TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Jn 6:60-69 - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

"Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (Jn 6:68)

READING OF THE DAY

First reading from the Book of Joshua

Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,

summoning their elders, their leaders,

their judges, and their officers.

When they stood in ranks before God,

Joshua addressed all the people:

"If it does not please you to serve the LORD,

decide today whom you will serve,

the gods your fathers served beyond the River

or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.

As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

But the people answered,

"Far be it from us to forsake the LORD

for the service of other gods.

For it was the LORD, our God,

who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,

out of a state of slavery.

He performed those great miracles before our very eyes

and protected us along our entire journey

and among the peoples through whom we passed.

Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians

Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32

Brothers and sisters:

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.

For the husband is head of his wife

just as Christ is head of the church,

he himself the savior of the body.

As the church is subordinate to Christ,

so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives,

even as Christ loved the church

and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,

cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,

that he might present to himself the church in splendor,

without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,

that she might be holy and without blemish.

So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself.

For no one hates his own flesh

but rather nourishes and cherishes it,

even as Christ does the church,

because we are members of his body.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother

and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh.

This is a great mystery,

but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

Jn 6:60-69

Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,

"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,

he said to them, "Does this shock you?

What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending

to where he was before?

It is the spirit that gives life,

while the flesh is of no avail.

The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.

But there are some of you who do not believe."

Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe

and the one who would betray him.

And he said,

"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me

unless it is granted him by my Father."

As a result of this,

many of his disciples returned to their former way of life

and no longer accompanied him.

Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"

Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

We have come to believe

and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Jn 6:60-69

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

The Word of God for Everyone

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God, God the Father continues to teach mankind that: The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is the food that nourishes eternal life for mankind. No one can accept the will of God the Father, if the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit does not give that person grace.

God the Father calls mankind to have a simple heart; to surrender, to believe, and to rely on the power of the only Son of God. Only absolute faith in Him can lead mankind to eternal life. This faith is the power to nourish, to bind the intimacy between mankind and God. Without faith, mankind cannot exist in the Kingdom of Heaven. God is the Supreme Being, the power, the might. He is absolute, and humans cannot comprehend all the power and might of God the Supreme Father.

What God the Father teaches humans is to be self-abasement and humble, to live with faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ. If God the Father did not give the gift of faith to mankind, it would be impossible to believe what Jesus Christ announced about the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. This is something that Satan does not like at all, because in the Holy Eucharistic Jesus is the source of food to lead people to eternal life; the source of food to nourish people to always live in the heart of God, and the strength for people to fight Satan. Whoever receives the Holy Eucharist with love and devotion, God Himself will dwell in that person. When God dwells in a person, he has the power to dispel Satan, to dispel sin. This is also the reason why Satan today tries every way to destroy the Holy Eucharist. Therefore, God the Father calls on people in today's world:

- Have absolute faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ: whoever eats the Flesh and drinks the Blood of the Son of Man will have eternal life. Only by believing in God's love can one listen to and practice the teachings of Jesus Christ, like the apostles of old.

- He calls on people to live with absolute faith in Jesus Christ as true God, true man. It is His love that dissolves evil. Do not be like some disciples of old, when hearing the teachings of Jesus Christ: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." They criticized: "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" That proves a soul filled with arrogance and pride, because of this arrogance that leads people away from the love of God, away from the Truth of God the Father, and into the trap of Satan.

Today, the Word of God the Father calls us to trust in God's love and providence, to maintain faith and fidelity to God through daily life, through a holy life, through the act of absolute faith in the Holy Eucharist: worshiping and fearing God truly present in the Holy Eucharist; through diligently attending Mass and receiving communion every day with a pure and innocent soul, through intimate union with the Holy Eucharistic Jesus every second and every minute, always being aware: God is living in me, because I eat and drink Him as eternal food, giving me enough strength to go to my eternal Heavenly homeland in the future.

Thanks be to God. Amen