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August
17, 2003 - 20th Sunday
in Ordinary Time
A.
The Eucharist at the Core of our Faith
B. Come to the Table
C. Thank the Lord for the Eucharist
Readings:
Prov 9:1-6;
Ps
34:2-3, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15;
Eph 5:15-20; Jn 6:51-58
Commentaries
/ Gospel Reflections from:
Sunday's
Into Silence • Diario
Biblico • Daily Gospel • A
Certain Jesus
Greeting
(see the First Reading)
God's
wisdom has prepared his wine
and laid the table.
He invites us:
''Come and eat my bread,
drink the wine I have prepared!"
This is our Lord's invitation to us.
May we answer his invitation
and may he always be with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction
by the Celebrant
A.
The Eucharist at the Core of our Faith
We
know that the very core of our faith is that Jesus' body was broken
for us on the cross, that he shed his blood for us, but that he rose
again from the dead and is alive. The deepest way for us to share in
his death and resurrection is the Mass, the eucharist we celebrate.
There the body of Christ is given to us as our food; there his blood
is made present as shed to forgive our sins and to fill us with Jesus'
life and strength and joy. Let us celebrate this eucharist with gratitude,
for here the Lord gives himself totally to us.
B.
Come, the Table Is Ready
"Come,
the table is ready!" In our homes this is the invitation that brings
us together as a family to share our food and our love. "Come,
the table is ready!" is Jesus' invitation to us in the eucharist.
He takes our human bread and makes it into the sign of the giving of
himself: "Take this, all of you, and eat it: This is my body, this
is I myself giving myself for you." Let us sit at the table of
the Lord and break his bread, and learn from him to become each other's
food and drink of life and joy.
C.
Thank the Lord for the Eucharist
How
fortunate we are that we have the eucharist! Here is Jesus assuring
us: I am with you and live among you, and give you not just any gift
but myself to eat on the journey of life. Eat my bread of life and drink
my wine of joy. This is I who give myself for you. In this way he also
makes us capable of giving ourselves to God and to one another. Let
this be a celebration of thanksgiving with the Lord among us.
Penitential
Act
A
and B. The Eucharist
at the Core of our Faith. The Table Is
Ready
The
eucharist makes us one with the Lord Jesus.
How much are we one with him?
How often do we let sin alienate us from him?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you invite us
to eat your body and drink your blood:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you invite us
to live in you and to be one with you
so that you can be one with us:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you invite us to eat you
as our bread that overcomes death
and makes us live for ever:
Lord, have mercy R/ Lord, have mercy.
Lord, let this eucharist forgive our sins,
fill us with your love and strength
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
C.
Thank the Lord for the Eucharist
Have
we ever thanked the Lord deeply
for staying with us in the eucharist?
Let us acclaim him as our God-with-us,
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, all praise and thinks to you
for giving yourself to us in the eucharist:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus
Christ, all praise and thanks to you
for assuring us that we have eternal life
if we eat your body and drink your blood:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, all praise and thanks to you
for making yourself the food we need
on the journey of life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us, kind and compassionate God,
that we have shown little gratitude
for the life you have brought us in the eucharist.
Let the food of life lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening
Prayer
A
and B Themes
Let
us pray that the eucharist
may fill us with the life of Christ
(PAUSE)
Our living God,
you let us taste and see how good you are
by giving us your Son Jesus Christ
as the bread and drink of life.
Give him to us today as our daily bread,
that with him we may pass from death to life.
Let his life flow in us and overflow
on our brothers and sisters,
that we may become his body to the world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
C.
Thank the Lord for the Eucharist
Let
us thank the Father
for giving us Jesus in the eucharist
(PAUSE)
Loving Father,
how could we know the depth of your love
if your Son had not become flesh of our flesh
and blood of our blood?
How could we ever have the courage
to live for one another and if necessary to die
if he had not given up his body
and shed his blood for us?
Thank
you for letting him stay with us in the eucharist
and making himself there our daily bread.
On our journey through life
let this bread be the food that empowers us
to live and die as he did,
for one another and for you,
our living God, for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Scripture
Readings:
First
Reading Introduction: Eating and Drinking Wisdom
Wisdom wants to share itself
as food and drink, to give insight and life. Christ, the Word of God,
is true wisdom. In the meal of the eucharist he transforms us into God's
image.
First
Reading: Prov 9:1-6
Wisdom
has built her house
set upon seven pillars;
she has slaughtered her beasts,
prepared her wine and laid her table.
Next, she sent her servants to call
from the central square of the city,
"Pass by here, you who are fools."
To the senseless she says,
"Come, eat and drink
of the bread and wine I have prepared.
Give up your foolishness and you will live;
take the straight path of discernment."
Responsorial
Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
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 poor one called out, the Lord heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Second
Reading Introduction: Praising the Father through
Christ
Christians learn the true
wisdom of life from the Holy Spirit. In the liturgical assembly they sing
out their thanks to the Father through Christ.
