Sunday

26 Aug 2018

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B Click here for all content for this cycle Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

SUNDAY SUMMARY

Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b  Joshua forces the choice: to serve the Lord or other gods.

Psalm 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21  God watches out for the just and hears their cry for help.

Ephesians 5:21-32  The union of Christ and the church is a great mystery.

John 6:60-69  Many of the disciples go home, alienated by the hard sayings of Jesus.

The inner word image

The inner word

What’s in your heart?

We touch upon several great moments of truth in the readings today. Joshua commands the Israelites: “Decide today whom you will serve,” and they chose the Lord.

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Exploring the word

A line in the sand

Let’s begin with a few choice words about wives being submissive to husbands. It is instructive to consider that this reading appears once during the three-year Sunday cycle of readings and once during the two-year weekday schedule. That means it’s possible in a given year to receive this advice about the marital hierarchy twice.

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In other words

The Sunday gospel in everyday English

Many among his disciples heard this and said, “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.”

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Homily stories

Tough choice to make

Summer was over and it was time to take one of our daughters to college. There were many farewell rituals, and then we were off, making the 1,000-mile trip across the country. With each passing mile, it seemed that our daughter became more acutely aware of how very far she was going to be from the familiarity of home.

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Homily stories

Choose to serve

In a Catholic wedding ceremony, couples have many choices to make, from the type of procession to the music, readings, and prayers they want proclaimed. They also choose if they want to incorporate actions like walking to Mary’s altar and praying or lighting the unity candle. When it comes time for the exchange of vows, there are many choices.

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Homily stories

Stuck with God

That was it: He had had it with God. The woman he loved was gone, and the job he applied for was given to someone else. He was angry, disappointed, and deeply hurt by people he trusted and thought he knew. He had had it out with God before, but this was the last straw.

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Homily stories

The word at home: A welcome message

Some friends gave my wife and me a welcome mat that had the words from today’s first reading on it for our 10th wedding anniversary: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

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Prayers

Penitential Act & Prayer of the Faithful

That we may grow in holiness, we ask God for forgiveness.

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Quotes

Do not regard the bread and wine as natural elements because they are, as the Master declared, body and blood. . . . [D]o not judge by taste but by faith; be fully assured, you who have been judged worthy of the body and blood of Christ.

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