Welcome to this week’s Living Word!
Our Word of the Week is Eucharist.
The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. The Eucharist is a powerful way in which we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and are united with him as one body. The Eucharist is a source of strength and nourishment, and as we receive it, just as the disciples did at the Last Supper, we are reminded of God’s love for us and of our call to love others
Day 1 – The Invitation to the Table
We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.
Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen
A reading from the Gospel of John.
R./ Glory to you, O Lord. +
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
The Gospel of the Lord
R./ Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
We once again begin to settle down into the long and steady season of Ordinary Time, which is a season of growth and hope. Whilst the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of flame and wind at Pentecost which we celebrate two week’s ago, today the Holy Spirit’s work is more quiet, steady, and internal. It is exactly here, in the ordinary routine of life, that the Eucharist meets us.
When Jesus instituted the Eucharist during his Last Supper with his disciples, He didn’t use anything special or rare; he used bread, one of the most ordinary and most staple of foods. By choosing bread, Jesus reminds us that the Eucharist is meant to be our daily sustenance, not a luxury item saved for rare occasions. He takes the ordinary substance of our lives, thanks the Father for it, breaks it, and gives it back to us transformed. Here is the game-changer: Jesus breaks the bread because it’s meant to be shared with imperfect people. You don’t have to fix your whole life, delete all your mistakes, or pretend to be a saint to come Jesus’ table. He isn’t checking your amount of followers, likes or your social standing in any way. The Eucharist is a direct invite from Jesus saying, “I see your broken pieces, and I want to fill them.” You don’t come because you’ve got it all figured out; you come because you need him.
Discussion Questions:
- Our social media feeds are all about showing us a ‘perfect’ version of life. Why is it so hard to admit to others, or even to God, when we feel broken or empty inside?
- Jesus uses ordinary bread to show he wants to be part of our everyday lives. What does it look like to invite Jesus into your normal, boring weekday routine?
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Jesus, thank you that I don’t have to pretend to be perfect to be near you. When I feel like everything around me is going wrong, remind me that you chose to break yourself so I can be made whole. Give me the courage to bring my real, messy self to your table this week. Amen.
Day 2 – The Source of Unity
We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.
Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
The word Eucharist literally means ‘thanksgiving’ but its fruit is always communion; both with God and with one another. Saint Paul delivered a radical reminder to the people of Corinth. He said, “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the the one loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10:17)
As humans, we naturally group up with people who dress like us, listen to the same music, play the same sports, or share the same sense of humour. The downside of this though is that all too often ends up leaving someone out. The Apostle Paul talks about the Eucharist using a simple image: one single loaf of bread. Think about how a loaf of bread is made. It starts as thousands of individual, isolated grains of wheat. Eventually though, those individual grains get ground down, mixed together with water, and baked by heat into one thing. They lose their separate, lonely identity to become something that feeds everyone.
As Catholics, we believe something really special happens during Mass. We believe in something called transubstantiation. By the words and actions of the priest and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we believe that the bread and wine is changed into the body and blood of Jesus. At this point in Mass, we believe Jesus is truly present with us. We call this the ‘Real Presence’.
When we take communion, Jesus is doing something amazing. We may come from different backgrounds, different families and different social circles. Some people in the room might even totally annoy us! When we share in the Real Presence of Jesus during the Eucharist in Mass, Jesus kneads us all into one body. You can’t truly love Jesus at the altar if you turn around and ignore or judge the person sitting three rows away from you. The Eucharist destroys cliques and creates real family.
As you listen to this worship song, consider these questions:
- Who are the “isolated grains of wheat” at our school or in your local community – the people who seem left out or on their own?
- How does realising that everyone at the altar is sharing the exact same Jesus change how you look at people who are completely different from you?
Father, forgive me for the times I’ve been exclusive, judgmental, or stuck in my own little bubble. Thank you for making me a part of your global family. Help me see others the way you see them, and give me the courage to build bridges instead of walls. Amen.
Day 3 – Fuel for the Journey
We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.
Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen
Have you ever tried running a race, studying for an exam, or playing an intense game on zero sleep and an empty stomach? It’s not easy and your body struggles. Your phone tells you when its battery is low and we’re eagre to charge it back up as soon as we can, but we aren’t always great at recognising when our own spiritual batteries are completely drained.
When God’s people were wandering through a literal desert back in the Old Testament, God rained down manna – described as miraculous edible substance that fell each day from heaven – to keep them alive. Without it, they wouldn’t have survived the trip.
Today, we have the Eucharist which Jesus left us and which is now our spiritual food. At the Last Supper, when Jesus broke bread and shared wine with his disciples, he told us to the same same in memory of him. We hear the words spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper echoed by the priest every single time we go to Mass.
School life, family stress, future anxiety, and trying to navigate life can feel like a desert walk that drains your energy. Remember that Jesus offers himself in the Eucharist to recharge you from the inside out. When you feel like giving up, like you’re running out of patience, or completely burning out, he says, “Take a break, feed your soul with Me, and let’s keep moving forward.”
Take your coloured wheel out of your form resource box.
As a form, choose 6 specific things that drain a young person’s spiritual battery during the week. Write one into each of the to write on the 6 coloured sections of the wheel.
Spin the wheel!
Whatever it lands on, can you think of a way to turn it around? How can trusting that Jesus is with you provide you with the specific fuel you need to survive that type of drain?
Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer together:
Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
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