First reading
Isaiah 55:1–3
Come and eat.
Responsorial psalm
Psalm 144(145):8–9, 15–18
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Second reading
Romans 8:35,37–39
No created thing can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ.
Gospel acclamation
Matthew 4:4
No one lives on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Gospel
Matthew 14:13–21
The feeding of the five thousand
Images from the Word
- Lonely place
- Give them something
- Twelve baskets full
- Listen to me
- Love of God
Liturgical notes
It is most desirable that the faithful, just as the priest himself is bound to do, receive the Lord’s Body from hosts consecrated at the same Mass and that, in the instances when it is permitted, they partake of the chalice, so that even by means of the signs Communion will stand out more clearly as a participation in the sacrifice actually being celebrated.
—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, §85
To participate in the Mass is to participate in a sacrifice. The signs in the liturgy point towards that sacrifice. As St Paul says, the cup of blessing that we bless is a sharing in the blood of Christ; the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ (1 Cor 10:16).
‘Accompany with constant protection, O Lord, those you renew with these heavenly gifts and, in our never-failing care for them, make them worthy of eternal redemption.’
—prayer after Communion