Memorial
of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr
Lectionary: 273
Lectionary: 273
Stephen,
filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Then they instigated some men to say,
“We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God.”
They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
accosted him, seized him,
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,
“This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim
that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place
and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Then they instigated some men to say,
“We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God.”
They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
accosted him, seized him,
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,
“This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim
that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place
and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 119:23-24, 26-27,
29-30
R.
(1ab) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaMT 4:4B
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 6:22-29
[After
Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
Meditation: Labor
for the food which endures to eternal life
What do you most hunger
for - wealth, peace, health, love, the good life? Jesus addressed this issue
with those who sought him after the miracle of the multiplication of the
loaves. Were they simply hungry for things which satisfy the body or for that
which satisfies the heart and soul? Jesus echoes the question posed by the
prophet Isaiah: "Why do you spend your money for that which is not
bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy" (Isaiah 55:2)? There
are two kinds of hunger - physical and spiritual. Only God can satisfy the
hunger in our heart and soul - the hunger for truth, for life, and for love.
Jesus also spoke about
the works of God and what we must do to be doing the works
of God, namely to believe in God' Son whom he has sent into the
world. Jesus offers a new relationship with God which issues in a new kind
of life: A life of love and service, and the forgiveness of others which
corresponds to God's mercy and kindness; a life of holiness and purity which
corresponds to God's holiness; and a life of submission and trust which
corresponds to the wisdom of God. This is the work which Jesus directs us to
and enables us to perform in the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you hunger for
the bread which comes down from heaven and thirst for the words of everlasting
life?
"Lord Jesus, you
alone can satisfy the deepest longing and hunger in our hearts. May I always
hunger for the imperishable bread, that I may be satisfied in you alone as the True
Bread of Heaven. Nourish and strengthen me that I may serve you with great
joy, generosity, and zeal all the days of my life".
Daily Quote from the
early church fathers: God is our landlord, by Augustine of
Hippo, 354-430
A.D.
"Our wish, you see,
is to attain to eternal life. We wish to reach the place where nobody dies, but
if possible we do not want to get there via death. We would like to be whisked
away there while we are still alive and see our bodies changed, while we are
alive, into that spiritual form into which they are to be changed when we rise
again. Who wouldn't like that? Isn't it what everybody wants? But while that is
what you want, you are told, Quit. Remember what you have sung in the psalm: 'A
lodger am I on earth'” If you are a lodger, you are staying in someone else's
house; if you are staying in someone else's house, you quit when the landlord
bids you. And the landlord is bound to tell you to quit sooner or later, and he
has not guaranteed you a long stay. After all, he did not sign a contract with
you. Seeing that you are lodging with him for nothing, you quit when he tells
you to. And this, too, has to be put up with, and for this, too, patience is
very necessary." (excerpt from Sermon 359A,8)
MONDAY, APRIL 11, JOHN
6:22-29
(Acts 6:8-15; Psalm 119)
(Acts 6:8-15; Psalm 119)
KEY VERSE: "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life" (v 27).
TO KNOW: After the miraculous multiplication of loaves, the crowd noticed that Jesus' disciples had departed by boat across the Sea of Galilee. Assuming that Jesus was nearby, they waited impatiently for his return. Failing to find him, they went in search of him across the lake to Capernaum. When they found him, Jesus said that they were looking for him for the wrong reasons. They desired the bread that he gave them in the wilderness, but they missed the true meaning of the sign, food that "endures for eternal life" (Jn 6:27). Jesus told the crowd that food appeased hunger momentarily. They should look to God to satisfy their spiritual needs. No one could work for this gift, nor earn it. The only way to receive it was to believe in Jesus, the one who God sent to them.
TO LOVE: What can I do to feed someone who is spiritually hungry?
TO SERVE: Risen Lord, you are the life-giving nourishment that I desire.
Optional Memorial of
Saint Stanislaus, bishop and martyr
Stanislaus was born near Cracow, Poland, in 1030. In 1072, he was made the bishop of Cracow. (Many centuries later, John Paul II was also bishop of Cracow before he became pope). Bishop Stanislaus won the love of all the people, especially for the way he cared for the poor, the widows and the orphans. Three times Poland's king, Boleslaus II, ordered his guards to kill Stanislaus but each time they failed. On April 11, 1079, the king himself rushed into the bishop's chapel and murdered Stanislaus as he was celebrating Mass. God worked many miracles after Stanislaus' death. He was proclaimed a saint by Pope Innocent IV in 1253.
