First reading Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom builds her house and invites all to eat her bread there
Wisdom has built herself a house,
she has erected her seven pillars,
she has slaughtered her beasts, prepared her wine,
she has laid her table.
She has despatched her maidservants
and proclaimed from the city’s heights:
‘Who is ignorant? Let him step this way.’
To the fool she says,
‘Come and eat my bread,
drink the wine I have prepared!
Leave your folly and you will live,
walk in the ways of perception.’
Responsorial Psalm 33(34):2-3,10-15
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
The humble shall hear and be glad.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Revere the Lord, you his saints.
They lack nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer want and go hungry
but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Come, children, and hear me
that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is he who longs for life
and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Then keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn aside from evil and do good;
seek and strive after peace.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Second reading Ephesians 5:15-20
Be filled not with wine, but with the Spirit
Be very careful about the sort of lives you lead, like intelligent and not like senseless people. This may be a wicked age, but you redeem it. And do not be thoughtless but recognise what is the will of the Lord. Do not drug yourselves with wine, this is simply dissipation; be filled with the Spirit. Sing the words and tunes of the psalms and hymns when you are together, and go on singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts, so that always and everywhere you are giving thanks to God who is our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel John 6:51-58
My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink
Jesus said to the crowd:
‘I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give is my flesh,
for the life of the world.’
Then the Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’
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Live life fully
“Be very careful about the sort of lives you lead, like intelligent and not like the senseless people… recognise what is the will of the Lord” (2nd reading). The senseless people live their days drifting through life without purpose. Our lives belong to God. Thus, we need to constantly ask Him, “What do you want from my life? What is your will?” God’s will is for us to love Him and love others. Let us put God first in our lives so that He can guide us to live life to the fullest.
In the gospel today, Jesus reminds us, “I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world”. He calls us to eat Him because He wants to live in us. Jesus is our life. When we have Him in us, He nourishes us by His life, love, forgiveness, and compassion. Filled with His love, we are empowered to give it to others. Let us not waste time but live a purposeful life.
Reflective question:
How does God want me to live my life today?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
