Friday of the Third Week of Easter
Lectionary: 277
Lectionary: 277
Saul, still
breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,
if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.
There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”
He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight.”
But Ananias replied,
“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name.”
But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.
He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,
and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God.
went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,
if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.
There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”
He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight.”
But Ananias replied,
“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name.”
But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.
He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,
and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God.
Responsorial Psalm PS 117:1BC, 2
R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good
News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel JN 6:52-59
The Jews quarreled
among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Meditation: "He who eats this bread will live
forever"
Why did Jesus offer himself as "food and
drink"? The Jews were scandalized and the disciples were divided when
Jesus said "unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have
no life in you." What a hard saying, unless you understand who
Jesus is and why he calls himself the bread of life. The miracle of
the multiplication of the loaves (John 6:3-13), when Jesus said the blessing,
broke and distributed the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude,
is a sign that prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the
Eucharist, or Lord's Supper. The Gospel of John has no account of the Last
Supper meal (just the foot washing ceremony and Jesus' farewell discourse).
Instead, John quotes extensively from Jesus' teaching on the bread of life.
In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered
in a thanksgiving sacrifice as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator
as the giver and sustainer of life. Melchizedek, who was both a priest and king
(Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:1-4), offered a sacrifice of bread and wine. His
offering prefigured the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king
(Hebrews 7:26; 9:11; 10:12). The remembrance of the manna in the wilderness
recalled to the people of Israel that they live - not by earthly bread alone -
but by the bread of the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3).
At the last supper when Jesus blessed the cup of
wine, he gave it to his disciples saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for
this is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins" (Matthew 26:28). Jesus was pointing to the sacrifice he was
about to make on the cross, when he would shed his blood for us - thus pouring
himself out and giving himself to us - as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and
the sins of the world. His death on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the
paschal (passover) lamb whose blood spared the Israelites from death in Egypt.
Paul the Apostle tells us that "Christ, our
paschal lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians5:7). Paul echoes the
words of John the Baptist who called Jesus the "Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus made
himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing to the
Father. He "offered himself without blemish to God" (Hebrews
9:14) and "gave himself as a sacrifice to God" (Ephesians
5:2).
Jesus chose the time of the Jewish Feast of
Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum - giving his disciples
his body and his blood as the true bread of heaven. Jesus' passing over to his
Father by his death and resurrection - the new passover - is anticipated in the
Last Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, which fulfills
the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the
glory of God's kingdom. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his
flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center
of our being. That life which he offers is the very life of God himself. Do you
hunger for the bread of life?
"Lord Jesus, you nourish and sustain us
with your very own presence and life-giving word. You are the bread of life -
the heavenly food that sustains us now and that produces everlasting life within
us. May I always hunger for you and be satisfied in you alone."
EASTER WEEKDAY, FRIDAY, MAY 9, JOHN 6:52-59
(Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 117)
(Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 117)
KEY VERSE: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day" (v 54).
READING: In the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, there are two important elements in Jesus' pronouncement that he was the "bread of life" (v 35). He is both word and sacrament. In John 6:35-50, the "bread of life" is a figure of God's revelation in Jesus: the "word made flesh" (1:14). Beginning in verse 51, the sacramental theme comes to the fore. Jesus plainly says that his flesh is "true food" and his blood is "true drink" (v 55). The Greek word that John used was not merely symbolic (phago means to "eat" or "devour"). He speaks of the reality of Jesus' flesh and blood in his Eucharistic presence. Through word and sacrament, Jesus continues to feed us spiritually, transforming and uniting us to him so that we can worthily enter God's eternal reign.
REFLECTING: Am I aware of Christ's true presence when I participate in the Eucharist?
PRAYING: Risen Lord, feed me at your table of eternal life.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
The Gift of Confession
Lord of all, we thank you for giving us Confession. Through it,
give us the graces and especially the humility we need to recognize when our
own way is not yours.
Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News
It was as though scales fell away from his eyes.For those of us who have grown into faith gradually and over time, Saul’s story of conversion is very powerful. It is such a profound turn-around. God moves in a very decisive way. Saul responds just as decisively, following the instructions he was given without hesitation or question. Are we listening for God’s voice? If we heard God’s voice what would our response be? We can take heart in the fact that what happened to Saul was so extraordinary that it would appear there was no way he could even question it was God. The extraordinary can happen in the midst of the very ordinary moments of life. When we pray—give me eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to respond—let us hope we’re ready for what might actually happen!
