Novenario to the Feasts of St. Monica and St.

Augustine: Days 5 and 6

Day 5: Communion in the Eucharist: Our Communion with the Church

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mass on Saturday PM)

Introduction:

"Do you also want to leave"? This was the question that the Lord asked the Twelve after seeing his
other disciples return to their former way of life. It was a challenge to the faith of the Twelve; it was a
question to their faith in the Eucharistic mystery.

In this novena mass in honor of St. Augustine and St. Monica, we too are invited to examine our faith.
"The City of God", Augustine writes

while it is on pilgrimage on earth has in her midst, some who are united with her in
participation in the sacraments, but who will not join with her in the eternal destiny
of the saints. Some of these are hidden, some are well known; for they do not
hesitate to grumble against God whose sacramental sign they bear, even in the
company of his acknowledged enemies. At one time they join his enemies in filling
up the theatres, at another time they join with us in filling the churches. (City of
God, I, xxxv )

Like the Israelites in Joshua's time, we too are challenged to say with Joshua: "As for me and my
household, we will serve the Lord"

Reading 1

Commentator: When the Israelites began to occupy the Promised Land, Joshua led the people of God
in renewing the Covenant made at Sinai. The renewal was made in the spirit of Moses' last will and
testament. Moses had said: "Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the Lord my God
commanded me, that you should do them in the land which you are entering to take possession of it.
Keep them and do them. (Deut. 4:5)" And so at the beginning of a new phase in their history, Joshua
challenges the tribes of Israel to be faithful to the Covenant with the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Joshua (Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b)

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,

summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges, and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God,
Joshua addressed all the people:
“If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.
As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

1 | Sunday Mass: Day 5 and 6 of Novenario

Novenario to the Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine: Days 5 and 6

But the people answered,

“Far be it from us to forsake the LORD
for the service of other gods.
For it was the LORD, our God,
who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,
out of a state of slavery.
He performed those great miracles before our very eyes
and protected us along our entire journey
and among the peoples through whom we passed.
Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

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

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Many are the troubles of the just one,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him;
he watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Reading II

Commentator: Our communion in the Church is a communion of life with the redeemed. The
authenticity of our communion is verified in the way we live in the smallest unit of the Church: the
family. Paul exhorts husbands and wives to be examples of how the life of communion is lived in their
household.

A reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians (Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32)

Brothers and sisters:

2 | Sunday Mass: Day 5 and 6 of Novenario

Novenario to the Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine: Days 5 and 6

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the church,
he himself the savior of the body.
As the church is subordinate to Christ,
so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

Gospel
"The City of God while it is on pilgrimage on earth has in her midst, some who are united with her in
participation in the sacraments, but who will not join with her in the eternal destiny of the saints." (City
of God, I, xxxv)

From the Gospel of John (Jn 6:60-69 )

Many of Jesus’disciples who were listening said,

“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,
“For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me

3 | Sunday Mass: Day 5 and 6 of Novenario

Novenario to the Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine: Days 5 and 6

unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Prayers of the Faithful

"Do you want to leave too?" The Lord asks us. And we answer with Peter "No, Lord. For your word is
Spirit and life!" Let us therefore pray that we may remain faithful to the Lord. We shall say: "Lord,
listen to your people."

We pray for the Pope, the bishops and the clergy that like Joshua they may not tire in reminding the
household of God to serve the Lord in faithfulness and love. We pray...

We pray for the Order of St. Augustine and the whole Augustinian Family that the Spirit we invoke to
change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord, may daily transform them into living
reminders of the Communion of life that should exist in the Church. We pray ...

We pray for our country the Philippines, whose peoples are united by one faith in Christ, that daily
transformed by the Eucharist, its citizens may become examples of how the Gospel changes lives for the
better. We pray ...

We pray for our leaders, that like Joshua they may not tire in ordering our civic life according to a
hierarchy of values that God wills: God above all, men and women under God, and all other things under
both. We pray ...

We pray for our families, that they may always be small reflections of what the Church should be: a
people consecrated to God by the blood of Christ. We pray ...

