There is the reaction of the small boy who willing gave to Jesus the few pieces of food that he had. When Jesus says in the gospel reading, I am the gate, he means it in that second sense. Jesus distributed to those who were reclining as much as they wanted. they are forgiven; He walks with us, even when we are walking in the wrong direction. Daily prayer and reflections based on the Scripture readings of the day. We also know that people can be stolen. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon. Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread. Our point of view, like that of the two disciples, can be limited. A locked gate keeps people in and keeps others out. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them. In the evening the disciples went down to the shore of the lake and got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the lake. Even when we have turned against the Lord, he continues to call us to draw life from him. This is surely one of the most striking statements of Jesus in all of the gospels. Ananias heard the Lord speak to him, directing him to where Saul lived. Yet, the Lord had wonderful plans for this almost helpless figure. Even though we are an Easter people, we never stop being a Good Friday people also, at least on this side of eternity. Complete the form below to register. Our seeking must ultimately be directed towards him; it cannot stop at or be satisfied with anything less. In one of his encyclicals, Faith and Reason, the late Pope John Paul II stated that the church remains profoundly convinced that faith and reason mutually support each other they offer each other a purifying critique and a stimulus to pursue the search for a deeper understanding. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. It is his loving communion with Christ that now drives him. I have come Jesus said: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. Jesus takes seriously food that cannot last. In the language Jesus spoke, and in the language the gospels were written in, the same word could mean either wind or Spirit. They saw the Lord; they now knew that the crucified one had been raised from the dead, as he promised. The question that the Jews ask at the beginning of todays gospel reading must have been a question that was on the lips of very many people in the time of Jesus and of the early church. In todays gospel reading, Jesus speaks of two kinds of food, food that cannot last and food that endures to eternal life. The mood of Good Friday took a somewhat different form for him, not so much fear as disbelief. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way of prayer, but the passage should not be too long. Jesus revealed Gods faithfulness to us; he loved us even when we put him to death. In this mornings gospel reading, Jesus sees crowds coming towards him. We can all draw strength in these times from that very personal relationship with the Lord he invites us to have with him. He only gradually came to believe in Jesus as Gods Son given to the world out of love. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Our ultimate salvation is much more the Lords doing than ours. As St Paul says, While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. There is a fullness of life there from which we are all invited to receive. As a result of that initiative they came to recognize the stranger as Jesus at the very moment when he took, blessed, broke and gave the bread to them. When it comes to faith, not all move to the same rhythm. Easter celebrates Gods radical faithfulness, his extraordinary mercy. As parishioners of the parish of St John the Baptist, we might think of ourselves as having a special calling to enable, to encourage, using our own gifts while also making way for the gifts of others. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. The fourth evangelist is also clear that Gods initiative needs our response if it is to be effective. There was a time when people could leave their doors unlocked because they trusted everyone in the community. Discerning where the Holy Spirit is leading us is central to our lives as followers of Jesus. offers daily reflections, meditations and prayers focused on the Gospel of the day, the gift of Divine Mercy, our Lord's Passion, our Blessed Mother, the saint of the day, feasts of the liturgical year, daily Mass readings and much more! The effect of his light was to make Paul temporarily blind, Even with his eyes wide open, he could see nothing at all. Yet, because the boy was generous with his few resources, the Lord worked powerfully through his meagre resources for the feeding of the crowd, so that there was more than enough food for all. That is why we take Jesus so seriously, why we pay such close attention to what he does and says, to his life, death and resurrection. and one shepherd. Is it the Lord or someone or something else? Or to put the question in another way, Who or what is Lord of our lives? The apostles were clear that Jesus was Lord of their lives and not the religious authorities. It is very striking language, and it would have been scandalous to many people at the time. In one of the most memorable statements of the New Testament the gospel reading declares that the light that has come into the world in the person of Jesus is the light of Gods love, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. you hear its sound, In todays gospel reading, the crowd who had been fed by Jesus in the wilderness go to great lengths to seek him out. We have gates to the front of the church, but they are rarely closed. ACVB Today's Readings My wife, Elise, is a throw back. Sheep went one way through the gate to reach the security of the sheepfold and they went the other way through the gate to reach pasture. Jesus came among us, full of Gods grace and truth, full of Gods gracious love and faithfulness, and we are invited to keep receiving from this fullness of God in Jesus. One by one, according to the gospel reading, the shepherd calls his own and leads them out. Just click on the month of interest and scroll to the day required. As Jesus says in todays gospel reading, whoever eats me will draw life from me. What if you should see the Son of man, 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, Jesus said to the crowd: No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. She insisted that she was betrothed to Christ. However, Jesus offers himself to them as someone who can satisfy not just their material hunger, but the deep, spiritual, hunger within them. In the gospel reading, Jesus declares that no one knows the Son except the Father. God sent his Son that the world might be saved through him. As we listen, we are gradually transformed from within. He said that the first stage is lectio (reading) where we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively so that it sinks into us. