FRIDAY - April 28, 2023
“This is a serious warning cry: Surrender without reservation to the Lord who has called us. This is required of us so that the face of the earth may be renewed.”
~Edith Stein
TODAY'S READINGS
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
Lectionary: 277
Reading I
Acts 9:1-20
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.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2
R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood,
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
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.
**********************************
A More Powerful Experience of the Eucharist
In reflecting on what it means to eat the flesh of Jesus and drink his blood, consider this: Are we not also his Body — his Flesh and Blood — for the world today?
Today’s Gospel reading contains the Great Eucharistic Command. However, we must not look at this only from the perspective of “what’s in it for me?” not if we want to be followers of Christ who said, “Those who feed on me will have life because of me.” What kind of life? What’s the difference between having his life and the one we were born with, the flesh and blood existence of a physical body that eventually loses its life? The answer lies in who benefits: us or others.
Jesus gives us his body and blood during every Mass so that we benefit by consuming him, which unites us to him (to his love, his life, his ministry, etc.), which then should benefit others.
We also consume him outside the Mass. We draw him into us during our prayers, our interactions with others, and even by appreciating the beauty of nature. He feeds us through Christian songs and other inspiring music. He quenches our thirst for spiritual growth.
As we open ourselves to receive the presence of Jesus outside the Mass, we prepare ourselves more fully to receive what he gives us inside the Mass. Because the Eucharist is our divine Lord giving himself to us completely, in his full divinity and physical humanity, powerfully and miraculously, we leave church significantly changed — or rather, that’s the plan. For it to really happen, we have to cooperate with God’s plan by participating fully in the Mass.
Consuming Jesus is supposed to transform us into his likeness. We become what we receive; we become the Eucharist, which means we’re ready for others to consume us, or to put it more accurately, we give them opportunities to be nourished by the True Presence of Jesus within us.
When we give love to others, they receive God’s love, and when they don’t return our love in equal measure, they deplete us: We’re being consumed! The same Eucharistic life happens when we give our time and skills and talents without getting paid or rewarded.
The more we’re depleted and consumed by others, the more we need to consume Jesus. I can tell you from experience that the busier I am, the more I need to pray and attend daily Mass.
And remember this, which is absolutely essential: By ourselves, we are not the body and blood of Christ. The body has many parts. If you feel drained and depleted, crushed by stresses and worn down, it’s because you haven’t allowed Jesus to fill you with all of his body and blood, which includes the people he has given you within the Church community; for they are his hands, his smile, his embrace, and his encouragement that strengthens us and renews us.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, help me totally trust and fully believe that in the Eucharist I have a personal, intimate, and transforming encounter with You. Amen.
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
No comments:
Post a Comment