Believing, Belonging and Becoming through Christ
18/08/2024 Year B Mass Book
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2024 Year B
Jesus tells us He is the living bread that came down from heaven. He says that anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This bread is His flesh, given for the life of the world.
Jesus contrasts this with the manna the ancestors ate in the desert. They ate the manna and still died. But those who partake in Jesus, the living bread, will have eternal life.
Eternal life through the Eucharist comes as we connect what we eat with how we live. As beloved children of God, we should be "making the most of the time". We should be taking care that our days are filled with praise and worship of the Lord and that we are constantly seeking more of the Holy Spirit. We should be seeking wisdom from God for our future and healing from God for our past. The glory of the Eucharist is that as we receive Jesus in this special way and pay attention to the way we live, we become one with Christ: "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them". We are not left simply with a list of dos and don'ts. We are given the promise that each of us can come to see as Jesus sees, to speak as Jesus speaks, and to pray as Jesus prays. We can become Christ to the world!
Today at Mass and in every moment of your life, make the most of the time. Take up Scripture's call to sing psalms and hymns from your heart. Seek to become wise as you welcome Jesus into your heart. Becoming one with God as we accept the Eucharist is not only our source of holiness, but also our source of wisdom.