I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS  Act of Love before Mass 18TH SUNDAY IN ORD. TIME

O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. 

Mass Readings  Lectures du jour Reflection 

First Reading Exodus

The Lord sends manna from heaven 16:2-4,12-15

The whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and said to them, ‘Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this wilderness to starve this whole company to death!’ 

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now I will rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each day the people are to go out and gather the day’s portion; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not. 

‘I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel. Say this to them, “Between the two evenings you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have bread to your heart’s content. Then you will learn that I, the Lord, am your God.”’ 

And so it came about: quails flew up in the evening, and they covered the camp; in the morning there was a coating of dew all round the camp. When the coating of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was a thing delicate, powdery, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When they saw this, the sons of Israel said to one another, ‘What is that?’ not knowing what it was. ‘That’ said Moses to them ‘is the bread the Lord gives you to eat.’

Responsorial Psalm

The Lord gave them bread from heaven

Second Reading Ephesians 4:17,20-24

Put aside your old self and put a new one

I want to urge you in the name of the Lord, not to go on living the aimless kind of life that pagans live. Now that is hardly the way you have learnt from Christ, unless you failed to hear him properly when you were taught what the truth is in Jesus. You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Alleluia! Mt. 4:4

Gospel John 6:24-35 

It is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven; I am the bread of life

 

When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’

 

Jesus answered: ‘I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’

 

Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’ So they said, ‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus answered:

 ‘I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’

 

‘Sir,’ they said ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered: ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.’

My loving Father, my God I am sorry for many times I have not appreciated your goodness over me.  I am sorry for times I have failed to see your goodness in creation. Your love of divine providence over my life. Forgive Father for times I have complained, my lack of patience, my lack of trust.

Father teach me the way of your Son Jesus Christ. I want to learn from Christ. I want a new way of life not my old self as pagan. Loving Father protect me from following illusory desires. Give me a renewed spirit created in God's way, in goodness and holiness of truth.

Lord Jesus Christ, bread  from heaven I come to you,  feed my soul that I may never hunger  or thirst for inordinate things but for spiritual hunger.  Lord I do not want to work for food that cannot last. May I work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food you came to offer humanity, for on you Lord my Saviour the Father, God himself, has set his seal. 

Lord Jesus Christ I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me.