Scripture Reflection: August 4, 2024 – 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 16:2-15
John 6:24-25

What is that? What is that?" The child's voice broke the silence of the congregation that was focused on the Priest who was holding up the Host during the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass. After reverently placing the Host back on the altar and genuflecting, the priest stood up and looked out at the congregation. He said, "I have to stop for a minute. I'm sure everyone heard the child just now. What you may not know is that in Hebrew the word MANNA means 'What is this?' That child yelling out just now was prophetic! This is Jesus, our Manna from heaven!" After he said these words to the congregation, the priest attempted to begin reading the Eucharistic Prayer once again. He started with so much emotion and at one point had to stop because he was holding back tears. At that moment, I began to truly hear the power of the words of the Eucharistic Prayer.

The child's question broke into my internal, wandering mind as the Eucharist Prayer was being spoken, "What is this?" Once bread and wine; THIS is the real presence of Jesus Christ! I am grateful for the prophetic child's voice crying out during mass reminding me to ask the question, "What is this?" every time I go to mass. My faith response and my belief...THIS is Manna from heaven. THIS is the real presence of Jesus Christ!
Sara Fontana
Wildflowers Community
League City, TX
 
Photo: The Real Presence - welded art sculpture by Ralph Guidroz, Sara Fontana's father

Scripture Reflection: July 28, 2024 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
 
2 Kings 4:42-44
Ephesians 4:1-6
John 6:1-15
 
The Old Testament reading describes Elisha, through the power of God, feeding 100 people with twenty barley loaves, the food of the poor. John’s Gospel reading depicts Jesus’s multiplication of five loaves of bread (also barley) to feed 5,000 men as well as women and children. With both miracles, food was left over. Consider that sufficient food is a basic human need and that “Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them,” a foretelling of the Last Supper.
 
As God provides spiritual sustenance through the Eucharist, we in the Body of Christ can provide earthly food to those in need. Food insecurity exists even in the U.S. where over 44 million people including 13 million children experience food insecurity annually. One way to fulfill the Theresian dimension of Ministry is to give to food banks. Our Esprit de L’Ame community responded to a 100-item Food Challenge - we collected 10 items each of ten different staples to donate to our local food bank. Perhaps other groups could consider accepting this call as well. St. Paul urges the Ephesians (and us) to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received… bearing with one another through love.”
 
Anne Broussard
Esprit de L'Ame Community
Lafayette, LA

Scripture Reflection: July 21, 2024 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary time

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23:1-6
Ephesians 2:13-18
Mark 6:30-34

Jesus invites His disciples to “come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” Jesus knows we need quiet and rest, physically and spiritually, to better hear and see God’s movements in our lives. The invitation extends to us. Retreats are excellent for this. My closest encounters with Christ have been when I was on a retreat. But we may do well to have incorporated in our daily lives times of quiet and rest in order to be with God and become aware of His Presence.
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In this invitation Jesus is being the “Good Shepherd.” Shepherds, as we hear in Psalm 23, take great care of the sheep. Their sheep “want for nothing.” A good shepherd provides protection and sees to all the needs of the sheep. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He cares for His sheep and thinks only of them. Even when He needed rest with His disciples “He is moved with pity on the crowd” and shepherds them.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd and will provide for us in our needs. So, let us take some time to rest in the Lord each day and allow Him to shepherd us. 

Loretta Ortego
Flowers of the Prairie Community,
Eunice, LA

Scripture Reflection: July 14, 2024 – Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 6:7-13
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Imagine you being one of Jesus’ disciples during biblical times. Then hearing Jesus give you clear instructions to go out on your first mission trip, with no food, no sack, no money?! Oh, but its okay to bring a walking stick and wear your sandals.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t leave home without snacks and water in my vehicle. You never know when you might be stuck in a lengthy traffic jam. And I may not have money with me, but I can always rely on that credit card which is approved so fast it makes my head spin.

I have always considered this passage as the “Go Forth” request. Jesus asks us to go forth, spread the good news, testify, evangelize. When we leave mass every Sunday, aren’t we supposed to go forth, live our lives as a good Christian, show others our love for Jesus, and let our actions demonstrate our beliefs?

As we go forth, just like the disciples did, we may face a lack of welcome or reach out to others who will not listen. But this should not discourage our efforts. Discouragement will certainly not lead to success. Jesus stated to “leave and shake off the dust”. Go forth with determination; witness to the kingdom with your actions, your faith, and your message of the love that Jesus has for all those who follow him and truly believe. GO FORTH!

Eileen Eskew
Petals of Faith Community
Jennings, LA

Scripture Reflection: July 7, 2024 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Ezekiel 2:2-5
Ps 123:1-4
Corinthians 12:7-10
Mark 6:1-6
 
My daily morning prayer time is spent reflecting on the readings of the day, especially the Gospel. I try to walk away from my contemplative time with a word or phrase that will carry me through the day. As I reflected on these readings, the word that came to me was conviction.

Ezekiel was strong in his conviction of hearing the word of God and having the strength and courage to stand up and walk into a “hard of face and obstinate of heart” people. Jesus walked into his hometown, with folks who wrestled with the mystery of who this home grounded boy became! Jesus too, was met with resistance and disbelief. His teachings and healing were not received well. Jesus’ call was to preach everywhere he went. Maybe he was convinced that a few people were open to hearing with their hearts and listened attentively. Maybe a few people encountered Mary’s Son who shared a touching message that transformed how they lived their daily lives.

The question is how do I, you come to listen to the words of Scripture?

How do the words transform you/me?

