DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
JUNE 22, 2025
SUNDAY - THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
FIRST READING
GENESIS 14:18-20
18 And Mel-chiz'edek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"
The Word of the Lord
_
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 109(110):1-4
Response: You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD says to my LORD:
“Sit at my right hand,
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your foes!
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day you lead your host
upon the holy mountains.
From the womb of the morning
like dew your youth will come to you.
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest for ever
after the order of Melchiz′edek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
_
SECOND READING
1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-26
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
The Word of the Lord
_
GOSPEL
All ate and were satisfied
LUKE 9:11-17 OR (LUKE 9:18-24)
11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing.12 Now the day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, "Send the crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place." 13 But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish unless we are to go and buy food for all these people." 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, "Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each." 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
The Gospel of the Lord
_
REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Christ has yet to feed them with stronger food, by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"The order of the mystery is preserved everywhere. The first healing is bestowed on wounds through the remission of sins. Then the nourishment of the heavenly table abounds, although this multitude is not yet refreshed with stronger foods, nor do hearts hungry for more solid faith feed on the body and blood of Christ (Hebrews 5:12-14). He says, 'I gave you milk to drink, not meat. For you then were not strong, nor are you yet' (1 Corinthians 3:2). The five loaves are like milk, but the more solid meat is the body of Christ, and the stronger drink is the blood of the Lord (Luke 22:19-20). Not immediately at first do we feast on all foods, nor do we drink all drinks. 'First drink this,' he says. Thus there is a first, then a second thing that you drink. There is also a first thing that you eat, then a second, and then a third. At first there are five loaves, then there are seven (Matthew 15:34). The third loaf is the true body of Christ. So, then, let us never abandon such a Lord. He agrees to bestow on us nourishment according to the strength of each, lest either too strong a food oppress the weak or too meager a nourishment not satisfy the strong."
(excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 6.71-72)
_
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.