19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B - August 9, 2015

I Will Give My Flesh

For The Life Of The World

Jesus shocked his audience with an offer of eating his flesh. He is the Bread of Life, the true bread from heaven.

WEEKLY BLOG We continue with our investigation of Roman-Hellenism.

MP3 PODCAST In this week's audio podcast, we investigate spiritual hunger. We can be hungry, even when we don't realize it. Only the Bread of Life can relieve that hunger.

FIRST READING In the First Book of Kings, Elijah prayed instead of abandoning God. As Elijah did not give up on God, God did not give up on Elijah.

PSALM Psalm 34 presents us with the famous phrase “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” Indeed, He is good.

SECOND READING What binds a community together? What tears it apart? The author of Ephesians (Paul?) contrasted these questions with one of his own. Which way is that of the Spirit?

GOSPEL In the gospel of John, Jesus makes us the ultimate life insurance offer: “Trust in me and I will give you eternal life.” Why do people reject such an ironclad, generous offer?

CHILDREN'S READINGS In the story for the first reading, Allison ignored her critics and ran her best race yet. In the book of first Kings, Elijah escaped his critics, but renewed his trust in God. In the story for the Gospel, John was behind in school because he had small seizures. That condition did not stop John from excelling. Instead of giving up, he believed in himself. Some people did not believe in Jesus when he told them he was “the Bread from Heaven.” Yet, still believes in us and offers himself to us.

FAMILY ACTIVITY When people become complacent with what they have, they assume ownership: ownership over things and relationships. Yet, everything we have is a gift from God. To emphasize that point, have your family members write God thank you notes for everything they are grateful for.