experienced self-doubt. After hearing the words in today’s Gospel – the people whispering behind Jesus’ back asking who does he think he is (John 6:42) – might make us hesitate. If they could talk behind Jesus’ back, couldn’t they talk behind my back too?

Maybe we’ve even experienced that from our own family and friends. Maybe as we try to develop a prayer life, our own family says who are you to do that? Maybe a friend or a sibling says, weren’t you the guy who used to do this? Or didn’t you just last year do that?

How can we live as disciples if we are so filled with doubt?

But that’s not what discipleship is all about. We are called to follow Jesus’ command to go out into the world. How many times, I wonder, has the Lord sent me an angel who, like with Elijah, encouraged me to get up and to keep moving?

Is it easy? Of course not! Whoever said the way of the disciple was supposed to be easy? But here’s an important point – perhaps the most important point: Jesus gives Himself in the Eucharist. The Eucharist can sustain us! And that makes sense, doesn’t it? If you believe, and I mean if you really believe that the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus, then it should change you! I should change all of us!

We come to Mass to be nourished for the journey. We pray and actively discern those that God sends us to help us. And we go out in the world bringing a message of hope. We act, as St. Paul tells us, by sharing kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love. We are called to be imitators of Jesus who faced his persecutors come what may.

And so, nourished by the Eucharist and the Word of God, we engage the world. And that leads us to homework! I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions. First, have you ever felt unsure about sharing your faith or speaking out against injustice? Second, the next time you engage Scripture or you receive the Eucharist, I encourage you to pray that God nourishes you for the journey so that you can spread the Good News of Jesus Christ by the way you live your life and with the words you use.

I think doing our homework will help us be the intentional disciples we are called to be! Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

You’re listening to deacon rudy’s notes. Thank you for joining me today. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join me again next weekend as we break open the Word. Peace!

Image: Artist Unknown. Doubt. JPG.

Bibliography/Suggested Readings:
1. Martin, Francis and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015. Kindle.
2. Williamson, Peter S. Ephesians. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2009. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Faith: 153-55
2. Christ’s sacrifice effective through love: 616
3. Signs of the institution of the Eucharist: 1333-40
4. The Eucharist as sacrificial memorial and Christ’s presence: 1362-78
5. Fruits of Holy Communion: 1391-98
6. Adoption as children transforms us: 1694, 1709
7. Anger: 2302-3
8. Sealed with the Spirit: 1274, 1296
9. Forgiveness: 2842-45

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080821.cfm
Lectionary: 116

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.

Responsorial
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
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.

Reading 2
Ephesians 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.

Alleluia
John 6:51
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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.”

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