Morning Voice

August 25, 2024. Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19,20-21; Eph 5:21-32; Jn 6:60-69. “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68 An Albanian proverb says: “Each husband gets the infidelity he deserves.” A Thai proverb adds: “When you follow the old man, the dog will not bite you.” When saying the Lord’s Prayer, one thing we ask for is that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we firmly voice our fidelity to his will, that is, our faith in him. Nevertheless, one of the most complicated things to keep is that faith. When we go through hardships and tribulations or pass through confusing times, we tend to forget our faith and who our God is. Many people, once life turns bitter, swap their faith with other beliefs, turning away from the Church and running after miracle makers and fortune tellers. I read a very comic, but nice story of someone who came for confess...

August 18, 2024. Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Prv 9:1-6; Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; Eph 5:15-20; Jn6:51-58. "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." Jn 6:51 A Somalian proverb says: “A man who has eaten something becomes shy.” A French proverb adds: “Bread and wine start a banquet.” Life is like a banquet to which we are all convened. God calls us to taste and see his goodness. No one, however, can rightly access that banquet without the minimum of faith. Faith is that which opens up to the understanding of God’s gracious love. With faith, we realize that God’s love is beyond our capacities and human aptitudes. And genuine faith leads to wisdom. God is a providential Father, we said three weeks ago. God feeds the needs of all those who turn to him in faith. And God generously gives himself as bread for our journey of life. Witho...

August 11, 2024. Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: 1 Kgs 19:4-8; Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Eph4:30—5:2; Jn 6:41-51. “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.” A Beninese proverb says: “The world is a journey, the afterworld is home.” A Congolese proverb adds: “You cannot work for food when there is no food for work.” I read somewhere that "If bread fueled men's work, it structured women's." And somewhere else, someone said, "Bread not only brings good health, it helps maintain it." We all need food to live. Without food, life is easily shortened, and we vanish. In our pilgrimage on this earth, food counts among the primarily necessities. Why do people labor? Why all the pains one gives to himself every day? Are there not all to get something put under our teeth? Sure, one does not live for bread, but one needs bread (food) to live. Today, again, like the two previous Sundays, the liturgy...

August 4, 2024. Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Ex 16:2-4, 12-15; Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54; Eph4:17, 20-24; Jn 6:24-35. “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” John 6:27. A Swedish proverb says: “Lack of bread forces one to work.” A Corsican proverb adds: “He who eats holy bread has to deserve it.” One of the most beautiful patristic hymns, which has also become one of the best-ever written Eucharistic hymns, is Panis Angelicus. In it, St. Thomas Aquinas gives the deepest meaning of the Eucharistic Bread. He says, "Thus Angels' Bread is made the Bread of man today: The Living Bread from heaven with figures dost away: O miraculous gift indeed! The poor and lowly may upon their Lord and Master feed." In the Holy Eucharist, it is exactly what we celebrate and receive. The Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Angels that becomes Bread of Men in order to feed and nourish t...