Panis Angelicus: A Grain Of Wheat

AUGUST 10, 2022, WEDNESDAY

FEAST OF SAINT LAWRENCE, DEACON AND MARTYR (Red)

CYCLE C - YEAR II

Lectionary: 618

Reading 1

2 COR 9:6-10

Brothers and sisters:

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,

and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion,

for God loves a cheerful giver.

Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you,

so that in all things, always having all you need,

you may have an abundance for every good work.

As it is written:

He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever.

The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food

will supply and multiply your seed

and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 112:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9

R. (5) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.

Blessed the man who fears the LORD,

who greatly delights in his commands.

His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;

the upright generation shall be blessed.

R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.

Well for the man who is gracious and lends,

who conducts his affairs with justice;

He shall never be moved;

the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.

R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.

An evil report he shall not fear;

his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear

till he looks down upon his foes.

R. Blessed the man who is gracious and

lends to those in need.

Lavishly he gives to the poor,

his generosity shall endure forever;

his horn shall be exalted in glory.

R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.

Alleluia

JN 8:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness

but will have the light of life, says the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

JN 12:24-26

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

it remains just a grain of wheat;

but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it,

and whoever hates his life in this world

will preserve it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me,

and where I am, there also will my servant be.

The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Today we celebrate the feast of St Laurence, one of the martyrs of the early church. Martyrs often confound us, raising all sorts of questions in our seemingly tolerant times. Yet they do show how true and stark is the challenge of today’s reading. I try to listen to Jesus asking me whether I merely want to save my life, at all costs, or whether there is anything I value so much that I am ready to die for it. Only then can I say that I am alive. I pray to have the courage to live according to my beliefs.

PRAYER:

Lord, grace me with the gift of letting go of all that I cling to. May I not block your Spirit moving in me. Work through me so that like Mary, I may carry you to all those whose lives I touch.

What is "Panis Angelicus"?

It started from a simple spiritual bible verse on which I mostly posted daily in my personal Facebook account, I've seeing myself realizing the idea what if I will post something different to my audiences sharing my spiritual thoughts/insights in life based on my experiences as a former church servant. Indeed, the world of social media nowadays are full of negativity where many people who are "toxic" in terms of sharing ideas and opinions, on which I personally described. Some people have already forgotten the so-called respect and being open-minded in terms of sharing ideas and opinions on each other. It comes to the point that sometimes we didn't know and feel that we're already crossing the lines causing our egos would probably triggered and even tempered due to our different emotions and expressions. For me, there are lots of causes and reasons why all of these are happen in our society today. Maybe it's because the world nowadays are also under the influence of a so-called millennial traits and other social aspects in life on which other people most especially the youth tend to do unnecessary traits that would make to hurt the feelings of others. By this, some people often forget to show RESPECT to their elder ones and even their parents as well. The new generation of youth today is far different from those times of our lolos and lolas. Even in simple greeting (in a normal traditional Filipino custom of Mano Po) showing your respect to your elders are already forgotten to practice by some of our younger ones and even adults of today. Some people often forget to pray and say the Holy Rosary together with your family every night and even go to church on Sundays to attend holy masses, maybe it is because the people of today are also changing their personal aspects and priorities in life due to power, wealth and pride.

So I decided create this blog page entitled, "Panis Angelicus". This name (Latin for "Bread of Angels" or "Angelic Bread") derived from the penultimate strophe of the hymn "Sacris solemniis" written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the feast, including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. It is a collection of spiritual reflections/verses taken from the Daily Readings in the Holy Bible. Aside of spiritual reflections/verses, you'll also read some of my different insights/opinions regarding on the different types of issues that happen in our world today and what would be its connection in terms of talking about the spiritual aspects in life.

By this simple cause on which I usually loved to do during my church days to help other people in the community by means of participating on various community outreach programs organized by the former parish church that I've served, I'm eagerly open my hands to help most especially those people who already reject nor forget GOD as the center of their life by means of educating and enlighten their minds not just in spiritual aspects but also in moral aspects of life that in this world, nobody's perfect and permanent. Feel free to comment on my posts or share your own thoughts. I'd love to hear from you.

A Grain Of Wheat

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