Second
Reading: Eph 5:15-20
Pay
attention to how you behave. Do not live as the unwise do, but as responsible
persons. Try to make good use of the present time, because these days
are evil. So do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord
is.
Do
not get drunk: wine leads to levity; but be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Gather together to pray with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing
and celebrate the Lord in your heart, giving thanks to God the Father
in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, always and for everything.
Gospel
Introduction: Sharing Jesus' Life through the Eucharist
By eating the Lord's body and
drinking his blood, we share in Jesus' life and we are sure he will raise
us from the dead.
Gospel
Reading: Jn 6:51-58
 Jesus
said to the crowds, "I am the living bread which has come from
heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall
give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world."
The
Jews were arguing among themselves, "How can this man give us flesh
to eat?" So Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you, if you do
not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no
life in you. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood live with
eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.
My
flesh is really food and my blood is drink. Those who eat my flesh and
drink my blood, live in me and I in them. Just as the Father, who is
life, sent me and I have life from the Father, so whoever eats me will
have life from me. This is the bread which came from heaven; unlike
that of your ancestors, who ate and later died. Those who eat this bread
will live forever."
Commentary
His
hearers must have been horrified. "How can this man give us his
flesh to eat?" It must have been too much for them to take. Never
have they heard of anyone speak in that manner. It was so real, so
graphic, so plain and literal. Surely, he must have meant something
symbolic or metaphorical? But Jesus didn't. He was speaking plainly,
and he wasn't concerned whether they'd understand what he was saying
or not. He spoke in as ordinary a way as he could. What he meant of
course was his body and blood which was to be given up for the salvation
of the world-the promise of everlasting life to those who believe.
Jesus was speaking of his suffering and death, and how this was to
become the means by which the redemption of the human race was to
become a reality. The words of Jesus are truly simple, and his message
is equally simple. In him alone is our salvation, in him alone do
we find fullness of life, and in him alone will we find the satisfaction
that will never again leave us hungry. Sadly, precisely because of
the simplicity of his message, many have failed to see the wonderful
truth contained in it.
Read
also: • Gospel
Reflections by Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R.
•
Biblical
Commentaries fro Diario Biblico
General
Intercessions
Our
Lord Jesus has nourished us with his words of life and invites us to
his table. Let us bring to him all our cares and those of the people
we love. Let us say: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
- For
the Church, that the eucharist may remain the source of its vitality
and of its ability to witness to the presence of the Lord in his community,
let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
- For
Christians everywhere, that they may hunger and thirst for justice in
the world and give access to every person to spiritual values and the
material goods they need, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
- For
those in many parts of the world who don't have enough to eat, that
people may unite to help them to earn their own food in dignity, let
us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
- For
us and for all Christians who come together around the Lord's table,
that Christ may unite us heart and soul and make us open tables to one
another, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
Lord
Jesus Christ, you give yourself to us as the bread of life. Help us
to give ourselves like you, without charge and without regret. Stay
with us, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer
over the Gifts
Lord
our God, as a Father who cares
you invites us to the table of your Son.
He will change our bread into his flesh,
our wine into the drink of life.
Make us one with him,
appease our hunger with his bread
and refresh us with his drink,
that we may live his life
of courage and commitment
and that we may live in your love
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction
to the Eucharistic Prayer
In
the eucharistic prayer we sing out our praise and thanks to our Father
as we join our Lord Jesus Christ, for he has made Jesus our bread of
life.
Invitation
to the Lord's Prayer
One
with Jesus our Lord
we pray in his own words
to our Father in heaven: R/ Our Father...
Deliver
Us
Deliver
us, Lord, from every evil,
set us free from our cowardice and selfishness.
Nourish us with the bread of life,
gather us together and keep us united,
that the world may recognize
that your Son is alive in us
as we go forward in joyful hope
toward the coming in glory
of our Savior, Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Breaking
of Bread (A. Schilling)
The
bread that we break
is the bread of resurrection
to a new life and to new happiness.
It is bread to be shared,
for it is the bread of the Lord.
Invitation
to Communion
This
is the Lord who says:
''My flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood
live in me and I live in them."
Happy are we to accept his invitation
to eat his bread of life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer
after communion
Thank
you, God our Father,
for nourishing us on the way to you
with the true bread and drink of life,
your Son Jesus Christ.
In this and in every eucharist,
let him take flesh again in us,
that we may do for one another
what he has done for us,
that we may be present to one another
as he is present and available to us,
and that with him we may live your life
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We
experience day after day
that it is not easy to live the Lord's gospel.
It is not easy to live a life that is worthwhile,
to be unselfish, compassionate,
to love and help one another
even when it is uncomfortable,
to lead a life of integrity,
to build a better world together.
It is true wisdom that prompts us
to come to the Lord's table
to seek his strength.
May the Lord accompany us
on the road of life and love
and may God bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let
us go with the Lord
on the road to God and to one another. R/ Thanks be to God.
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