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Here is the study for 6:30 am, Saturday morning, August 19th, 2006 in the Hearth Room at Epiphany.

Allowing the Eucharist to Change How We Live Our Lives

Sunday, August 20, 2006
Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm 34:2-7
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58

Click here for readings  (For quick review only; bring your Bible)

Whoever eats of this bread will live forever (John 6:51). (John 6:51).

Eternal life simply through eating the Eucharistic bread? Surely there must be more to it than this—and there is, but not in the way we might imagine. Every day, Jesus invites us, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine,” yet he also calls us to “leave simpleness . . . and walk in the way of insight.” (Proverbs 9:5,6). Similarly, St. Paul warns us to “look carefully” at how we live, “not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Eternal life through the Eucharist comes as we connect what we eat with how we live. As beloved children of God, we should be “making the most of the time” (Ephesians 5:16). We should be taking care that our days are filled with praise and worship of the Lord (5:19) and that we are constantly seeking more of the Holy Spirit (5:18). We should be seeking wisdom from God for our future and healing from God for our past.

The glory of the Eucharist is that as we receive Jesus in this special way and pay attention to the way we live, we become one with Christ: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them” (John 6:56). We are not left simply with a list of dos and don’ts. We are given the promise that each of us can come to see as Jesus sees, to speak as Jesus speaks, and to pray as Jesus prays. We can become Christ to the world!

Today at Mass and in every moment of your life, make the most of the time. Take up Scripture’s call to sing psalms and hymns from your heart. Seek to become wise as you welcome Jesus into your heart. Becoming one with God as we accept the Eucharist is not only our source of holiness, it is our source of wisdom.

“Lord, I need your grace to walk in wisdom today. Send your Holy Spirit to open my eyes to the nourishment you offer me today.”

Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men

1.                 In the first reading from Proverbs, all are invited to come to the Lord's Table to receive wisdom, life, and understanding. We are only asked to come in simplicity, forsake foolishness, and seek understanding – to be open to be taught by the Lord. This can occur as we come to the Lord’s Table at Mass, as we pray, and as we read Scriptures. In what ways can you make yourself more open to the Lord, especially in any areas of your life that you tend to reserve to yourself, and from which God might be excluded?

2.                 In the Responsorial Psalm today we are called to “bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be ever in my mouth.” We are also called to "glorify the Lord" and "extol his name" together. The fruit of such individual and corporate worship and seeking of the Lord is deliverance “from all my fears,” a face “radiant with joy,” and a face that does “not blush with shame.” As a Catholic man, what steps can you take to deepen your personal prayer life and worship, and to be more active in your worship at Mass and in the receipt of the Eucharist?

3.                 In the second reading from the letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul contrasts "foolish" and "wise" behavior. We are told to "watch carefully how you live." How often do you take the time to examine your conscience or to review your day? What difference can these practices make in your battle with the “world, the flesh, and the devil?”

4.                 St. Paul also encourages us not to "continue in ignorance but try to understand what is the will of the Lord." What are some ways that we can take time to try to understand the will of God? In what ways do you review your plans and actions in light of the Scripture, in light of the Church's teachings?

5.                 In the Gospel reading, how Jesus must have shocked the crowd when he talked of living forever and being raised up on the last day by eating his flesh and drinking his blood, a clear reference to the Eucharist. Through our participation in the Eucharist we too are promised that we will be raised up and live forever. Pope John Paul II once noted that this vision of our future with God increases "rather than lessens our sense of responsibility for the world today." We draw our very life from the Eucharist as well as our commitment to transform the world in accordance with the Gospel. In what ways are you drawing life from the Eucharist? What part do you think the Lord is calling you to play in this transformation of the world in Christ?

6.                 In the meditation, we hear these words: “The glory of the Eucharist is that as we receive Jesus in this special way and pay attention to the way we live, we become one with Christ: ‘Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them’ (John 6:56). We are not left simply with a list of dos and don’ts. We are given the promise that each of us can come to see as Jesus sees, to speak as Jesus speaks, and to pray as Jesus prays. We can become Christ to the world!” What do these words mean to you? What are some concrete ways you can make these words a greater reality in your life? 

Come Holy Spirit!  ~  Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and en kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. Let us pray: O God, you taught the hearts of your faithful by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit. In that same spirit give us your right judgment and the joy of your consolation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayer to St. Joseph  ~  Glorious St. Joseph, guide and protector of the Holy Family, we ask that you obtain for us from your son, Jesus, the strength and wisdom to lead our families to their Father in heaven. Most Chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we imitate your obedience to the will of God and be ever mindful of the vocation to which we have been called. Amen