From the Gospel acclamation: “Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood, remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:52-59)
“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.”
In speaking to the Jews who question how Jesus can give them his Flesh for eternal life, he repeats in four successive statements that his Flesh and Blood is the way he remains in us and is life itself within us. Jesus emphasizes further that “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.” The words of Jesus leave no room for doubt. In instituting the Eucharist at the Last Supper, Jesus is present body and blood, soul and divinity, whenever the priest raises the bread and wine and says in the person of Christ, “This is my body. . . . This is the chalice of my blood.”
God, strengthen my faith and trust in you. The words of Jesus that I hear during each Mass call out for me to behold what I am about to consume. Help me be more attentive at Mass, fully realizing that what I receive is the Flesh and Blood of the Son of Man—that it is true life-giving food and drink. It is what Jesus says it is; since it is just that, now and forever, stir in me the desire, Lord, to say what the crowd who followed Jesus said to him: “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed be God who refused me not my prayer or his kindness! Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:44-51)
“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.”
Jesus further explains how we are drawn to him and the necessity of receiving his body and blood for eternal life. Jesus says to the crowds, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.” He explains how the Father draws us to Jesus. Everyone who listens to his Father—our Father—comes to Jesus. When we come to Jesus in the Eucharist, we receive the body and blood of Christ—the bread that came down from heaven that will give us eternal life.
Father in heaven, you sent Jesus your Son to draw us to you. In his teachings and in the sacraments of the Church, born out of your love, Jesus remains ever present so that I can come to him at all times. “Whoever believes has eternal life,” Jesus says. Give me the grace today to believe in the hope and reality of eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel acclamation is an aid to help me remember this throughout the day: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From the responsorial psalm: “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!” Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:35-40)
“But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. 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.”
In the Bread of Life Discourse, Jesus continues speaking to the crowd that he fed with the distribution of the loaves and the fishes. What he says to them is hard to take in. Jesus tells them that he is sent to do not his own will but the will of the Father. And the will of the Father, he tells them, is that he will not reject anyone who comes to him and that all who believe in him will have eternal life. Although the crowd doesn’t know it and can’t yet understand, Jesus invites them to the heavenly banquet, where their sustenance for all eternity will be the bread of life—Jesus Christ—in the unity of God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Father in heaven, let me say in my heart with the grace of understanding what the crowd says to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Help me recognize the hope that I am called to in receiving the Eucharist and in internalizing the Word made flesh. It is nourishment in this life and the hope of eternal life, the “medicine of immortality.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From the responsorial psalm: “Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God. My trust is in the LORD; I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:30-35)
So they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
John continues relating the story of Jesus’ encounter with the crowds that followed him after he performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. After Jesus tells them that to do the work of God is to believe in the one he sent, they ask for a sign from him so that they may believe. The same crowd Jesus had just fed ask him, recalling how Moses fed them manna in the desert, ask “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?” How can they ask this after witnessing a miracle? Yet, Jesus tells them it was not Moses but his Father who gave them true bread from heaven. And Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Father in heaven, help me trust in you today through Jesus Christ your Son. Trust that you will provide me with everything I need. Trust that you know what I need even before I ask. Grant me the wisdom to know what it is I seek and what to ask you for. I stand as one among the crowds that followed Jesus, sometimes asking “What can you do?” Give me the grace, Lord, to breathe freely in the gift of peace that only you can give. Help me be aware of this gift when I have the opportunity to become a means of your peace for others. Stay with me, Lord!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From the responsorial psalm: “I declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me your statutes. Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:22-29)
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 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.”
Some of the multitude that Jesus fed come looking for him. Jesus knows their needs and realizes they wish to satisfy a physical hunger for food. He responds by acknowledging that the bread they seek would provide temporary sustenance but that he is the one who offers the true bread from heaven. Encouraging them to work for the food that doesn’t perish, Jesus teaches them to hunger for the very word of God—”the food that endures for eternal life.” They ask him: “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus tells them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
God, help me focus today on working for true food, the bread of life. And make known to me throughout the day exactly what that means. The Gospel acclamation, the words of Jesus, make clear how I choose to make that happen: “One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Jesus tells the crowd that to accomplish your works, Lord, we are to believe in the one you sent. To live on your every word, Lord, is to live for love because you yourself are love. In seeking the true bread from heaven, give me the grace to live in your love and be loving to others.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From the Gospel acclamation: “Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to us; make our hearts burn while you speak to us.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24:35-48)
While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.
As the two disciples recount their journey, they describe how Jesus made himself known to them in the breaking of bread. Suddenly he stands among them. Terrified, and not knowing what to make of his presence, they think they are seeing an apparition, a ghost. The risen Christ quietly comforts them with questions and an invitation to look on him, at his nail-pierced hands and feet. By the author of life, the horror of death is trampled on. By the risen Christ, death and its terrifying mask have been torn away. “While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,” Luke tells us, Jesus asks for something to eat. For their sake, the glorified Christ eats in front of them, giving the disciples spiritual nourishment as witnesses to teach repentance and God’s mercy to all the nations.
