“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.’” (ACTS 9: 15-16)
We are all “chosen instruments of” Our Lord to carry His name. Some are chosen to proclaim the Gospel before Gentiles, some before relatives and neighbors, some before kings and some before cameras and a large public. The environment could be different, but this is the same Gospel and the same Lord, Who chose us to serve Him and bring the Good News to many.
“Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood, remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 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.” (JN 6: 48-51)
We receive “the living bread” with every Holy Communion. In these days in many of our parishes, we can observe this when our children are older or participate in their First Holy Communion. We helped our children to prepare for this moment; we invited relatives and friends to be with us, and today we can, seeing the emotions of our or other children, remember our First Communion and refresh our desire to be closer to Him today. And we can thank Him for all of these years being together.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread “
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” (JN 6: 40)
Our Lord came to our world with a mission from His Father. We are His beloved children, and He knows our limits and conditions. He knows how fragile we are and how easily we can fall, so He came to save us and lead us to Heaven: “for this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” Our Lord is “the bread of life”—whoever eats of it “sees the Son and believes in him.”
“Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day, says the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“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.’” (JN 6: 25-27))
Why are we looking for Him? They were “looking for Him not because they saw signs but because they ate the loaves and were filled.” Our Lord is always with us, hidden in His Church, in the Blessed Sacrament and in the Bible, hidden in our relatives and friends, hidden among us. Hidden, but always present. He always waits for us to give us “eternal life” and to give us more than we can expect and ask for. He is God, He is pure Love, He is Our Lord, He knows what is best for us.
“One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.” (JN 21: 9)
The exegesis say that the term ἀνθρακιά (a charcoal fire) is mentioned only twice in the Bible; the first one (JN 18:18) is when Peter denied Jesus, staying close to “a charcoal fire”; the second one is in front of the same “charcoal fire,” when Peter could three times profess his love and faith. Sometimes, when we are confronted with the same environment which provoked our sin, this time it gives us the opportunity to express our love.
“Christ is risen, creator of all; he has shown pity on all people.” (Gospel Acclamation
“When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” (JN 6: 1; 6-17)
We have moments in our lives when it looks like “it has already grown dark,” and Jesus has forgotten about us—we feel alone, abandoned, and misunderstood, and everything goes wrong. But moments of “dark” also could mean that Our Lord is coming. He is merciful, He loves us, and He always comes with comfort, grace and His presence.
“Christ is risen, who made all things; he has shown mercy on all people.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.” (1 COR 15: 2)
God’s word, received in the daily readings at Mass or coming from my Bible, preached by our priests or learned from a commentary, is always His word and should be protected, meditated on, shared and “held fast.” When we live with Him and when His word is our “daily bread,” we can experience His presence and love.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord; Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” (ACTS 5: 31-32)
There are many books about leadership, helping people to be a good leaders, very supportive and friendly, focused not on results only, but on the team and human relationships. We have some levels to measure good leaders—and the best leader today reached level 5. But even the best can learn from Our Lord, Who is not only a leader but also the savior. There are some leaders who can sacrifice their lives (like many saints did), but only Our Lord as a leader was able to save our lives.
“You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (JN 3: 16)
This is probably the most familiar sentence from the Bible and the most important. It is also the essence of the Bible’s message, the reasons for our existence, and for Our Lord’s incarnation and crucifixion—“God so loved the world.” Our presence, our lives and our history are based on one fact—we are loved. By God!
“God so love the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.” (Gospel Acclamation)
