20th Sunday: Prov 9:1-6. Eph 5:15-20. Jn 6:51-58. - The Gospel this weekend is this: Jn 6:51-58. 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." 52 The Jews quarrelled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" 53 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. 54 Whoever eats * my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 57 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. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." - The first reading is this: Prov 9:1-6. Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; 2 She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. 3 She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city: 4 "Let whoever is simple turn in here; to him who lacks understanding, I say, 5 Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! 6 Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding. - The second reading is this: Eph 5:15-20. Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, 16 making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. 18 And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another (in) psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. - MEDITATION: The Gospel this Sunday is of Jesus offering his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. That may sound cannibalistic! But Christ is no ordinary flesh and blood. He isn't dead. The most fundamental truth of Christianity is the Resurrection, and in that sense, we're reading about a nutrition far superior to something just physical. God feeds our minds and hearts… and ‘spirits’. The first reading is from the Old Testament 'Wisdom' books (the book of Proverbs). It speaks in symbolic terms: 'Wisdom' has set up her house and calls mankind to call on her and have a good feed! Any ardent feminists must like the way that the Bible calls 'wisdom' a 'she'! I think that the wise person is the one who appreciates that they still have got a lot to learn. In our modern world, many think that wisdom is a matter of technology and academics, and they are good, but the second reading says that far above that wisdom, is the 'understanding of the will of the Lord' (Eph 5:17). We know that the Trinity will for us to be happy with them forever, but we've got to seek a good understanding of how to make it there. The world through history has had many intelligent brains achieving good things, but let's not have them eclipsing Christ for us. There isn't a single person of the world's intelligentia that physically rose from the dead! However many of them may be 'still around' with God in a 'higher world' - as may all of us simpletons some day. Jesus has 'bent over backwards' to convince us that we're all called to that 'higher world'. But the decision is ours - "Yes" or "No" - "I'll try hard" or "I couldn't really be bothered". Fortunately, Mary said "yes". Our mothers decided that they would 'be bothered' to give each of us physical birth a few years ago, and Mary was asked to be the spiritual mother of us all. She said "Yes". The second reading (Eph 5) calls the 'no' option downright foolishness! 'Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity...'. So we should stop and ponder what should we be doing to make the most of our few years on earth? While some may indulge in mundane pleasures to lighten up their lives, St Paul puts it clearly today: 'Do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always. (Eph 5:18-19). The latter may sound exaggerated, as if it would be nice to greet each other on the street with a little hymn! But it symbolises the attitude to have inside as we relate with people. We don't sing, but we smile and chat as friends. The talk of singing may seem superficial, and it's true that some people take the singing and music at mass too seriously, but at appropriate times, it helps to move our hearts. A guy can say "I love you" to a girl, but it's not the same as singing her a love-song! God is love itself and is the creater of all lovely things and people. So we sing to our God! Jesus says today "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" (Jn 6:57). Jesus combines 'having life' with being sent, and I think that that's true for us all. 'Having life' goes hand in hand with 'being sent'! The one who gives is the one who gains. The challenge of communicating the Good News to others stimulates meditation and prayer because it gets us to think deeply about what we're going to say - or write! ....... Dara. - - En ESPAÑOL: - 20º Domingo: Prov 9:1-6. Ef 5:15-20. Jn 6:51-58. El Evangelio este domingoes de Jesús ofreciendo su carne para comer y su sangre para beber. ¡Eso puede parecer canibalístico! Pero Jesús no es ninguna carne y sangre ordinaria. Él no está muerto. La verdad más fundamental de la fe Cristiana es la resurrección, y en ese sentido, estamos leyendo sobre una nutrición muy superior a algo físico. Dios alimenta nuestras mentes y nuestros corazones… y espiritus. La primera lectura es de ‘los libros de Sabiduría’ (el libro de Proverbios) del Antiguo Testamento. Habla en términos simbólicos: La Sabiduría ha preparado su casa y ha llamado a la humanidad para visitarla y tener un alimento bueno. ¡A lo mejor les gusta a las fenenistas como la Biblia llama a ‘la sabiduría’ una mujer! Yo creo que la persona sabia es la que aprecia que todavía debería aprender mucho más. En nuestro mundo moderno, muchos piensan que la sabiduría es una cuestión de tecnología y cosa académica, y ellos son buenos, pero la segunda lectura dice que importa aún más saber la voluntad del Señor (Ef 5:17). Sabemos que la Trinidad quieren tenernos eternamente contentos con ellos, pero tenemos que buscar nosotros cómo llegar allí. El mundo a través de la historia ha tenido muchas inteligencias que han logrado cosas buenas, pero no los tengamos eclipsando a Cristo para nosotros. ¡No hay ni una sola persona de la inteligencia del mundo que resucitó físicamente de la muerte! Sin embargo puede ser que muchos de ellos están viviendo con Dios en ‘un mundo más alto’ - ¡como podremos nosotros tontos algún día! Jesús se dobla al revés para convencernos que estamos todos llamados al ‘mundo superior’. Pero la decisión es nuestra - "Sí" o "No" - "yo intentaré con esfuerzo" o "no me interesa tanto". Afortunadamente, María dijo que "sí". Nuestras madres humanas decidieron aguantar nuestros nacimientos físicos hace unos años, y María fue pedida ser la madre espiritual de nosotros todos. Ella dijo "Sí". ¡La segunda lectura (Ef 5) dice que la opción “no” es claramente una tontería! 