18/08/2024

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.”

In Palestine, during the lifetime of Jesus, bread, wine and oil were the basic dietary staples.

Bread not only kept people alive and healthy but, eaten together as a shared meal, kept people together; building and sustaining  a sense of community.

During Mass it’s good to listen to God and only after mass to listen to your friends and discover how they are.

As we have seen in the recent riots, some people seek a sense of belonging in a gang – causing mayhem, chaos, pain and even death.

Jesus feeds us with peace and hope. Why not make Him your anam cara - Soul Friend or Soul Mate. He is mine. As you may know, Anam is the Gaelic word for soul, while Cara translates into friend.

Jesus, The Christ, as a young man would have been known as Yeshua ben Yosef - Jesus son of Joseph. And probably, was to his friends, 'Yesh'. 

In John 15,15, we read that Jesus called us his friends.

As he is my best friend, I address him as Yesh - when discussing with him what catches my eye: the cuteness of children on the tube, 

the fatness of some folk, their tattoos – and people who thank and praise me for my Ukrainian coloured socks.