Monday 11 April 2016
Mon 11th. St Stanislaus.
Acts 6:8-15. Blessed are they who walk in the way of
the Lord—Ps 118(119):23-24, 26-27, 29-30. John 6:22-29.
What must we do if we are to do the works God wants?
On the day after Jesus fed the five thousand, the
people asked him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works God wants?’ A
similar question was put to Jesus by the rich young man (Mk 10:17; Mt 19:16);
and Paul, struck down on the road to Damascus, asked, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
(Acts 22:10). It is a question that we ourselves need to ask of Jesus if we are
to be people of faith doing God’s will. The evangelist John never once uses the
noun ‘belief’ (pistis); yet he uses the verb ‘to believe’ (pisteuein) 98 times.
For John, believers are doers. Faith is not simply adherence in mind to a body
of revealed truth, but adherence through virtuous action to the revealer of the
truth, to the one who is the Truth (Jn 14:6).
MINUTE
MEDITATIONS
|
Expression of Love
|
Christ’s cross is the perfect expression of love. All those things
that don’t measure up to your ideal life can be transformed into Christ’s
likeness. So often, though, we ignore or reject the opportunity to turn to
Christ and be transformed. We miss the opportunity to die to ourselves and let
Christ shine in and through our daily lives.
April
11
St. Stanislaus
(1030-1079)
St. Stanislaus
(1030-1079)
Anyone who reads the
history of Eastern Europe cannot help but chance on the name of Stanislaus, the
saintly but tragic bishop of Kraków, patron of Poland. He is remembered with
Saints Thomas More (June 22) and Thomas Becket (December 29) for vigorous
opposition to the evils of an unjust government.
Born in Szczepanow
near Kraków on July 26, 1030, he was ordained a priest after being educated in
the cathedral schools of Gniezno, then capital of Poland, and at Paris. He was
appointed preacher and archdeacon to the bishop of Kraków, where his eloquence
and example brought about real conversion in many of his penitents, both clergy
and laity. He became bishop of Kraków in 1072.
During an expedition
against the Grand Duchy of Kiev, Stanislaus became involved in the political
situation of Poland. Known for his outspokenness, he aimed his attacks at the
evils of the peasantry and the king, especially the unjust wars and immoral acts
of King Boleslaus II.
The king first excused
himself, then made a show of penance, then relapsed into his old ways.
Stanislaus continued his open opposition in spite of charges of treason and
threats of death, finally excommunicating the king. The latter, enraged,
ordered soldiers to kill the bishop. When they refused, the king killed him
with his own hands.
Forced to flee to
Hungary, Boleslaus supposedly spent the rest of his life as a penitent in the
Benedictine abbey in Osiak.
Comment:
John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Thomas More and Stanislaus are a few of the prophets who dared to denounce corruption in high places. They follow in the footsteps of Jesus himself, who pointed out the moral corruption in the religious leadership of his day. It is a risky business: "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone..." (John 8:7b).
John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Thomas More and Stanislaus are a few of the prophets who dared to denounce corruption in high places. They follow in the footsteps of Jesus himself, who pointed out the moral corruption in the religious leadership of his day. It is a risky business: "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone..." (John 8:7b).
Quote:
"Men desire authority for its own sake that they may bear a rule, command and control other men, and live uncommanded and uncontrolled themselves" (St. Thomas More, A Dialogue of Comfort).
"Men desire authority for its own sake that they may bear a rule, command and control other men, and live uncommanded and uncontrolled themselves" (St. Thomas More, A Dialogue of Comfort).
Patron Saint of:
Poland
Poland
LECTIO DIVINA: JOHN 6,22-29
Lectio Divina:
Monday, April 11, 2016
Easter Time
1) OPENING PRAYER
Our living God,
we hunger for lasting life and happiness
and the fulfilment of all our hopes.
Satisfy all our hungers
through your Son Jesus Christ,who is our bread of life.
And when he has filled us with himself,
may he lead and strengthen us
to bring to a waiting world
the food of reconciliation and joy,
which you alone can give to the full.
We ask this thorough Christ our Lord.
we hunger for lasting life and happiness
and the fulfilment of all our hopes.
Satisfy all our hungers
through your Son Jesus Christ,who is our bread of life.
And when he has filled us with himself,
may he lead and strengthen us
to bring to a waiting world
the food of reconciliation and joy,
which you alone can give to the full.
We ask this thorough Christ our Lord.
