June 18, 2023 - One Bread, One Body
June 18, Eleventh Sunday Ordinary Time
Cycle A Readings:
1) Exodus 19:2-6
Psalm 100:1-3, 5
2) Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 9:36—10:8
God's nudges
“I bore you up on eagle wings.” —Exodus 19:4
Researchers have discovered that eagles live in cliffs of the mountainous Sinai region in which God spoke the above words to Moses. To teach their young to fly, the eagles nudge their young nestlings out of the nest, causing them to free-fall off the side of the cliff. If the baby eagle isn’t able to discover how to fly in the pressure of the moment, the mother eagle swoops downward and “catches” the young eagle on her extended wings. She then flies around with her young offspring to give it the sensation of flying. She repeats this until the young eagle learns how to fly on its own.
Moses declares of God: “As an eagle incites its nestlings forth by hovering over its brood, so He spread His wings to receive them and bore them up on His pinions” (Dt 32:11). God didn’t create us to stay in the safety of the nest. He nudges us out of our comfort zone, personally bears us up on His wings when we fall (Ex 19:4), and assures us of His loving care (1 Pt 5:7). Though this frequent divine nudging might seem stressful or even unbearable, the Lord uses it to renew us rather than exhaust us (Ps 103:5).
An eagle can’t fly if it is scared stiff. It must relax and flow with the wind. Likewise, we must relax, let it be done to us, and let the wind of the Spirit carry us wherever God wills (Jn 3:8). When we abandon ourselves to God’s nudges, we discover that instead of stressing out, we learn to fly. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Prv 3:5). “Soar as with eagles’ wings” (Is 40:31).
Prayer: Father, renew my youth “like the eagle’s” (Ps 103:5).
Promise: “It is precisely in this that God proves His love for us: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” —Rm 5:8
Praise: “Praise the Lord, all you nations; glorify Him, all you peoples!” (Ps 117:1)
Rescript: In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Imprimatur ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from June 1, 2023, through July 31, 2023.
†Most Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio December 14, 2022.
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.