"Be doers of the word and not hearers only"

In this Sunday's Gospel, Mark offers us a good opportunity to understand the role of the Pharisees in Judaism, and why Jesus and others had such strong feelings against their behavior.

Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sep. 2, 2012 (22B)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: "What is the Worst Sin?"

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

1. “What great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law?” Can you answer Moses’ question? What makes a law just? State the law in one sentence, as Jesus did.

2. Discuss some human rights issues that would change if everyone in the world observed the law of love? How might your community or your work place change?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 15: 2-3, 3-4, 4-5

1. Our psalmist says whoever thinks the truth in his heart will live in the presence of the Lord. How do you go about preparing your heart so that you are able to receive the Lord?

2. The verses of the Psalm remind us not to slander, nor to blame our neighbor, nor to harm our fellow man, nor to hurt him economically. Explain how being a doer of the word is inspired by your love of the Lord.

Second Reading
James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

1. James says the law is planted in us. Would you like to see it planted in your mind or in your heart? What difference would it make? Discuss Karl Rahner’s statement, “In the heart of knowledge stands love, from which knowledge itself lives.”

2. Are you a hearer only or a doer of the word? Name some times when you “walked the walk” when you really just wanted to “talk the talk.”

Gospel
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23


1. What problems did Jesus have with all the washing and purifying? What was his problem with the add-on laws from traditions? Is there anything that the Church can learn from this part of Jesus’ message? The Pharisees questioned Jesus, with some smugness, about how his disciples were keeping the law. What is your attitude toward people who interpret laws differently than you do?

2. What was missing from the Pharisees’ observance of the law? If religious observance is exterior, what is it worth? On the other hand, if what you do comes from the Word living in your heart, whether it’s fishing or fasting, what is that worth?

Sunday Bible Study Group

Please share your thoughts on the Sunday Readings. May we be blessed by God's words as reflected in your thoughts and experience-sharing. 
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“Do you also want to leave?”

A sad scene, and puzzling too. Why is Jesus saying such things to his followers? And how are we supposed to understand them?


Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 26, 2012 (21B)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Must we believe the Church 100% to be Catholic?

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b

1. Both the First Reading and the Gospel are concerned with choice. The Israelites gave reasons for choosing to serve the Lord. “For it was the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, …performed miracles…and protected us.” What is your reason for choosing God?

2. In which do you have more invested, a choice you made or a choice someone else made for you? What are the implications for your family, church, job and community?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

1. If we truly serve the Lord, we can be confident that 'He will watch over all our bones', as the Psalmist says. Explain how your faith has given you peace and strength in the face of your afflictions.

2. We are engaged in a spiritual battle with the evil one and his helpers, but our Psalmist says that the Lord will confront evildoers and destroy them. Tell of how you have been able to defeat evil with the Lord on your side.

Second Reading
Ephesians 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32

1. Compare and contrast the bride with a difficult childbirth and the Church with the birth of new ideas.

2. What idea do you think Paul is trying to communicate by comparing the relationship between husband wife with Christ and the Church?

Gospel
John 6:60-69

1. Compare Joshua and Peter. What good leadership qualities do you find in these readings? What qualities would you like to see in Church leadership today? If you had a say, how would you set up Church “management”?

2. Jesus asks, “Do you also want to leave?” If you were there would you be one of the many disciples who returned to his/her former way of life or one that stayed with Jesus? Is there any middle ground here? Discuss.

Sunday Bible Study Group

Please share your thoughts on the Sunday Readings. May we be blessed by God's words as reflected in your thoughts and experience-sharing. 
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"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

We need to calm down and receive peacefully this body and blood of Christ into our own fleshly selves. That way we can allow our realest hunger and thirst at Sunday Mass—not instead of the other needs, but undergirding them.

Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 19, 2012 (20B)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University
Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Who can receive Communion?

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Proverbs 9:1-6

1. What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Do you employ sensitivity and intuition along with knowledge when handling a difficult situation?

2. This reading talks about a meal that brings us to the fullness of life. Our food becomes part of us and helps us grow and repair our cells. What are the implications for wisdom and the Eucharist?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

1. The Psalm reminds us of the power of the Eucharist. We must taste the goodness of the Lord if we want to be delivered from all our fears. Speak of how the Eucharist raises you up physically and spiritually.

2. Our psalmist encourages us to 'glorify the Lord' and to 'let our soul glory in the Lord.' Explain how your faith has enabled you to draw closer to God by being filled with the Spirit.