Almighty Father, it pleases you that your only Begotten Son would continually give Himself to us in the
sacrament of the Eucharist. We pray that you give us the grace to live in gratitude for this grace. We ask
this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

4 | Sunday Mass: Day 5 and 6 of Novenario

Novenario to the Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine: Days 5 and 6

Day 6: Communion in the Eucharist: Communion in the Spirit and with Life
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mass on Sunday PM)

Introduction:

"Master, to whom shall we go?" Simon Peter said, "You have the words of eternal life. We have come to
believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." Simon Peter was speaking for the Twelve
giving expression to their faith in the words of the Lord: "My flesh is true food, my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him."

In this novena mass in honor of St. Augustine, we too proclaim our faith in the Lord's eucharistic words,
heeding the Bishop of Hippo's warning:

Just bear in your minds brothers and sisters that if those of you who are of the
faithful separate yourselves from the Lord's body, it is to be feared that you may
die of hunger. After all he said himself, "Whoever does not eat my flesh, nor
drink my blood, will not have life in himself." So if you separate yourselves
and refrain from eating the body and blood of the Lord, it is to be feared you
may die. If, on the other hand, you receive unworthily and drink unworthily, it
is to be feared that you may be eating and drinking judgment on yourselves.
(Sermon 132A, 2)

Reading 1

Commentator: Towards the end of his life and at the beginning of a new stage in Israel's history of
salvation, Joshua leads the people of God in a renewal of the Covenant made at Sinai. Moses, in his last
will and testament, had exhorted the Israelites saying: "Today, I have set before you life and prosperity,
death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live
and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
(Deut. 30:15)" And so when Joshua makes his challenge to the Israelites, he was actually admonishing
them to choose life instead of death.

A reading from the Book of Joshua (Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b)

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,

summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges, and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God,
Joshua addressed all the people:
“If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.
As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

5 | Sunday Mass: Day 5 and 6 of Novenario

Novenario to the Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine: Days 5 and 6

But the people answered,

“Far be it from us to forsake the LORD
for the service of other gods.
For it was the LORD, our God,
who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,
out of a state of slavery.
He performed those great miracles before our very eyes
and protected us along our entire journey
and among the peoples through whom we passed.
Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

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

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Many are the troubles of the just one,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him;
he watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Reading II

Commentator: To live in communion with the Lord is to live in communion with the Church. The
smallest unit of the Church is the family. It is here whre we first verify the authenticity of our life of
communion. St. Paul admonishes the heads of families, the husbands and wives to be examples of how
an authentic life of communion is lived.

A reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians (Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32)

Brothers and sisters:

6 | Sunday Mass: Day 5 and 6 of Novenario

Novenario to the Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine: Days 5 and 6

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the church,
he himself the savior of the body.
As the church is subordinate to Christ,
so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

Gospel
"Just bear in your minds brothers and sisters that if those of you who are of the faithful separate
yourselves from the Lord's body, it is to be feared that you may die of hunger" (Augustine, Sermon
132A)

From the Gospel of John (Jn 6:60-69)

Many of Jesus’disciples who were listening said,

“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,

7 | Sunday Mass: Day 5 and 6 of Novenario

Novenario to the Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine: Days 5 and 6

“For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Prayers of the Faithful

Our communion in the Eucharist is communion in the Spirit and in the new life that Christ has won for us
on the Cross. Let us pray that as we are daily transformed into Christ through the sacrament of the
Eucharist, we may truly become leaven for our society and become a source of hope for our nation. We
shall pray "Lord listen to your people"

We pray for the Pope, the bishops and the clergy that like Joshua they may not tire in reminding the
household of God to serve the Lord in faithfulness and love. We pray...

We pray for the Order of St. Augustine and the whole Augustinian Family that the Spirit we invoke to
change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord, may daily transform them into living
reminders of the Communion of life that should exist in the Church. We pray ...

We pray for our country the Philippines, whose peoples are united by one faith in Christ, that daily
transformed by the Eucharist, its citizens may become examples of how the Gospel changes lives for the
better. We pray ...

We pray for our leaders, that like Joshua they may not tire in ordering our civic life according to a
hierarchy of values that God wills: God above all, men and women under God, and all other things under
both. We pray ...

We pray for our families, that they may always be small reflections of what the Church should be: a
people consecrated to God by the blood of Christ. We pray ...

Almighty Father, it pleases you that your only Begotten Son would continually give Himself to us in the
sacrament of the Eucharist. We pray that you give us the grace to live in gratitude for this grace. We ask
this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

8 | Sunday Mass: Day 5 and 6 of Novenario