Sister Ginny Heldorfer OSF
Women at the Well
Dubuque, IA 

Scripture Reflection: June 30, 2024 – Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
 
Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24
Mk 5:21-43
 
In this Sunday’s readings Jesus said to Jairus, the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, just have faith”. Really? Just have faith? I want to Just have faith, but I don’t always know how. I am not always able to JUST DO IT, as they say.
 
Many, many nights I lay awake in the dark of night worried for my children. My only solace is prayer. I pray for God to help my children through their pain. I ask God to give me rest, to quiet my mind. I pray the Our Father, I pray the Hail Mary, I recite the Serenity Prayer. I say these prayers to myself over and over again. And you know? I surrender, I relax, I sleep (most of the time).
 
And on some mornings, when I haven’t slept, I am still able to enjoy my day. I walk in the garden, barefoot. I see the light of the morning. I see how the plants have changed since the day before.
 
I am filled with gratitude. Grateful for the willingness to pray, to surrender.
 
“At night fall, weeping enters in but with the dawn, rejoicing. I will praise you Lord, for you have rescued me. You changed my mourning into dancing. O Lord, my God, forever I will give you thanks.”
 
Bernadette Patten
Anam Cara Community
Houston, TX

Scripture Reflection: June 23, 2024 – Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary time

Jb 38:1, 8-11
Ps 107:23-31
2 Cor 5:14-17
Mk 4:35-41
 
Today we are reminded that God creates all and has power and control over all of creation. God questions Job and asks, “who was there when I set limits and who shut within doors the sea?” (Jb. 38:8) God addresses Job to remind him of God’s  power over creation. In the Gospel Jesus also speaks of this power. While the disciples were in a boat a storm came up and tossed them about. All the while Jesus was asleep in the boat. They woke Him and He said to the sea, “Quiet! Be Still!” and the wind ceased (Mk. 4:39). Only Jesus can calm the storms in our lives. So, when we are tempted to think we can control the storms in our lives we must remember that God has all of this in His hands. We must be “Quiet! Be Still!” and trust that God will calm the storms in our lives.
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Loretta Ortego
Flowers of the Prairie Community
Eunice, LA 

Scripture Reflection: June 16, 2024 – Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
 
Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
Psalm 92:2
 
I love the beautiful imagery captured in this Sunday’s readings.
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•  A majestic cedar
• Every winged thing in the shade of its boughs
• And the smallest mustard seed that, when fully grown, “puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”

But it’s the responsorial psalm that stirred my heart.

I recently listened to an interview with Julie Andrews where she shared that, when she recorded, “My Favorite Things,” she sang it as a meditation on the goodness of life and those things for which she is most grateful.

• Raindrops on roses
• Whiskers on kittens
• Bright copper kettles
• Warm woolen mittens

It reminded me of who I strive to be. A person who notices how God is Good and showers me/us with a multitude of gifts that I want to see and acknowledge throughout my days. My husband and family, of course, but all the other things, too.

• The monarch caterpillars feasting on my milkweed
• Refrigerator magnets that commemorate wonderful getaways
• My washer and dryer
• Sanitation workers who come twice a week to carry away our discards
• The enticing aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans
• Wordle

I could go on and on, and I bet you can, too. What’s on your list?
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For such a time as this, Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
 
Heidi Clark
​Wildflowers Community
League City, TX

Scripture Reflection: June 9, 2024 - Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Genesis 3:9-15
Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
Mark 2:20-35

Three words came to mind during my reflection on this Sunday’s readings: Family, Disappointment and Abundance.

The first family of Adam and Eve followed by the family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. And my family from a societal point of view is composed of my immediate family as well as my extended biological family. However, I know I have other family members in my Theresian sisters, both in my community as well as nationally and internationally. These sisters support me in both the happy and sad times of my life.

I wonder if Mary was disappointed when Jesus said, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?” As a Mom myself, I think she was happy that Jesus had found a family in all those who were doing the will of God.

Adam and Eve disappointed God by deciding they wanted to experience that specific “forbidden fruit” even as He had provided them with a garden that would provide them with everything they needed. I know, at times, I have disappointed my family and friends and it’s hard to ask for forgiveness. But it’s possible to reconcile, even when I realize my wrong and am hesitant to take the next step. I find that it is possible to reset the connection by asking for a friend’s/family member’s forgiveness. Just as it is with God.

Sharon Staffel
Anam Cara Community
Houston, Texas

​The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Exodus 24:3-8
Hebrews 9:11-15
 
On this solemn feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the first two readings are about blood. The Hebrew people saw blood as the life force of a person or animal. They would sacrifice animals and offer the blood, the life, of the animal back to the creator.  In the first reading from the Book of Exodus, following the LORD’S ordinances, Moses took half the blood and splashed it on the altar. The other half was splashed on the people to signify the covenant the LORD made with his people.

The people must have known the LORD was not like the other gods. These gods would have wanted all the sacrifice to themselves, but the LORD used their gift of blood and turned it into something to show the LORD’S love for the people and to help sanctify them. I bet the people thought it couldn’t get any better than that, but the LORD was preparing them for something much greater.

The letter to the Hebrews tells us that the LORD himself became one of his people and with his own blood, through the Holy Spirit, became the offering and obtained eternal redemption for his people. We remember this (anamnesis) at every Mass, when Jesus tells us to take this chalice, the blood of the new covenant and drink.

As Catholics today, we are fortunate to be able to receive the fullness of the sign of the Eucharist. We can take and eat and take and drink.
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Lynda Knoche
Women at the Well Community
Sugar Land, TX