Second Reading
Ephesians 5:15-20

1. “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” What are some ways you can show love in your daily life other than greeting your unsuspecting neighbors with songs?

2. The reading tells us to give thanks always and everywhere. If giving thanks for painful situations is too difficult, what might be some other ways to handle them?

Gospel
John 6:51-58


1. When people love each other they want to be together. Explain “Whoever eats my flesh remains in me and I in him.” in this light. Stating it many different ways, how many times did Jesus suggest that the crowd to do this in Sunday’s Gospel?

2. When we eat his body and drink his blood we all come together and remain in the same Jesus. Discuss this statement from the theologian, Catherine LaCugna, in God for Us:

“God lives as the mystery of love. Human beings are created in the image of this God. Therefore, a life of integrity is impossible unless we also enter into the dynamic of love and communion with others.”

Sunday Bible Study Group

Please share your thoughts on the Sunday Readings. May we be blessed by God's words as reflected in your thoughts and experience-sharing. 
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"And the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

For Elijah, for Jesus, and for us, bread is fundamental to life. Bread stands at the center of life. Bread is life. And in today's Gospel (Jn. 6:41-51) we hear about Jesus who is the Bread of Life. Christ is life: He is the bread of life.


Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 12, 2012 (19B)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Half a Eucharist?

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
1 Kings 19: 4-8

1. In this reading sometimes we are Elijah and sometimes we are like the hearth cake. Think of times in your life when you wanted to cry, “Enough” and you could have used a good hearth cake. Did help come? How?

2. God sent help to Elijah in the form of an angel. What kind of help do you think God would send today? Name some ways you can be the “hearth cake“ for a person in a desperate state.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

1. Our psalmist tells us how to obtain a joyful spirit, "Look to the Lord that you may be radiant with joy." Describe how the Lord has given you inner joy in the course of relieving you from your afflictions.

2. The Psalm says that the angel of the Lord 'encamps' around those who fear Him and delivers them. Speak of how your faith has been a source of strength and deliverance in the face of difficulty or persecution.

Second Reading
Ephesians 4:30–5:2

1. Do you think you could get better at “being an imitator of God?” How? Is it more likely to happen all at once because you want it to, or a little at a time because you work at letting God into you? If you were going to work at this, where would you start?

2. Do you know any ”imitators of God?” What kinds of things do/did they do?

Gospel
John 6:41-51

1. The crowd murmured when Jesus said he was the bread that came down from heaven. How did knowing his mother and father impact the crowd’s willingness to believe him? Is it easy to accept a “prophet (one who speaks for God) in your own circle of acquaintances? Explain.

2. Sometimes our old ideas get in the way of new wisdom that the Holy Spirit might present to us. Rate the difficulty in easing that type of problem in general, and personally.

Sunday Bible Study Group
Please share your comments on the Sunday Readings. May we be blessed by God's words as reflected in your thoughts and experience-sharing. 

"I am the bread of life"

There is so much failure in our lives even though we pretend otherwise. In order not to starve, we must accept the real food that God sends us, the Bread of life and the Cup of Salvation.

Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 5, 2012 (18B)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Is the Mass a Banquet or a Sacrifice?

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15

1. The Israelites muttered. No food in the desert. Memories of fleshpots in Egypt, where they were captives. How is your trust in God when God calls you to new places in your spiritual life or work?

2. What is it that the people must learn when God tells them to take only the manna they need for that day? Should countries apply the “take what you need” lesson to natural resources? To food?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 145: 10-11, 15-16, 17-18

1. Our psalmist promises, "We will declare to the generation to come the glorious deeds of the Lord ...." What part have you played in passing on your faith to the next generation?

2. Our Psalm speaks of the Lord bringing His people to 'His holy land, to the mountains His right hand has won.' What does it take for you to be able to climb the mountain of the Lord?
Second Reading
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24

1. One translation has Paul calling the Ephesians to a spiritual revolution (turning or drastic change). If you personally were to have a spiritual revolution, what would go and what would stay in your life? Would you add anything new?

2. How is this reading an explanation of baptism?

Gospel
John 6:24-35

1. The people reminded Jesus about the manna in Moses’ time and asked if he had a sign like that. What lesson did Jesus teach in answer?

2. “Our ancestors ate manna in the desert.” What is the food that you need for your life’s journey? Why do you think Jesus comes to us as bread or even as food? Would you have found that idea “hard to endure” if you were one of his disciples?

Sunday Bible Study Group
Please share your comments on the Sunday Readings. May we be blessed by God's words as reflected in your thoughts and experience-sharing. 
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