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Reflections on Daily Readings 2022 November 27th - December 31st, 2022 November 27 - December 3, 2022 Advent - The First Week | Readings: Sunday Cycle A; Weekday Cycle 1. Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat? He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. The Ethiopian was not reading silently to himself; he was reading aloud. A mystic, she involved herself as a peacemaker and a reconciler in the great affairs of church and state of the day. Indeed, Jesus said that unless we become like little children we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. They understood, as Jesus did, that prayerful attentiveness to Gods word would allow their lives to be shaped by Gods purpose and would best serve the life of the believing community. He then declared that he was sending them out on mission, in the same way that his Father had sent him into the world on mission. The story of the Ethiopian shows that if we seek the Lord we will find him, because the Lord is always seeking us. He is not saying, in other words, I am a gate, but, rather, I am the gate. There are various ways of practising Lectio Divina either individually or in groups but Guigo's description remains fundamental. In doing so he was stating that her life and writings have something important to say to the church of every generation. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. If we are open and honest, the Lord will draw us to himself in time, in his time and in ours. There is indeed much to ponder here and much to give thanks for. you hear its sound, To believe is at the same time to wait in joyful hope. If the disciples represent us all, the disciple Thomas can speak to our experience in a particular way. Something of a storm was brewing in this young church, which became the mother church, because it was from the church in Jerusalem that the other churches were founded. Everyones journey towards faith is unique to them. In their own words, their hearts began to burn within them. We all have opportunities from time to time to create openings for people that allow the Lords work to be done. Jesus wanted to draw all people to himself. 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. but work for food that endures to eternal life, These cookies may track your personal data. We are being reminded that serious doubt and great faith can reside in one and the same person. The realism of his talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood is shocking in many ways. Many of those images stress what Jesus does for us. Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Subscribe | Prayer| Titus Brandsma, Site designed, developed and hosted by Matthew Price: Transformation by Design. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, Yes, it is true. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, Where can we buy enough food for them to eat? He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. He is not a stranger to his flock nor are they strangers to him. Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Rather than joining a religious order, she became a Dominican tertiary. 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. The second stage is meditatio (reflection) where we think about the text we have chosen and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us. We encounter something of the mystery of God in and through every human birth. All about Jesus of Nazareth they answered who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. It was St Irenaeus, one of the early theologians of the church, who said that the glory of God is the human person fully alive. When Jesus declares in todays gospel reading, my yoke is easy and my burden light, he is saying that his teaching, his understanding of Gods will, is not something burdensome. It was finally approved by Pope Innocent in 1247 and later underwent mitigations which were not in the original text. As a result, they invited the members of the church to choose people of wisdom and of the Spirit who could attend to this important work of providing for the most vulnerable. He had touched their hearts and they didnt want to let him go. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. In the verse just before this gospel reading begins, John the Baptist had said of Jesus, He must increase, but I must decrease. His story encourages us to make progress in our own relationship with Jesus, even when that means going against the prevailing tide. in order to take it up again. It was only then that Thomas became a member of those Easter disciples, with his wonderful confession, My Lord and my God. All the Lord asks is that we are generous with what we have, little as that may be, and he will work through us in ways that will surprise us. People who are going through a similar grieving experience can give great strength to each other. It was while the first disciples were at prayer in the upper room on the Jewish feast of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came down upon them in the form of tongues of fire. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. Our website uses cookies to give you the best online experience. Alarms, security lighting, codes to get in and out of premises, strong gates and doors have become much more the norm than they used to be. The bread of the word is a necessary first course, as it were, that prepares us to receive the Eucharist well. He wants us to recognize him not as a stranger but as leader who knows us through and through, who can see more clearly and more deeply than we can. He goes ahead of them and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice and they trust him. She also wrote her great work, the Dialogues, describing the contents of her mystical conversations with Christ. He comes from above, from heaven, and bears witness to what he has seen and heard there. Their Easter faith left him cold; he could not be shifted from his Good Friday mood. He presents himself to the crowd as someone who can satisfy not just their physical hunger but their spiritual hunger. Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus says, Give and it will be given to you. The Lords faithfulness to us prompts us to keep faith with each other, especially with those who are close to us. You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children. God the Father has entrusted everything to his Son. I tell you most solemnly, God sent his Son into the world so that everyone may have eternal life. In that image Jesus paints in the gospel reading, the shepherd does not lead the sheep to pasture one at a time, but together as a flock. In this he is being true to Gods will which is, according to the gospel reading, that all who see the Son and believe in him shall have eternal life. Yet, we are asked to take these words of Jesus into our own hearts, extraordinary as they are, tempted as we are to ask the question, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? The Lord wants us to receive him in faith in the Eucharist, so that we can draw life from him, and become channels of his life to others. As they were heading to a village called Emmaus, they were heading in the wrong direction. When the disciples said, We have seen the Lord, he answered, Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe. Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. Having assured them that they were reconciled to him, he then empowered them to be agents of Gods reconciling love in the world. We understand the Sacrament of Confirmation as the moment when we confirm our baptism. Catherine stood out as a beacon of light in a dark time in Europe and in the church. In the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, there is often a connection between prayer and the coming of the Holy Spirit. We are anxious lest someone might steal from us. Nicodemus was a teacher of Israel and he related to Jesus as a fellow teacher, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God. He does not say, will have eternal life, but he says, has eternal life. The Easter proclamation cannot be imprisoned, just as the guards at the tomb of Easter could not prevent Jesus bursting forth into new life. God the Father draws all people to his Son and our coming to Jesus is in response to the drawing of the Father. The gospel reading is very suited to her feast. Joseph had a marketable skill. As we allow the Lord to touch our lives through others, through his word, through the Eucharist, we will be strengthened to continue on our pilgrim way with fresh hope in our hearts, just as the two disciples returned joyfully to Jerusalem after meeting the Lord. In reality, if the event in question is a complex and significant one, especially if it is somewhat mysterious, there are many stories that could be told about it. The bread of the word prepares us for the bread of the Eucharist. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. She offered herself as a victim for the Church in its agony. Just as the risen Lord would not allow the disciples fear to lock him out of their lives, so he would not allow Thomas doubt to lock him out either. He taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.. Even those of us who have been baptized and who have come to believe in Jesus are being drawn more closely to Jesus by God the Father. As risen Lord, he shows us the wounds of his passion, as signs of his self-giving love, and also to assure us that he identifies with us in our own wounded-ness. He pours the Spirit afresh into our hearts so that we can go forth in the strength of his Spirit to reveal his faithful love to all we meet. In his letter to the Romans he says, we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. One of the disciples in the gospel reading is mentioned by name, Thomas. We watched as his health prevented him from being directly involved in the Holy Week ceremonies for the first time in his long pontificate. In different ways we too can abandon the Lord; we may deny and even betray him by something we say or do. We are to keep receiving from Jesus all he wishes to give us, his word, his Spirit, his love, so that, like Peter in todays first reading, we can witness to him before others. The Father and I are one.. Martin Hogan continues to write many books on the Gospel Readings for each day of the Catholic Liturgical Year. Jesus often spoke about day to day realities, like the wind, as a way of talking about more spiritual realities. If the Father is to draw us to his Son, we need to be ready both to receive from the faith of others and to give to others from our own faith. This is one of the ways that friendships are formed and relationships take shape and deepen. we speak only about what we know He had been devastated once by the crucifixion of Jesus; he wasnt going to have his hopes dashed again by wishful thinking. We are being reminded that people come to faith in the Lord by different ways, at different paces. The response of Peter and John was to go the community of believers and in their presence to pray, asking God for help to proclaim the gospel with all boldness. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. The gospel says that they were talking together about all that had happened. Yet, the gospel reading we have just heard acknowledges another reality. Nicodemus journeyed closer to Jesus in the course of the gospel of John. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. how are you going to believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things? In the words of todays gospel reading, one by one, the Lord calls his own. the Son of Man who is in heaven; The word of the Lord nurtures our faith in preparation for our encounter with him in the Sacraments. It is the Spirit in us who does the praying. As Peter declares in that first reading, we have a sure hope. The Lord will do the rest. In this mornings gospel reading the crowd, who had been fed by Jesus in the wilderness, go looking for him. He went on to instruct his disciples at the Last Supper to do this in memory of me. Perhaps, therefore, we find it easy to identify with Thomas in todays gospel reading. Jesus exclaimed, I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.
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