Archive for August 17, 2024

Wisdom’s Feast: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted: August 17, 2024 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Wisdom’s Feast: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:


Proverbs 9:1–6
Psalm 34:2–3, 10–15
Ephesians 5:15–20
John 6:51–58

The Wisdom of God has prepared a feast, we hear in today’s First Reading.

We must become like children (see Matthew 18:3–4) to hear and accept this invitation. For in every Eucharist, it is the folly of the Cross that is represented and renewed.

To the world, it is foolishness to believe that the crucified Jesus rose from the dead. And for many, as for the crowds in today’s Gospel, it is foolishness—maybe even madness—to believe that Jesus can give us His Flesh to eat.

Yet Jesus repeats himself with gathering intensity in the Gospel today. Notice the repetition of the words “eat” and “drink,” and “my Flesh” and “my Blood.” To heighten the unbelievable realism of what Jesus asks us to believe, John in these verses uses not the ordinary Greek word for eating but a cruder term, once reserved to describe the “munching” of feeding animals.

The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 1:18–25). In His foolish love, He chooses to save those who believe that His Flesh is true food, His Blood, true drink.

Fear of the Lord, the desire to live by His will, is the beginning of true wisdom, Paul says in today’s Epistle (see Proverbs 9:10). And as we sing in today’s Psalm, those who fear Him shall not want for any good thing.

Again today in the liturgy, we are called to renew our faith in the Eucharist, to forsake the foolishness of believing only what we can see with our eyes.

We approach, then, not only an altar prepared with bread and wine, but the feast of Wisdom, the banquet of heaven —in which God our Savior renews His everlasting covenant and promises to destroy death forever (see Isaiah 25:6–9).

Let us make the most of our days, as Paul says, always, in the Eucharist, giving thanks to God for everything in the name of Jesus, the bread come down from heaven.

Testimony…

Posted: August 17, 2024 by CatholicJules in Testimonies
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Two weeks ago, a brother in Christ who is attending the Choices series together with his wife had a dark heavy laden aura about him. He is in my discussion group and struck me as a soft spoken, gentle person but carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. So when we ended our discussion of the topic that evening, I asked my group to gather round him to pray. I placed my hands on his shoulder prayed over and prophesied. When I finished I saw his wife who was standing on the other side of him sobbing.

Then when we gathered for our fortnight session on Thursday, I saw the brother in Christ I had prayed over, radiant and beaming with a smile on his face. The wife later shared that they didn’t expect to be prayed over two weeks ago but was touched profoundly that day. I am in awe of our Lord! I thought I only prayed over the husband that evening, but the wife received the touch and grace of our loving Lord too! Alleluia!

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 17, 2024 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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This is what I hear the Lord saying to you and me in today’s readings.

”Come to me my Son, my daughter and I will give you rest.” “Sin no more, I set you free to live fully in my life.” ”Come my precious one, sit with me, listen to my gentle voice. Bask in my presence as I share my living word with you.” ” ”You my child are safe, for I embrace and hide you in the shadow of my wings. I love you.”

I love You Lord!


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First reading
Ezekiel 18:1-10,13,30-32 ·


You, not your children, will suffer for your sins: so repent, and live

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows:
    ‘Why do you keep repeating this proverb in the land of Israel: “The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; and the children’s teeth are set on edge”?
    ‘As I live – it is the Lord who speaks – there will no longer be any reason to repeat this proverb in Israel. See now: all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me. The man who has sinned, he is the one who shall die.
    ‘The upright man is law-abiding and honest; he does not eat on the mountains or raise his eyes to the idols of the House of Israel, does not seduce his neighbour’s wife or sleep with a woman during her periods. He oppresses no one, returns pledges, never steals, gives his own bread to the hungry, his clothes to the naked. He never charges usury on loans, takes no interest, abstains from evil, gives honest judgement between man and man, keeps my laws and sincerely respects my observances – such a man is truly upright. It is the Lord who speaks.
    ‘But if anyone has a son prone to violence and bloodshed, then this son shall certainly not live; having committed all these appalling crimes he will have to die, and his blood be on his own head.
    House of Israel, in future I mean to judge each of you by what he does – it is the Lord who speaks. Repent, renounce all your sins, avoid all occasions of sin! Shake off all the sins you have committed against me, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why are you so anxious to die, House of Israel? I take no pleasure in the death of anyone – it is the Lord who speaks. Repent and live!’





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Gospel
Matthew 19:13-15


Do not stop the little children coming to me

People brought little children to Jesus, for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.