Author: ANTONINO

Exodus, the second of the five books of the Law, tells of Moses leading the Israelites through the desert to the promised land, a collection of slaves becoming a people, developing culture and laws. Above all coming to recognise and worship the God who saved them as the one God. They often rebelled and murmured against Moses. But God fed them in the desert with quails and manna – ‘daily, or tomorrow’s bread’.
The Psalm reminds us of the importance of handing down to later generations the traditions of God’s dealings with his people.
Paul continues reminding the Ephesians of the new rules they must live by. Not overturning the rules in Exodus, but demanding more and deeper conformity to Jesus’ way. We have to put aside our old self which – as Paul knows very well – so easily “gets corrupted by following illusory desires”. We must “put on the new self that has been created in God’s way”.
In chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, after Jesus fed five thousand, he starts to explain the meaning of this miracle. Jesus feeds us, just as God fed the Israelites in the wilderness. Gently Jesus corrects the Jews’ understanding of Exodus: It was not “Moses who gave” but Jesus’ “Father who gives the bread from heaven” – now and always.
(Exodus 16: 2-4, 12-15; Psalm 77(78); Eph 4: 17, 20-24; John 6: 24-35)

Jeremiah 23: 1-6; Psalm 22(23); Eph 2: 13-18; Mark 6: 30-34

Jeremiah was preaching around 600 BC. For forty years before the exile he reminded Judah’s rulers how they had broken the covenant, worshipping other gods and taking advantage of the poor. His warnings were ignored, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the people taken into exile in Babylon.
But the Lord promises to rescue his people. He will make a new covenant and send a descendant of David to rule with truth, integrity and honesty.
The Psalm celebrates God’s loving care for his people, like a shepherd guarding and guiding his flock, and looking forward to his generous end-time feast.
Paul tells the Ephesians that Gentiles and Jews, previously separated by the Law, have now become one “by the blood of Christ”. The Law’s barriers have been broken down, and God’s covenant now extends to Gentiles. Early proposals for Christians to ignore the Jewish Scriptures were rejected, and the Old Testament readings now included at Mass can help our faith.
Mark’s Gospel has described the death of John the Baptist while the apostles were away on their mission. On their return Jesus takes them away ‘on retreat’. But the crowds follow, setting the scene for the feeding miracles. For the next five weeks we switch to John’s Gospel for a fuller account of Eucharistic feeding.
(Jeremiah 23: 1-6; Psalm 22(23); Eph 2: 13-18; Mark 6: 30-34)
Jeremiah was preaching around 600 BC. For forty years before the exile he reminded Judah’s rulers how they had broken the covenant, worshipping other gods and taking advantage of the poor. His warnings were ignored, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the people taken into exile in Babylon.
But the Lord promises to rescue his people. He will make a new covenant and send a descendant of David to rule with truth, integrity and honesty.
The Psalm celebrates God’s loving care for his people, like a shepherd guarding and guiding his flock, and looking forward to his generous end-time feast.
Paul tells the Ephesians that Gentiles and Jews, previously separated by the Law, have now become one “by the blood of Christ”. The Law’s barriers have been broken down, and God’s covenant now extends to Gentiles. Early proposals for Christians to ignore the Jewish Scriptures were rejected, and the Old Testament readings now included at Mass can help our faith.
Mark’s Gospel has described the death of John the Baptist while the apostles were away on their mission. On their return Jesus takes them away ‘on retreat’. But the crowds follow, setting the scene for the feeding miracles. For the next five weeks we switch to John’s Gospel for a fuller account of Eucharistic feeding.
(Jeremiah 23: 1-6; Psalm 22(23); Eph 2: 13-18; Mark 6: 30-34)