May
9
St. John of Avila
(1500-1569)
St. John of Avila
(1500-1569)
Born in the Castile region of Spain, John was sent at the age of
14 to the University of Salamanca to study law. He later moved to Alcala, where
he studied philosophy and theology before his ordination as a diocesan priest.
After John’s parents died and left him as their sole heir to a considerable fortune, he distributed his money to the poor. In 1527, he traveled to Seville, hoping to become a missionary in Mexico. The archbishop of that city persuaded him to stay and spread the faith in Andalusia (southwestern Spain). During nine years of work there, he developed a reputation as an engaging preacher, a perceptive spiritual director and a wise confessor.
Because John was not afraid to denounce vice in high places, he was investigated by the Inquisition but was cleared in 1533. He later worked in Cordoba and then in Granada, where he organized the University of Baeza, the first of several colleges run by diocesan priests who dedicated themselves to teaching and giving spiritual direction to young people.
He was friends with Sts. Francis Borgia, Ignatius of Loyola, John of God, John of the Cross, Peter of Alcantara, and Teresa of Avila. John of Avila worked closely with members of the Society of Jesus and helped their growth within Spain and its colonies. John’s mystical writings have been translated into several languages.
He was beatified in 1894, canonized in 1970, and declared a doctor of the Church on October 7, 2012.
After John’s parents died and left him as their sole heir to a considerable fortune, he distributed his money to the poor. In 1527, he traveled to Seville, hoping to become a missionary in Mexico. The archbishop of that city persuaded him to stay and spread the faith in Andalusia (southwestern Spain). During nine years of work there, he developed a reputation as an engaging preacher, a perceptive spiritual director and a wise confessor.
Because John was not afraid to denounce vice in high places, he was investigated by the Inquisition but was cleared in 1533. He later worked in Cordoba and then in Granada, where he organized the University of Baeza, the first of several colleges run by diocesan priests who dedicated themselves to teaching and giving spiritual direction to young people.
He was friends with Sts. Francis Borgia, Ignatius of Loyola, John of God, John of the Cross, Peter of Alcantara, and Teresa of Avila. John of Avila worked closely with members of the Society of Jesus and helped their growth within Spain and its colonies. John’s mystical writings have been translated into several languages.
He was beatified in 1894, canonized in 1970, and declared a doctor of the Church on October 7, 2012.
Comment:
St. John of Avila knew that the lives of Christians can contradict the Good News of Jesus Christ, implicitly encouraging Christians to live their faith halfheartedly and causing obstacles to non-Christians who might accept Baptism. In 16th-century Spain, those who advocated reforming the Church were often suspected of heresy. St. John of Avila held his ground and was eventually recognized as a very reliable teacher about the Christian faith.
St. John of Avila knew that the lives of Christians can contradict the Good News of Jesus Christ, implicitly encouraging Christians to live their faith halfheartedly and causing obstacles to non-Christians who might accept Baptism. In 16th-century Spain, those who advocated reforming the Church were often suspected of heresy. St. John of Avila held his ground and was eventually recognized as a very reliable teacher about the Christian faith.
Quote:
At the Mass after John of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen were declared Doctors of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI described him as “a profound expert on the sacred Scripture . . . gifted with an ardent missionary spirit.” The pope continued: “He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church.”
At the Mass after John of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen were declared Doctors of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI described him as “a profound expert on the sacred Scripture . . . gifted with an ardent missionary spirit.” The pope continued: “He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church.”
LECTIO DIVINA:
JOHN 6,52-59
Lectio:
Friday, May 9, 2014
Easter Time
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Our living and loving God,
how could we know the depth of your love
if your Son had not become flesh of our flesh
and blood of our blood?
How could we ever have the courage
to live for one another and if necessary to die
if he had not given up his body
and shed his blood for us?
Thank you for letting him stay in the eucharist with us
and making himself our daily bread.