2) GOSPEL READING - JOHN 6,22-29
Next day, the crowd that had stayed on
the other side saw that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not
got into the boat with his disciples, but that the disciples had set off by
themselves. Other boats, however, had put in from Tiberias, near the place
where the bread had been eaten.
When the people saw that neither Jesus
nor his disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to
Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said
to him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?'
Jesus answered: In all truth I tell you,
you are looking for me not because you have seen the signs but because you had
all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that goes bad, but work
for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you, for
on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.
Then they said to him, 'What must we do
if we are to carry out God's work?' Jesus gave them this answer, 'This is
carrying out God's work: you must believe in the one he has sent.'
3) REFLECTION
• In today’s Gospel we begin the
Discourse on the Bread of Life (Jn 6, 22-71), which is extended during the next
six days, until the end of the week. After the multiplication of the loaves,
the people follow Jesus. They had seen the miracle; they had eaten and were
satiated and wanted more! They were not concerned about looking for the sign or
the call of God that was contained in all of this. When the people found Jesus
in the Synagogue of Capernaum, he had a long conversation with them, called the
Discourse of the Bread of Life. It is not really a Discourse, but it treats of
a series of seven brief dialogues which explain the meaning of the
multiplication of the bread, symbol of the new Exodus and of the Eucharistic
Supper.
• It is good to keep in mind the
division of the chapter in order to understand better its significance:
6, 1-15: the great multiplication of the
loaves
6, 16-21: the crossing of the lake, and
Jesus who walks on the water
6, 22-71: the dialogue of Jesus with the
people, with the Jews and with the disciples
1st dialogue: 6, 22-27 with the people:
the people seek Jesus and find him in Capernaum
2nd dialogue: 6, 28-34 with the people:
faith as the work of God and the manna of the desert
3rd dialogue: 6, 35-40 with the people:
the true bread is to do God’s will.
4th dialogue: 6, 41-51 with the Jews:
the complaining of the Jews
5th dialogue: 6, 52-58 with the Jews:
Jesus and the Jews.
6th dialogue: 6, 59-66 with the
disciples: reaction of the disciples
7th dialogue: 6, 67-71 with the
disciples: confession of Peter
• The conversation of Jesus with the
people, with the Jews and with the disciples is a beautiful dialogue, but a
demanding one. Jesus tries to open the eyes of the people in a way that they
will learn to read the events and discover in them the turning point that life
should take. Because it is not enough to follow behind miraculous signs which
multiply the bread for the body. Man does not live by bread alone. The struggle
for life without mysticism does not reach the roots. The people, while speaking
with Jesus, always remain more annoyed or upset by his words. But Jesus does
not give in, neither does he change the exigencies. The discourse seems to be a
funnel. In the measure in which the conversation advances, less people remain
with Jesus. At the end only the twelve remain there, but Jesus cannot trust
them either! Today the same thing happens. When the Gospel beings to demand
commitment, many people withdraw, go away.
• John 6, 22-27: People look for Jesus
because they want more bread. The people follow Jesus. They see that he did not
go into the boat with the disciples and, because of this, they do not
understand what he had done to reach Capernaum. They did not even understand
the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. People see what has happened,
but they cannot understand all this as a sign of something more profound. They
stop only on the surface; in being satisfied with the food. They look for bread
and life, but only for the body. According to the people, Jesus does what Moses
had done in the past: to feed all the people in the desert. According to Jesus,
they wanted the past to be repeated. But Jesus asks the people to take a step
more and advance. Besides working for the bread that perishes, they should work
for the imperishable food. This new food will be given by the Son of Man,
indicated by God himself. He brings life which lasts forever. He opens for us a
new horizon on the sense of life and on God.
• John 6, 28-29: Which is God’s work?
The people ask: what should we do to carry out this work of God? Jesus answers
that the great work of God asks us to “believe in the one sent by God”. That
is, to believe in Jesus!
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• The people were hungry, they eat the
bread and they look for more bread. They seek the miracle and do not seek the
sign of God who was hidden in that. What do I seek more in my life: the miracle
or the sign?
• Keep silence within you for a moment
and ask yourself: “To believe in Jesus: What does this mean for me concretely
in my daily life?”
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
Lord, I tell you my ways and you answer
me;
teach me your wishes.
Show me the way of your precepts,
that I may reflect on your wonders. (Ps 119,26-27)
teach me your wishes.
Show me the way of your precepts,
that I may reflect on your wonders. (Ps 119,26-27)
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