I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.. If we really listen to the Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will work through us in ways that build up the church and enrich our world, just as he worked through Barnabas. Those who come to him will find a welcome from him. He remains faithful to us, even when we are less than faithful to him. Catherines mysticism did not withdraw her from the world; she was deeply involved in what was happening in Europe and in the church in her time. He will always ignore our locked doors and stand before us in his risen power. Jesus will do all in his power to keep us united with himself and to prevent us from being taken away from him or falling away from him. Perhaps we can never know what exactly happened on that day, but the gospel reading is suggesting that the Lord can work powerfully through what are apparently very insignificant resources, a small boy and his few loaves and fish. That is the calling of each one of us. The Heart of Perfect Love and Self-Giving, The Cross, the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother, Ascension of the LordorUnity and Perfection in Christ, The Profound Teaching of the Holy Eucharist, Humility of Service, Nourished by the Eucharist, God Becomes ManNine Months Before Christmas, Unwavering Faith in the Face of Confusion, Ask, and All Good Things Will Be Given You, The Road to Virtue Living Between the Extremes, Drawn to Jesus, Drawn to Mercy for Others, Sowing the Word of GodDespite the Results. AnalyticalOur website uses analytical cookies to make it possible to analyze our website and optimize for the purpose of a.o. Our spirits can droop for all kinds of reasons. When those disciples abandoned their locked room and went to Thomas with their wonderful news, We have seen the Lord, he refused to believe them. In todays first reading, Peter asks a very important question, Who was I to stand in Gods way? God had worked in a way that Peter had not expected. We can sometimes find it difficult to believe in the ultimate triumph of life over death, of joy over sadness, especially during those times in our lives when we feel somewhat sad and lifeless. The realism of his talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood is shocking in many ways. The speech of Gamaliel in todays first reading is thought-provoking. In this mornings gospel reading, Jesus declares, I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full. In the gospel reading this morning, Jesus makes reference to stealing. Even when the church is closed the front gates tend to be open. God alone endures; he is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. These basic human physical needs had to be met first. After all, Paul knew the Lord was calling him to be the apostle to the Gentiles and here was a church with a significant number of Gentile converts. Just as God became flesh in Jesus, so the Spirit of God can become flesh in our lives. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. There tends to be a restlessness in all of us. Lectio Divina - The Carmelites The stranger who joined the two disciples on their sad journey was the very person whose death they were grieving. God never stops drawing us to his Son. In response, he looks to us for something of the same openness to being drawn displayed by the Ethiopian in our first reading. 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. for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal., Then they said to him, What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants? Jesus gave them this answer, This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.. Cleopas began to tell their story. He wanted them to know that he was at peace with them, in spite of the fact that they had abandoned him in the hour of his passion and death. The gospel reminds us that, while the physical and material is vital because we are physical and material beings, our searching must not stop at the physical and the material. His last illness was in some ways a very public one. The tendency of Philip and Andrew in the gospel story was to complain about the hopelessness of the situation, Two hundred denarii would not buy enough What is that between so many? We are all prone to throwing our hands up to the heavens in exasperation and even despair at the perceived extent of some problem. Todays gospel reading suggests that the Lord walks with us through life and listens when we share deeply with him. He speaks to him of the need to be born from above or born of the Spirit. Even Marks gospel is placed second in the New Testament, almost all scholars agree that it was the earliest gospel to be written. Free Resources The Free Resources section provides information about the Carmelite Order, Spirituality and Catholicism. The Lord gives us the Spirit to draw us to himself and, through himself, to God the Father. Parents are called upon by their children and then, as parents get older, it is the children who often get called upon by their parents. She spent the last two years of her life in Rome in prayer, pleading on behalf of the cause of Pope Urban VI and the unity of the Church. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. No one can come to me When they find him, Jesus reveals to them what it is that motivates their seeking. The Lord will be calling us to give of ourselves in love to those we are responsible for, and, thereby, to experience something of that fullness of life the Lord wants for us. He walked with them with a view to getting them to change direction, but before he could do that, he had to walk with them in the wrong direction for a while. The language of eating the flesh, the body, of Jesus and drinking the blood of Jesus is shocking. It is a day when we remind ourselves that we are called. That sequence of word leading to sacrament has always been central to the churchs life. Recurring doubts and uncertainties coming from our reasoning are normal in the life of faith. Daily Reflection Archives - Ordinary Time Weeks 9-16 - Creighton University 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. We would love to know more about this very important figure in the early church. Whenever we share our experience with someone else it often takes the form of a story of some kind. They had forgotten that Jesus had told them that, having been crucified by his enemies, God would raise him from the dead. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. He is a seeker after truth, after God. That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. A contemplative, her life of prayer expressed itself in the loving service of those in need. you can see me and still you do not believe. One by one, according to the gospel reading, the shepherd calls his own and leads them out. He is uniquely placed to bear witness to who God is because, according to Johns gospel, he has been with God from all eternity and has come from God. This was a moment of new creation. Many different kinds of people meet with Jesus in the course of Johns gospel. In the case of infants, it is the faith of the parents and family and the faith of the believing community that is presupposed. We can only work for the Lord and serve the Lord to the extent that we are aware of and acknowledge our total dependence on him. He then goes on to speak of Jesus, in the opening line of our gospel reading, as the one who comes from above and who, therefore, is above all others. Saint Paul says in his letter to the Romans that we do not know how to pray as we ought. We dont draw life from ourselves but from the Lord. If the Lord is the good shepherd in those two ways, we are called to be good disciples of the Lord in the same two ways. Christ is always working to create us anew. That is how the Lord generally comes to us, in and through the members of the church, the community of faith. As Christians, we are all searching for Jesus in some sense. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe. Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God! Jesus said to him, Have you come to believe because you have seen me? That is what we find happening at the beginning of this mornings gospel reading. There was a time when people could leave their doors unlocked because they trusted everyone in the community. I tell you most solemnly, Barnabas was what we would call today, an enabler. In some mysterious way, Jesus worked with those few resources to feed the multitude. Yet, Jesus suggests to the crowd that they are searching for him for the wrong reasons. The initiative we take towards the Lord is always one we take with other disciples. Jesus seems to be saying there that if we continue to seek to follow him, he will hold onto us. Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. If you do not believe me when I speak about things in this world, Jesus is speaking as the good shepherd who defends the members of his flock in times of danger, who stands up against the thieves and robbers who intend to do harm to the flock. Homily Helps - Society of Mary That is why he equates working for the food that endures to eternal life with believing in him. We tend to put things under lock and key much more than we used to do in the past. www.carmelite.com Catholic Voice - Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn Youtube channel with Masses, reflections and more. and no one will ever steal them from me. It always strikes me as strange that the gospel reading for his feast is taken from the longer ending of Mark which was probably a later addition to the gospel! All authentic love is life-giving, and Gods love, revealed in the coming of Jesus, is life-giving to an exceptional degree. His presence at the heart of the storm can help to ensure that moments of crisis in the church can also be times of new life. After this encounter with the risen Lord, Paul continued to see himself as a Jew, but he now recognized that the Lord Jesus was the face of the God of Israel. Please see our cookies page for further details or agree by clicking the 'Accept all cookies' button. The Mark that Peter refers to may well be the author of the first gospel. The questions and doubts of our reason are an inevitable part of seeing dimly. The good news is that even when we turn from the light and chose darkness, the light shines in the darkness and, if there is even the smallest opening in us to the light, the darkness will not overcome the light of Gods loving presence.
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