Reflection –
His audience had problems understanding Jesus’ words when he spoke of himself as ‘the living bread come down from heaven’, but he refuses to compromise. He insists that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood live in him, and he in them. In Hebrew, the word to ‘say’ is also the word to ‘do’, so when at the Last Supper Jesus says “this is my Body & Blood”, he meant his words to be taken literally.
Mass readings.
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, June 6th & 7th 2026
1st Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3; 14b-16a
Responsorial Psalm. O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia…I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever ………… Alleluia
Gospel: John 6:51-58
Important Note: Please scroll within the below window to have access to daily readings for the Holy Catholic Mass. To keep scrolling down Our Lady’s newsletter, just scroll outside the window.
PARISH UPDATES:
New Catholic Retreat Day -Have you joined the Church in the last three years? On Saturday 20 June join other new Catholics at The Gillis Centre,100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB for a Mass, short talks, testimony and time for prayer. Registration and details at bit.ly/newcatholicsretreat
Consultation – Archbishop Cushley invites you to respond to consultation questions from the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland regarding the structures of the Church in Scotland. The consultation questions are online at bit.ly/archconsultation26. For context, please see the BCOS statement at bit.ly/bcosstatement. Responses must be submitted by Friday 26 June.
華人天主教團體彌撒 | Mass in Cantonese
Jesuit Church of the Sacred Heart Church, 28 Lauriston Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DJ at 2:00pm on Sunday 14 June followed by a social.
St Margaret Pilgrimage – This annual national Catholic event takes place on Sunday 14 June in Dunfermline. Schedule: 12:00pm Angelus at St Margaret’s Cave; 1:00pm Prayer Service at St Margaret’s tomb at Dunfermline Abbey; 2:00pm Procession from Glen Gates to St Margaret’s Memorial Church, East Port; 3:00pm Mass at St Margaret’s Memorial Church, celebrated by Archbishop Cushley
Annual Caritas, Justice & Peace Mass – The annual Caritas, Justice & Peace Mass takes place at St Peter’s Church, 9 Carmondean Centre Road, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8PT at 7:00pm on Thursday 18 June 2026. Guest speaker is Peter Diamond from Aid to the Church in Need.
Mass for Married & Engaged Couples – Archbishop Cushley will celebrate Mass for Married and Engaged Couples at St Mary’s Cathedral on Friday 19 June at 7:00pm with a reception afterwards in Coffee Saints. All welcome!
SSVP Social Event – Afternoon Tea/Coffee with Music/Quiz: We invite you to
come along to the Church Hall at Our Lady’s on Friday 19th June, 3:30 to
5:30pm, for a social get-together with live music and some quiz questions!
There may even be some prizes! Please let one of the members of the SSVP
know (or phone 0793 332 7051) if you plan to attend, so we can gauge
numbers, dietary requirements, and whether you require transport to/from the
hall that afternoon.
Our Lady’s Offertory Collections.
Last Sunday’s collection: £227
Month total collections (Bank & Cash) £1,454
Special Collections: £168
Bank Total (month) £778
Mass Bookings.
We are reminded that the booking of mass for our special intentions, wedding anniversaries, Birthday thanksgiving, Death anniversaries of our loved ones and general prayers is highly recommended. The mass stipends (Donations) are part of our contribution towards the good of the church and support of our priest.
MASS TIMINGS
MASS INTENTIONS
MASS DONOR
Wednesday, June 10th, 10.00am
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Friday June 12th, 10.00am
- Archibald, God's healing
- Alice
Sunday, June 14th, 11.30am
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Blessings to you, your families and those who are dear to you in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever
John 6:41-51
The Jews were complaining to each other about Jesus, because he had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph’ they said. ‘We know his father and mother. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus said in reply, ‘Stop complaining to each other.
‘No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father. I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life.
‘I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’
Reflection on the Painting
‘Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever‘, Jesus states in today’s Gospel reading. Staying in the realm of Surrealist Art, after looking at a painting by Magritte yesterday, we look at Salvador Dali’s ‘Basket of Bread’ which he painted in 1926. This is a different painting from the ‘Basket of Bread’ which Dali painted in 1945, and which we covered two years ago (see https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/40). Dali was 22 years old when he painted today’s canvas and spent 4 months painting it, playing around with different compositions. He spent so much time on this painting to create an intense, dramatic rendering of an everyday object: bread. He created this painting as a test for himself. Afterwards he was proud and felt that now he could venture into more surrealist compositions, having mastered representing a simple loaf as a stand-alone dramatic composition. As the basket is placed on a white cloth, it is very reminiscent of the Dutch Old Masters. By saturating the basket of bread in such a mysterious light, Dali transforms the composition into an object of deep contemplation.
And that is what Jesus wants us to do today: contemplate Him as the Bread of Life. I cannot help but think that the Bread of Life discourse Jesus gives is maybe more than just referring to the Eucharist. Sure, this is the main message of today’s Gospel, but maybe it is also about us being bread for other people and nourishing the people around us. Thinking back on all the people who have been bread in my life, I can think of family, teachers, work colleagues, friends, priests,… people who have nourished me and fed me spiritually, professionally.… They were bread for me….
…and we can be bread for people too and feed the life of someone else. Through our love, our compassion, our forgiveness, our patience, our witnessing, we can be that bread for other people… like the bread in our painting that is prepared, sliced and buttered… fully ready to be handed out to someone needy around us…
