Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  08/01/2024  |  Pastor's Letter

“I Am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

It is an astonishing claim and revelation: Our Bread of Life Retreat With The Lord Continues
There is so much in these powerful readings: Jesus clearly tells us today on our retreat with Him:
He Explains Who He Is and Why He Came
Remember That God Always Does The Most With The Least

This all happened just after Jesus the “feeding of the 5,000” with five loaves of bread and couple of fish, that occurred near Bethsaida (Bet (Beth) means “house of” and “saida” means “fish.” Surely this is not a coincidence!

He then calmed a mighty storm on the Sea of Galilee and miraculously came to the shore.

Jesus then identified Himself with the bread of which He is speaking and like, the “water of life” (in John 4:10), it satisfies forever. By His miraculous “signs” and by revealing Himself as the Bread of Life, Christ is telling us by what He says, how He acts and who He is: that He is the Word of God, Made Flesh, to feed all of the world.

He shifts emphasis from ‘bread of God’ or ‘the bread from Heaven,’ as it was related to Moses in the first reading, to ‘bread of Life’ because the gift of God is now everlasting life, and not just food, which many in the hungry crowd purely sought after.

Jesus Wants To Transform Us Also
Today’s Scripture readings make this clear. In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminds us that we need to undergo a conversion, to put on a new self. Our lives must be directed to change, so that we renew ourselves from the inside, to live a new way of life that is in sync with God’s will. The Gospel explains this.

That change is represented by knowing what God wants us to do, beginning right now, we pray to see this more clearly.

Hear the Word and know Who Jesus is; we are to accept that Word-Made-Flesh, this Bread of Life, into our minds and hearts—and let that Word begin to change us.

“If we don’t do that, we can’t be transformed. So if you’re thinking, “Why haven’t I changed? What’s missing in my life?” Are you studying the Word of God? Are you allowing the Word of God to transform your mind so that it can also then transform your heart and transform the way you live? That’s what Paul is calling the Ephesians to do, and that’s what he’s calling us to do when he exhorts us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.” (Dr. Brant Pitre, Mass Readings Explained).

This week, we bid a fond farewell to Ryan Wiensch, our seminarian. We hope that you have had to chance to meet with him this summer; he now returns to Denver for his next year in Seminary. God bless you, Ryan.

Tuesday of this week, August 6th, is the The Transfiguration of The LORD and Thursday, August 15th is the great Solemnity of The Assumption of Mary, and is a Holy Day of Obligation.

Fr. Kilian, Fr. Samuel, our Deacons and Parish Staff, and Volunteers.

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