Vol. 36 No. 44                                                                 Cycle B                               19th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR                 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Lord, be true to your covenant, forget not the life of your poor ones for ever. Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; do not ignore the shouts of your enemies. PENITENTIAL RITE The liturgy of today recalls the duty of a prophet to be the mouthpiece of God at all times and presents the gift of Jesus Christ who is the living bread came down from heaven to give everlasting life to those who receive him. God has called and consecrated us to be prophets to accomplish God’s mission today. He gives himself up to us by sharing his body and blood in the Eucharist to nourish us spiritually, especially in moments of suffering and despair. But our lack of faith and hardheartedness has prevented the Spirit from empowering us to be effective missionaries in our times. Hence let us ask ourselves: what must we do to have total trust in God’s providence and to carry on our mission when we meet with failures? I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER Let us pray: Almighty and ever-living God, your Spirit made us your children, confident to call you Father. Increase your Spirit within us and bring us to our promised inheritance. Grant this… FIRST READING (The miraculous feeding of the prophet Elijah on his journey through the desert foreshadows Jesus’ giving the Eucharist to sustain his followers on their journey through life.) A reading from the first Book of the Kings (19:4-8) Elijah went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree; and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you.” And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food, forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (33) Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips; in the Lord my soul shall make its boast. The humble shall hear and be glad. R./ Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us praise his name. I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free. R./ Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This poor man called; the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress. R./ The angel of the Lord is encamped around those who revere him, to rescue them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. He is happy who seeks refuge in him. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul urges his recent converts to put into daily practice charity, love of neighbour, which is the hallmark of all true Christians. First, he tells them what vices they must avoid, and then he describes the positive things they must do in order to live as true Christians.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians (4:30—5:2) Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Eph 1: 17,18) Alleluia! Alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our heart, so that we may know the hope to which he has called us. Alleluia! GOSPEL (Jesus openly declares that he is the living bread from heaven and belief in him is the beginning of eternal life. It was a direct allusion to the Eucharist.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (6:41-51) The Jews murmured at Jesus, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God,/the Father almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the holy catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, God the living bread has come down from heaven to give eternal life to those who believe in him. Let us ask for greater faith in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as we present our prayers and petitions, saying: Response: Lord, listen to the prayers of your children. 1. For our Pope, bishops and all the leaders of the Church that they may remain faithful to the mission of teaching and preaching even when oppositions and persecutions come on their way. R./ 2. For missionaries in different parts of the world who suffer persecution on account of their Christian faith; that they may be consoled and strengthened by the promise of Christ: ‘I will be with you always, to the end of the age’. R./ 3. For the leaders of our country, both political and social, that they may be true examples of leadership and sincerely work hard to ensure justice and prosperity to all the citizens. R./ 4. For the sick and the suffering of this parish community and those whom we specially remember now; that they may be comforted by the healing touch of Jesus and soon regain their health. R./ 5. For each one of us gathered here; that we may trust in the grace of God and believe in the power of Jesus in the Eucharist to transform our lives to lead a life worthy of our Christian vocation. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: God our loving Father, you glorified your Son who accomplished your will for the salvation of the humanity. Grant these prayers we have expressed and those in the depth of our hearts, according to your will. We ask this… PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS God of power, giver of the gifts we bring, accept the offering of your Church and make it the sacrament of our salvation. We ask this … PREFACE (P 32) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. By his birth we are reborn. In his suffering we are freed from sin. By his rising from the dead we rise to everlasting life. In his return to you in glory we enter in to your heavenly kingdom. And so, we join the angels and the saints as they sing their unending hymn of praise: All: Holy, holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; he feeds you with the finest wheat. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, may the Eucharist you give us bring us to salvation and keep us faithful to the light of your truth. We ask this… Liturgy & Life Prophet Elijah seems to be deeply discouraged and ponders to give up his prophetic mission. He even prays for his own death. “This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am no longer better than my ancestors!” Elijah is giving up in despair thinking that death is the end of everything and it is the way to escape the unresolved crisis of his life. But God doesn’t let him escape his duty and sends him divine energy in the form of bread and water which enabled Elijah to walk forty days and forty nights to reach on Horeb, the mount of God. In the Holy Scripture, number forty has a rich symbolic meaning. In the days of Noah, it rained for forty days and nights. Moses fasted forty days and nights in preparation for God’s covenant with Israel. Jesus fasted forty days and nights in preparation for his mission. There are forty days between his resurrection and ascension during which Jesus prepared his disciples to receive the Holy Spirit and to preach the Gospel to the world. Thus, forty days and nights symbolizes preparation for something new, a new way of life and mission. So God would not let Elijah die in despair but leads him to the mountain of God, to newness of life and eternal life with God. The bread that Elijah received prefigures to the Eucharistic bread in the New Testament. In the Gospel, Jesus declares himself as ‘the living bread came down from heaven and whoever eats this bread shall live for ever.’ People were offended at this statement and they protested because they had underestimated Jesus as the son of Joseph, a carpenter. Jesus was too familiar for them to be the life-giving bread from heaven and they murmured and rejected him. In other words, the Bread of Life for us today is the body of Christ offered on the cross in sacrifice so that we might live for ever. Jesus tells them, “stop murmuring” because murmuring and complaining leads to unbelief, rebellion and rejection of Jesus and thus takes them away from the grace and strength of God. It is the humble trust which opens us to the grace of God and the light of the Holy Spirit and they will be raised up on the last day. So, like Elijah believed, life does not end in death. Paul in his account to the Ephesians tells, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit” for he is our source of hope and the pledge of our heavenly glory. Our complaining and murmuring against God or neighbour and our deep discouragement and despair sadden the Holy Spirit. No one who lives in accordance with what St Paul tells us today will ever experience deep discouragement and despair that he/she would want to die. —Fr Thomas Mangamthanath, ssp August 2009 READINGS OF THE WEEK  Psalter Week 3 10 Mon (R) St Lawrence, (Fst) 2 Cor 9:6-10; Ps 111:1-2,5-6,7-8,9; Jn 12:24-26 11 Tue (W) St Clare (mem) Deut 31:1-8; Ps Deut 32:3-4ab,7,8-9,12; Mt 18:1-5,10,12-14 12 Wed (W) St Jane Frances, Deut 34:1-12; Ps 65:1-3a,5&16-17; Mt 18:15-20 13 Thu (G) Jos 3:7-10a,11,13-17; Ps 113A:1-2,3-4,5-6; Mt 18:21-19:1 14 Fri (R) St Maximilian Kolbe (mem) Jos 24:1-13; Ps 135:1-3,16-18,21-22&24; Mt 19:3-12 15 Sat (W) The Assumption of B.V.Mary & Independence day of india