Sunday 9th August, 2009
19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.
 1 Kings 19:4-8. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord—Ps 33(34):2-9. Ephesians 4:30-5:2. John 6:41-51. [St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross]

  
Meditation: mp3 | podcast
Readings: Text | mp3 | podcast

‘I am the bread of life.’

The value of bread and the strength and subsistence it provides our physical and spiritual selves feature strongly today. Exhausted and weak in the wilderness, Elijah pleaded for death but was saved by an angel’s bread and water. We too are sustained daily by eating bread in various forms, supplied by God through angels in our farming and city communities. However, this bread cannot prevent our bodies from aging and dying, and Jesus reminds us that his own body in the Eucharist is the only life-giving, spirit-saving bread from heaven.

Lord, we sometimes struggle to truly appreciate and know you disguised in the Eucharist; we do not doubt your presence, but we just want to see you! We consume the bread and wine, and want to feel your grace and healing as a result. We thank you for the gift of yourself in this bread placed in our hands at holy communion. We know that we are not worthy to receive you, and rely on you to deeply nourish and save our souls.