Let this bread be the food that empowers us
to live and die as he did,
for one another and for you,
our living God, for ever and ever.
how could we know the depth of your love
if your Son had not become flesh of our flesh
and blood of our blood?
How could we ever have the courage
to live for one another and if necessary to die
if he had not given up his body
and shed his blood for us?
Thank you for letting him stay in the eucharist with us
and making himself our daily bread.
Let this bread be the food that empowers us
to live and die as he did,
for one another and for you,
our living God, for ever and ever.
2)
GOSPEL READING - JOHN 6,52-59
Then the Jews started arguing among themselves, 'How can this
man give us his flesh to eat?'
Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you, if you do not
eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall
raise that person up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is
real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in
that person. As the living Father sent me and I draw life from the Father, so
whoever eats me will also draw life from me. This is the bread which has come
down from heaven; it is not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.
This is what he taught at Capernaum in the synagogue.
3)
REFLECTION
• We are almost at the end of the Discourse of the Bread of
Life. Here begins the part of the greatest polemic. The Jews close themselves
and begin to discuss on the affirmations of Jesus.
• John 6, 52-55: Flesh and Blood: the expression of life and of
the total gift. The Jews react: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
The feast of the Passover was close at hand. After a few days everybody would
have eaten the meat of the paschal lamb in the celebration of the night of the
Passover. They did not understand the words of Jesus, because they took them
literally. But Jesus does not diminish the exigencies, he does not withdraw or
take away anything of what he has said and he insists: “In all truth I tell
you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has
eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day. For my flesh is
real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me and I live in that person”. (a) To eat the flesh of Jesus means to
accept Jesus as the new Paschal Lamb, whose blood liberates us from slavery.
The Law of the Old Testament, out of respect for life, prohibited to eat the
blood (Dt 12, 16.23; Acts 15.29). The blood was the sign of life. (b) To drink
the Blood of Jesus means to assimilate the same way of life which marked the
life of Jesus. What gives life is not to celebrate the manna of the past, but
rather to eat this new bread which is Jesus, his flesh and his blood.
Participating in the Eucharistic Supper, we assimilate his life, his surrender,
his gift of self. “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and you do not
drink his Blood you will not have life in you”. They should accept Jesus as the
Crucified Messiah, whose blood will be poured out.
• John 6, 56-58: Whoever eats my flesh, will live in me. The
last phrases of the discourse of the Bread of Life are of the greatest depth
and try to summarize everything which has been said. They recall the mystical
dimension which surrounds the participation in the Eucharist. They express what
Paul says in the letter to the Galatians: “It is no longer I, but Christ living
in me (Ga 2, 20). And what the Apocalypse of John says: “If one of you hears me
calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person’s
side” (Rev 3, 20). And John himself in the Gospel: “Anyone who loves me will
keep my word, and my Father will love him and we shall come to him and make a
home in him” (Jn 14, 23). And it ends with the promise of life which marks the
difference with the ancient Exodus: “This is the bread which has come down from
heaven. It is not like the bread our ancestors ate, they are dead, but anyone
who eats this bread will live for ever.”
• John 6, 59: The discourse in the Synagogue ends. The
conversation between Jesus and the people and the Jews in the Synagogue of Capernaum
ends here. As it has been said before, the Discourse of the Bread of Life
offers us an image of how the catechesis of that time was, at the end of the
first century, in the Christian communities of Asia Minor. The questions of the
people and of the Jews show the difficulties of the members of the communities.
And the answer of Jesus represents the clarifications to help them to overcome
the difficulties, to deepen their faith and to live more intensely the
Eucharist which was celebrated above all in the night between Saturday and
Sunday, the Day of the Lord.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Beginning with the Discourse on the Bread of Life, the
celebration of the Eucharist receives a very strong light and an enormous
deepening. Which is the light that I see and which helps me to advance?
• To eat the flesh and blood of Jesus is the commandment that he
leaves. How do I live the Eucharist in my life? Even if I cannot go to Mass
every day or every Sunday, my life should be Eucharistic. How do I try to
attain this objective?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Praise Yahweh, all nations,
extol him, all peoples,
for his faithful love is strong
and his constancy never-ending. (Ps 117,1-2)
extol him, all peoples,
for his faithful love is strong
and his constancy never-ending. (Ps 117,1-2)
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