Let’s explore some of the themes that we discover in the Mass readings for the 19th Sunday of the Year.

1st Reading – 1st Book of Kings 19:4-8

• Elijah is exhausted, and he is fed in the desert by the angel of the Lord.
• The prophet, strengthened by this heavenly food, continues on his journey for forty days and nights.

Psalm – 34:2-9

• “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”
• We bless and glorify God, who saves us in our moments of distress.

2nd Reading – Ephesians 4:30-5:2

• The letter exhorts us to cast out all wickedness and malice.
• We are now imitators of God, beloved children who live in love as Christ loved us.

Gospel – John 6:41-51

• The people murmur about the teaching that Jesus is “the bread of life.”
• The Lord responds, reaffirming that he is the living bread that came down from heaven, and unlike those who ate manna in the desert and died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.

Mass Readings – 19th Sunday of the Year (B, #116)

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