Amos 7:12-15; Psalm 84(85): 9-1 4; Eph 1: 3-14; Mark 6: 7-13

The first six chapters of the Book of Amos show in detail why the Jews will suffer judgement. Amaziah denounces Amos to the northern king for his unwelcome prophecies. Speaking around 760 BC, Amos bravely ignores him, and continues to warn the people. 200 years later his warnings were written down – because he was right: the northern kingdom had rejected God, and was destroyed.
The Psalm describes the coming happiness revealed by the Lord: virtues are imagined as courtiers of the returned king.
Over the next seven weeks we hear extracts from Paul’s breathtaking letter “to the Ephesians”. Its ideas can flow past us so quickly that we can easily miss their significance. If we stop after each phrase and ponder its meaning, we see a God very different from common belief. A God who lovingly “chose us in Christ” “before the world was made”. A God whose “hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning”, so that we might “live through love in his presence”. This was no ‘plan B’, suddenly concocted to correct a mistake!
In Mark’s gospel, after his rejection in his home town we heard last week, Jesus now sends the disciples out on mission Next week we hear about their experiences.
(Amos 7:12-15; Psalm 84(85): 9-1 4; Eph 1: 3-14; Mark 6: 7-13)

Wisdom 1: 13-15, 2:23-24; Psalm 29(30); 2 Cor 89: 7-15; Mark: 5: 21-43

The Book of Wisdom, written in the century before Christ, starts by exhorting us to “love righteousness … and seek the Lord with sincerity of heart”. God made man in his own image: not immortal, for only God is immortal, but God made man “imperishable”. Death is not the end.
The Psalm gives thanks for deliverance from death: prayers during sickness were answered by God, triumphing over death.
The reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians might have been written today: we should share the earth’s resources with other peoples currently in need. We may need help some time! Paul was collecting financial aid for the Church in Jerusalem, since many towns in the rest of the empire had greater resources. Paul’s approach is supremely practical: he praises the Corinthians and then challenges them to give generously. But they should always keep a balance, not beggar themselves.
We resume our Sunday readings from Mark’s gospel. During his journey to heal Jairus’ daughter, Jesus is interrupted by a woman seeking a cure for her continuous haemorrhage. Jesus tells her her faith has restored her to health. As with the child raised from the dead, God’s kingdom breaks through, to help us understand what God has planned for us in his new creation.
(Wisdom 1: 13-15, 2:23-24; Psalm 29(30); 2 Cor 89: 7-15; Mark: 5: 21-43)

Ezekiel 17: 22-24; Psalm 91(92); 2 Cor 5: 6-10; Mark 4: 26-34

Ezekiel has many chapters about Israel’s failure to keep faith in God, culminating in the Babylonian exile. But God keeps his promises: He will restore his people to Israel. A remnant will survive and return to Zion, to build a renewed and perfect creation.
The Psalm extolls the Lord’s just deeds: “the just” are so steadfast they appear rooted, flourishing “in the courts of our God”, while “evildoers shall be scattered”.
Paul has described some of his difficulties, accepting that “while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake”. He encourages the Corinthians to have confidence in the Lord: whatever problems we face in our earthly lives, we look forward to making “our home with the Lord”. Then our reward will be affected by our behaviour in this world.
In Mark’s gospel Jesus describes the kingdom of God in parables. All around us are examples of transformation, seeds becoming unimaginable plants. We have got used to thinking of the kingdom of God as “somewhere else” – in “heaven” rather than on earth. But Jesus’ parables do not suggest this, and in the Lord’s prayer we ask every day that God’s kingdom come “on earth, as it is in heaven”. Do we mean it? What are we doing about it?
(Ezekiel 17: 22-24; Psalm 91(92); 2 Cor 5: 6-10; Mark 4: 26-34)

Deut 4: 32-34, 39-40; Psalm 32(33); Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28: 16-20

Deuteronomy, the second book of the Law, consolidated Israel’s beliefs and rituals. A long introductory teaching by Moses emphasises the requirement for Israel to keep the Law, as its part in their covenant with God. In today’s reading Moses emphasises the uniqueness of God, who has made himself known to Israel, speaking out of a fire, and who has made a covenant with them: He will be their God and they are to be his people. Moses then repeats the ten commandments, given by God.
The Psalm picks up God’s omnipotence, who created even the heavens and the stars. We can rely confidently on His promises.
God’s revelation in Christ fulfilled this covenant relationship: Paul tells the Romans that if we are in the Spirit we are not in the flesh. We are no longer dominated by our human tendency to turn from God. We are now God’s children, sharing in Christ’s inheritance, in his suffering and in his glory.
There only two resurrection appearances in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus appeared very briefly to two Marys. Then the Gospel ends with Jesus commissioning the eleven disciples to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. And He promises to be with his people always.
(Deut 4: 32-34, 39-40; Psalm 32(33); Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28: 16-20)