A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
6:51-58
Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “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.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, 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 my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians
10:16-17
Brothers and sisters: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
The word of the Lord.
Psalm 147
Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you.
He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word!
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy
8:2-3, 14b-16
Moses said to the people: “Remember how for forty years now the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.
“Do not forget the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its saraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers.”
The word of the Lord.
When I first talked to my fiance, I backed up my dump truck of dirty deeds and dumped it all out. I let her look around and sift through all she wanted and waited to see if she wanted to continue. She did, for one simple reason. Neither of us are perfect, but she knew from the start I had dealt with my demons and knew how to confront new ones, hers or mine.
I have found that, his “Way”, and “Truth”, lead to an actual “Life”, that he has intended for us. Live it, Love it, and Be it!
I spent 40 years doing it my way! It didn’t work. I surrendered, it’s been much better since. Thank you Jesus!
My soon to be wife said the same thing until she found me. We both, unfortunately had to go through hell with our ex’s before finding each other. But that’s also the part where God used the evil for good. We are both mostly healed, fully and brutally honest with each other, hold nothing back, and neither of us gets triggered by the other.
We both know this is it, us till the end. We both know that everything we do is for the betterment of the other, and in the rare occasion we say or do something stupid, it’s easily forgiven and we move on.
Praying you find yours! 🙏
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
12:38-44
In the course of his teaching Jesus said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Psalm 71
I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall be filled with your praise, with your glory day by day. Cast me not off in my old age; as my strength fails, forsake me not.
But I will always hope and praise you ever more and more. My mouth shall declare your justice, day by day your salvation.
I will treat of the mighty works of the Lord; O God, I will tell of your singular justice. O God, you have taught me from my youth, and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So will I give you thanks with music on the lyre, for your faithfulness, O my God! I will sing your praises with the harp, O Holy One of Israel!
A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy
4:1-8
Beloved: I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.
For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The word of the Lord.
I have had this belief deep in my soul for many years, my duty as a father is to lead my children to Christ, and eventually back home to the Father in Heaven, through the Virtues and Values of God through the Church.
If I do my duty, and they carry these Virtues through life, they will do just fine in their professional life, which will be a byproduct of their spiritual life.