IFTTT Autopost 
On this 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we read an interesting little story from our Old Testament reading. Specifically, we read:
“Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: ‘This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’ He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, ‘Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!’ He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb” (1 Kings 19: 4-8).
Many Scripture scholars see this story as a precursor of Holy Communion. Like the hearth cake and water that the prophet Elijah took, we take the Body and Blood of Christ when we attend Eucharist (Mass). And just as the hearth cake and water revived Elijah and gave him strength for the journey, so too, Holy Communion is the gift that Jesus gave us for our own journey through life.
Like Elijah, many times we become depressed. In fact, sometimes people become so depressed they kill themselves. The World Health Organization, for example, believes that over 703,000 people kill themselves each year because of depression.
Two big “take-aways” from today’s Old Testament are these: (1) Stay close to the Blessed Sacrament. If there is some obstacle preventing you from receiving the Lord in Holy Communion, take measures to remove the obstacles. The priest can help you with that. (2) Depression is a very serious health problem, so if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask your physician for help. Today there are many treatments for depression, including medications.
