Prayers
With prayer as the center of our lives, we serve in simplicity and joy.
Daily we pray both alone and together.
Coming before God in solitude, we listen and respond to the Spirit.
Gathering in Jesus’ name we share his word with one another and the world as a whole.
In these pages we welcome your prayer requests
and offer our weekly reflections for each Sunday and those from special occasions.
Join us in this sacred journey.
Daily we pray both alone and together.
Coming before God in solitude, we listen and respond to the Spirit.
Gathering in Jesus’ name we share his word with one another and the world as a whole.
In these pages we welcome your prayer requests
and offer our weekly reflections for each Sunday and those from special occasions.
Join us in this sacred journey.
READINGS AND REFLECTION FOR AUGUST 1, 2021
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EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
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1st Reading: Ex 16:2-4, 12-15
Psalm Response: 78:3-4, 23-25, 54 2nd Reading: Eph 4:17, 20-24 Gospel: Jn 6:24-25 |
Reflections
“You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat; come give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat.” This familiar song refrain keeps coming to me as I ponder the readings for this Sunday.
The Israelites in the first reading were literally and figuratively hungry. They needed food, and they also needed to be freed of the shackles of Egypt and a land that was not their own. It seems to me they had hungry hearts. And God fed them…Albeit, it ultimately took some time.
Fast forward to today’s Gospel and we hear pieces of “The Bread of Life Discourse” and a remembrance of the ancestors eating manna in the desert. Jesus says, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” Later Jesus clearly states, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
It seems to me the invitation in today’s readings is to bring our hungers and thirsts to Jesus. Spend some time today noting what your hungers and thirsts are at this time in your life. Bring them to Jesus and be satisfied.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I bring to you a hunger and thirst for justice in our world. I place before you the poor and abandoned, those without jobs, all those who suffer due to food scarcity and discrimination of any kind; I bring to you those being falsely accused and imprisoned, immigrants wandering in the desert like the Israelites, asylum seekers, and the list goes on. Jesus, I trust you and your judgment. I trust you to show us the way to be of service. I trust you to give us the motivation and resources to do what we can to help you satisfy the hungry hearts in our world. Amen
Marj English, OSF
“You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat; come give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat.” This familiar song refrain keeps coming to me as I ponder the readings for this Sunday.
The Israelites in the first reading were literally and figuratively hungry. They needed food, and they also needed to be freed of the shackles of Egypt and a land that was not their own. It seems to me they had hungry hearts. And God fed them…Albeit, it ultimately took some time.
Fast forward to today’s Gospel and we hear pieces of “The Bread of Life Discourse” and a remembrance of the ancestors eating manna in the desert. Jesus says, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” Later Jesus clearly states, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
It seems to me the invitation in today’s readings is to bring our hungers and thirsts to Jesus. Spend some time today noting what your hungers and thirsts are at this time in your life. Bring them to Jesus and be satisfied.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I bring to you a hunger and thirst for justice in our world. I place before you the poor and abandoned, those without jobs, all those who suffer due to food scarcity and discrimination of any kind; I bring to you those being falsely accused and imprisoned, immigrants wandering in the desert like the Israelites, asylum seekers, and the list goes on. Jesus, I trust you and your judgment. I trust you to show us the way to be of service. I trust you to give us the motivation and resources to do what we can to help you satisfy the hungry hearts in our world. Amen
Marj English, OSF
