{"id":135575,"date":"2015-08-01T12:03:12","date_gmt":"2015-08-01T17:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=135575"},"modified":"2015-08-03T09:17:57","modified_gmt":"2015-08-03T14:17:57","slug":"sunday-says-podcast-august-2-2015-mass-readings-and-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/08\/sunday-says-podcast-august-2-2015-mass-readings-and-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Says Podcast \u2013 August 2, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SundaySaysPodcast-logo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[powerpress]<\/p>\n

Sunday August 2, 2015<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Lectionary: 113<\/p>\n

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time <\/b>(NAB Translation)<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for August 2, 2015, the eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time.\u00a0 Thank you for joining us as we open up the Word of God to prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday\u2019s Mass.\u00a0 This week we take a look at both the material and spiritual food God has provided his people in order to sustain them through the difficult journeys of life.\u00a0 As we reflect on these readings, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, to help us better appreciate the Eucharistic food that is provided for us each week at Mass.\u00a0\u00a0 As always our readings are taken from the Jerusalem translation for copyright purposes.\u00a0 Let’s dive in.<\/p>\n

Reading 1<\/b><\/p>\n

Exodus 16:2-4,12-15<\/a><\/p>\n

This passage from the book of Exodus finds the people of Israel in the wilderness under the prophet Moses on their way to the promised land.\u00a0\u00a0 They had just been rescued from the Egyptians, but their gratitude is short-lived when they get hungry and begin to long for the food of their former country.\u00a0 When they complain, God delivers them by providing food in the form of something called “manna,” a type\u00a0 of bread from heaven, and quail. The manna, being miraculous,\u00a0 becomes the symbol for God’s providence throughout the Old Testament and prefigures the Bread from Heaven that Jesus offers, that is, the Eucharist.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Are we sometimes guilty of not trusting in God’s providence to provide for us?<\/p>\n

Responsorial Psalm<\/b><\/p>\n

Psalm 78:3-4,23-25,54<\/a><\/p>\n

The response is: \u00a0\u00a0<\/i>The Lord gave them bread from heaven.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Second reading<\/b><\/p>\n

Ephesians 4:17,20-24<\/a><\/p>\n

In our second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Paul calls Christians to live life in a radically different way\u00a0 from that of the Gentiles.\u00a0\u00a0 He says they live in the “futility of their minds,” meaning they are intellectually prideful and ruled by their own selfish desires and passions.\u00a0 They prefer their own will rather than submitting themselves to God’s will.\u00a0 As Christians we are supposed to subordinate our passions and conform our lives to the pattern of Jesus, as we were taught by Him.\u00a0 The change needed in us is such a complete transformation of our ways of thinking and living that Paul refers to it as putting on a “new self.”\u00a0 This is the same idea as Jesus saying we must die to ourselves.\u00a0 Dying to our old self may be very difficult but is possible with God’s grace.\u00a0 Not only is it possible, but absolutely necessary. We cannot bear fruit if we continue to be slaves to our pride and old ways of thinking.<\/p>\n

Gospel<\/b><\/p>\n

John 6:24-35<\/a><\/p>\n

At the beginning of our reading from St. John’s gospel, Jesus gently rebukes the crowd because their motivation for seeking him was to satisfy material desires.\u00a0\u00a0 “\u201cAmen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. ”\u00a0 Then he adds “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”\u00a0\u00a0 In these words, it seems as if Jesus senses in the people of his time the very same longing and frustration that the ancient Israelites felt in the wilderness after their escape from Pharaoh.\u00a0 Notice that this is confirmed when his hearers refer to the ancient period by saying , “Our ancestors ate manna in the desert.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not only are they seeking to confirm if Jesus is truly a prophet like Moses, they are clearly seeking direction in life.\u00a0 What they don’t know is that the manna that was provided by God for the ancient Israelites journey in the desert is about to be surpassed by something far greater and more profound.\u00a0 \u00a0It must have been shocking to some to hear Jesus say that he himself was the “bread of life” —\u00a0 but by saying this, Jesus anticipates the Eucharist which will be become for each believer food for life’s journey to sustain us even during difficult times.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gospel Meditation from Bishop Vasquez<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please consider using the following meditation for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Aug. 2):<\/p>\n

The people wanted to see a sign (miracle) from Jesus. They wanted manna yet they had something greater than manna right in front of them and did not see it. Do you give time to pray in Jesus’ presence, who is fully present in the Eucharist, in front of the tabernacle or at adoration?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Background music<\/strong>
\nIlluminations (Lee Rosevere\u00a0\/\u00a0CC BY-NC 3.0
\nAutumn_Falling \u2026 (CCmixtape)\/\u00a0CC BY-NC 3.0
\nBetter_Than_Way_Too_Post-Rock (Nic Bommarito) \/\u00a0CC BY-NC 3.0
\nNo Momentum (JewelBeat)\/\u00a0CC BY-NC-SA-3.0
\nSchieengeistbrene (Nic Bommarito)\/\u00a0CC BY-NC 3.0<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Feedback Line Number:
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feedback@austincnm.com<\/p>\n

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[powerpress] Sunday August 2, 2015 Lectionary: 113 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for August 2, 2015, the eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time.\u00a0 Thank you for joining us as we open up the Word of God to prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday\u2019s Mass.\u00a0 This week… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[258],"tags":[215,55,50,37,330,266,131,491],"class_list":["post-135575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sundaysays","tag-bible","tag-catholic-2","tag-faith","tag-gospel","tag-jesus","tag-liturgy-of-the-word","tag-mass","tag-scripture","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t