God, open my mind to understand the Scriptures, as Jesus did among the disciples. When I consider death and its terrible effects on the body, help dispel any fear or anxiety I have, putting in its place the image of the risen Christ standing in the midst of the disciples. Let me consider that the effects of death are not lasting on the body, and that death does not have the last word—the Word Incarnate does in his resurrection. God, you are truth itself, and everything you speak comes into being and is fulfilled. In the words of Christ risen from the dead: “Everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” At all times, Lord, especially when I look on death and am afraid, let your face shine upon me and give me peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
“The risen Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room” flickr photo by Nick in exsilio https://flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/4669927869 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license
From the responsorial psalm: “See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, To deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:16-21)
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. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 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. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.
Continuing where yesterday’s Gospel left off, today’s reading describes what happens after Jesus fed the five thousand and then went off to the mountain alone. John describes how the disciples went down to the sea to reach Capernaum. Within moments after embarking, a strong wind stirs up the sea and they see Jesus walking on the sea toward them. Until he says to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid,” the disciples fail to recognize Jesus. They wish to take Jesus into the boat, but they reach the shore immediately. Two miracles—really three—occur as the Gospel unfolds: Jesus walks on water, the disciples reach the shore without human effort, and they recognize the divinity of Jesus in the peace that only he can give.
God, I am certain of the myriad uncertainties I will face today. In the midst of them, give me the grace to call to mind that Jesus your Son is present at all times. Help me trust that as much as uncertainty and fear will be woven into the day, “all your works,” as the psalmist says, “are trustworthy” and preserve me in every trial. “Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.” Jesus, I trust in you.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From the responsorial psalm: “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD. One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:1-15)
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
Crowds began to follow Jesus because they saw the miracles he performed among the sick. Before feeding the crowd of five thousand that came to him, Jesus asks Philip a question: “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Knowing what he would do, Jesus asks Philip to test him. Seeing the vast crowd, Andrew tells Jesus there is a boy who has five loaves of bread and two fish. This time, Andrew asks a question, uncertain of the outcome: “but what good are these for so many?” Of the two questions, one affirms God’s superabundant grace; the other is despairing, skeptical. Every day, God tests our faith by giving us countless opportunities to trust him. Where do we go for true food, true drink?
God, open my mind to understand today’s Gospel. When I consider that Jesus broke bread, feeding five thousand, I marvel at how he made that possible. Even more so do I stand in awe at the feeding of millions every day in the Eucharist. It is the same Christ broken and shared but undivided among those most in need of his body and blood, soul and divinity. There is something in Jesus’ question, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” that begs to be answered. We can’t buy what we most need; no one can. Only you, Lord, can supply the Eucharistic meal that makes you present within me and makes me whole.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From the responsorial psalm: “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 3:31-36)
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
What is clear from today’s Gospel is the love of the Father for the Son and the complete abandonment of the Son to the will of the Father. The love of the Father abides fully in the Son. To obey the Son is to trust in God and participate in the fullness of his redemption through the resurrection. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” “The wrath of God remains upon,” John tells us, whoever disobeys the Son. Not an active divine punishment, wrath is the natural result of suffering through active rejection of belief in Christ. The wrath of God is a continual invitation to return to him wholeheartedly, to trust in his will and be obedient to it.
God, help me trust in you at all times and accept the testimony of your Son, who “testifies to what he has seen and heard” from above all. When I consider the trials and distress of the day that is certain to come, I want to hold fast to my faith. “Many are the troubles of the just man,” the psalmist says, “but out of them all the LORD delivers him.” And “When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them.” Guide me in your ways today, Lord; teach me to persevere in faith in this life so that in the world to come I may one day give you unceasing praise and bless you at all times. Saint Stanislaus, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From the responsorial psalm: “In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!” Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 3:16-21)
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
Today’s Gospel reading picks up where yesterday’s left off. In John’s words, the passage summarizes the conversation Jesus has with Nicodemus. So that everyone might have eternal life and because he loves the world he created, God sent his only-begotten Son “so that everyone who believes in him might not perish.” But because God made us to be free and respects free will, the choice to believe in the Son of God—the choice between light and darkness—is left to each person. “Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,” John says, “but whoever does not believe has already been condemned.” In choosing Christ, we come willingly into the light of truth, seeking to do God’s will.
God, you fashioned the world out of love, and you love the world you created. Help me choose freely today to come toward the light of Christ your Son. Inclined toward sin, it’s not a given that I will choose to live in the truth of that light. Let me remember to call out to you for your help, and aid me today in choosing to do right and rejecting evil. In the words of the psalmist, grant me the grace to call on you in every distress and look to you so that I may be radiant with joy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
