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.
AlleluiaJN 6:56
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood,
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood,
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 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."
 Seeking to Have Your Heart Filled |
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April 24, 2015.
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
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By Father James Swanson, LC
John 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.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here
and now as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your
desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your
love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and
my love in return.
Petition: Lord, help me to face challenges and
continue to follow you in faith.
1. What is it I Truly Seek? On the preceding day Jesus multiplied loaves
and fishes to feed the multitude. The Jews realize there is something special
here, that Jesus may be the Messiah, or at least a prophet. They are curious
enough to continue following him and asking him questions. They have liked
everything he has said up till now. Some of it they have not understood
completely or correctly, but it has been close enough to what they are used
to hearing that it causes them no great difficulty. They continue to ask
questions, looking for understanding, especially understanding they can be
comfortable with. What is my attitude when I question Our Lord about events
and challenges in my life? Am I seeking to understand so I can embrace God’s
plan better, or does my response depend on how much I comprehend?
2. Opening Our Horizons: Now Jesus has said something truly shocking.
He wants them to eat his flesh and drink his blood! Up to this point, most of
the crowd has been willing to accept him as a bread-provider. He fed them
yesterday. Maybe, if they hang around long enough, he will do it again. Their
ideas about the Messiah are too materialistic, based only on the
re-establishment of David’s Kingdom at the expense of the Romans. Jesus, on
the other hand, wants to take them to a new level. He wants to take them into
the mystery of the loving generosity of God. As good as the manna in the
wilderness was, he wants to give something much better. As wonderful as
David’s Kingdom was, he wants to give a greater kingdom. This is so far
beyond what they are looking for, they will not be able to understand what he
is offering. It will have to be accepted in faith.
3. Great Gifts Come in Small Packages: We can understand many things, even many
spiritual things. In his goodness, God has given us intelligence so that we
can understand some of the truths about him. But these simpler truths don’t
reveal the full glory of God. They are not as fulfilling as some of the more
important truths about him. Jesus wants to give his flesh to eat and his
blood to drink. He reveals this to the crowds, and since they lack faith, they
don’t understand. Some straggle off to find another “wonder-worker”. Others,
looking for understanding, go off to look for a “teacher” who makes sense to
them. Hopefully, some are looking for the revelation of the mysteries of God,
the greatest gifts that God can offer. They are not looking to fill their
stomachs or their minds. They are looking to fill their hearts. These are the
kinds of gifts that Jesus intends to give – and in abundance.
Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, so often I am looking for material
gifts from you. Help me to realize that the greatest gifts you give may be
beyond my understanding. Yet, if I am willing to accept them on faith, they
will fill my heart. Perhaps with time, it will be possible for me to
understand something of them as well, but greatness of faith lies in my
trusting in you.
Resolution: What spiritual gift I am most in need of?
Faith? Charity? Humility? Something else? Today I will set aside some time to
ask God in prayer to grant me that gift.
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FRIDAY, APRIL 24, JOHN 6:52-59
Easter Weekday
(Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 117)
Easter Weekday
(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).
TO READ: 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.
TO REFLECT: Am I aware of Christ's true presence when I participate in the Eucharist?
TO RESPOND: Risen Lord, feed me at your table of eternal life.
Optional Memorial of Fidelis of Sigmaringen,
priest and martyr
Disgusted by the greed, corruption, and lack of interest in justice by his fellow lawyers, Mark Rey abandoned the law. He became a priest, a Franciscan friar with his brother George. Mark Rey changed his name to Fidelis and gave away his worldly wealth to poor people and to poor seminarians. Fidelis served his friary as guardian, and worked in epidemics, especially healing soldiers. He led a group of Capuchins to preach to Calvinists and Zwinglians in Switzerland. The success of this work, and lack of violence suffered by his mission was attributed to Fidelis spending his nights in prayer. He was, however, eventually martyred for his preaching.
ARBOR DAY
The observance of Arbor
Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska in 1872 (arbor means “tree”
in Latin). Arbor Day is celebrated each year on the last Friday in April. The
National Arbor Day Foundation encourages people to plant and care for trees and
to advance global environmental stewardship for the benefit of this and future
generations. http://www.arborday.org/
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
Friday 24 April 2015
St Fidelis; St Mary
Euphrasia Pelletier. DAY OF PENANCE.
Acts 9:1-20. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News—Ps 116(117). John 6:52-59.
Acts 9:1-20. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News—Ps 116(117). John 6:52-59.
‘This man is my chosen
instrument.’
Lord, your intervention is
Saul’s life was quite unusual. It reveals something of the way in which you
enter into my life. Rarely do you intervene and so alter the course of events.
Instead you seem content to work through the lives of men and women. You live
in each one of us and are dependent upon us to achieve your will.
In your appeal to Saul you
identify yourself with those being persecuted. Through Ananias and Saul your
will was realised.
Jesus, help me to deepen my
appreciation of these truly marvellous but mysterious truths. With your grace,
may they profoundly enrich my life.
LECTIO DIVINA:
JOHN 6,52-59
Lectio:
Friday, April 24, 2015
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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