'Entonces ten cuidado como vives, no como personas tontas sino como sabios, haciendo lo mejor que se puede... '. Entonces deberíamos parar y pensar bien qué deberíamos hacer para aprovechar bien de nuestros pocos años en la tierra. Mientras algunos pueden complacer en los placeres mundanos para alumbrar a sus vidas, San Pablo lo pone claramente hoy: 'No os emborrachéis con el vino en que está el libertinaje, sino llenaos del Espíritu, saludando uno al otro con salmos y canciones espirituales, alabando al Señor en sus corazones, dando gracias siempre.’ (Ef 5:18-19). El último puede sonar exagerado, ¡como si fuera bueno saludarnos en la calle con un pequeño himno! Pero simboliza la actitud a tener por dentro cuando nos relacionamos con la gente. No toca cantar, sino sonreír y charlar como amigos. Proponer cantar puede parecer superficial, y es verdad que algunas personas toman el canto y la música en la misa demasiado en serio, pero en los momentos apropiados, ayuda mover nuestros corazones. ¡Un tipo puede decir "te amo" a una muchacha, pero no es igual que cantarla una canción de amor! Dios es amor y es el creador de codas las cosas y personas encantadoras. ¡Entonces cantemos a nuestro Dios! Jesús dice hoy "Como el Padre me envió y tengo la vida por Él, también el que se alimenta de mí tendrá la vida por mí" (Jn 6:57). Jesús combina 'tener la vida' con ‘ser enviado’, y creo que también es para nosotros todos. ¡Tener la vida va junto con ser enviado! Él que da es qué recibe. El desafío de comunicar bien la Buena Nueva a otros estimula meditación y oración porque consigue que pensemos profundamente sobre lo que vamos a decir - ¡o escribir! ....... Dara. (Repost from Facebook - link) GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER - Saturday, August 8, 2015
For the past weeks the Sunday gospels have focused on passages from John 6, where the central image is the BREAD. There is much that can be said about it, probably there are much better exegesis than mine out there, but nonetheless, here is mine. 17th Sunday, John 6, 1-15: Not the King they expect Him to be I would start from he end of the passage, which is with Jesus running away from the crowd, who by then wanted to crown Him as king: "Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone." 19th Sunday: 1 Kgs 19:4-8. Eph 4:30-5:2. Jn 6:41-51. - The Gospel this weekend is this: Jn 6:41-51. The Jews murmured about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," 42 and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring * among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets: 'They shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes --has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; 50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 51 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." - The first reading is this. 1 Kgs 19:4-8. Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." 5 He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. 6 He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, 7 but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!" 8 He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb. - The second reading is this: Eph 4:30-5:2. And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 (And) be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. 5:1 So be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. - MEDITATION: This Sunday is about the 'Bread of Life' - the Good News that God wants to nurture us and guide us. But we ourselves need to 'take a first step' and 'open the door'. As with food, we need to eat and digest before we can absorb! In that sense, we should read the Bible well and give time to meditation. The mission of Jesus begins with people criticising him for claiming to be divine, and I suppose that's understandable back then (Joseph and Mary were just another couple in the bunch), but we now have the resurrection to back Jesus up, and it really backs him up! The Word of God is alive and active! To begin to 'eat' as such for me was to begin to pray - to read and meditate etc.. The results weren't immediate, but they came. Patience is a virtue! Each person opens the door to faith in Christ, but even the fact that we're inspired to begin the search, is itself a gift of God. Jesus says today "No one can come unless they've been called" (Jn 6:44). It was my experience of patients with fatal illness and post-mortem examinations in hospitals that was like a 'call' to me. I realised that some day the dead body is going to be mine! Jesus goes on to say today: "I will raise him who believes in me on the last day". The Old Testament tells of the manna in the desert (Ex 16), but the Christian step forward is that Jesus gives much more than manna: "This is my flesh for the life of the world"... the eternal life. The first reading has Elijah depressed and hungry, and an angel comes to help to feed him. That symbolizes for me the way that time spent in prayer can restore us. But the angel doesn't just supply food, he sends Elijah on a journey of forty days and nights (1 K 19:8). That's like a missionary call. And forty to the Jews represents 'totality' or 'constancy'. Rather than a job to begin some day and end some day, it's a call to have a certain constant attitude of life. That's why we have the 40 days of Lent - the time Jesus spent being tempted in the desert (Lk 4:1-2). Life for us all is always going to be a journey with challenges. With regard to Jesus describing himself as 'the Bread of life', remember that the reason for our Eucharistic hosts being made of unleavened bread, is because that was the kind that could be made quickly enough to bring on the flight of the Jews from slavery in Egypt (the Exodus). Thereafter they had what they called a 'feast of unleavened bread' every year during which it was eaten with the sacrificed lamb (which now for us is Jesus himself). The Book of Deuteronomy says this: 'You shall not eat leavened bread with the lamb. You shall eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, that you may remember as long as you live the day of your departure from the land of Egypt; for in frightened haste you left that land' (Dt 16:3). Therefore, as we now eat at mass the Eucharist of the Last Supper, we should remind ourselves that we're on a journey passing through these few years on Earth. Reminding ourselves of that, may influence our plans to make good use of our brief lifetime and to avoid mundane riches, honours and pleasures, that would hold us back. We're all on our way on an 'exodus' through life. Lets comulgate with an enthusiastic heart so that we make it to the 'promised land'. This gives added meaning to praying the 'Our Father': "Give us this day our daily bread"! And it's relevant that we recieve communion as we gather together at church. Christ wants us all to be 'companions'. The word 'companion' comes from the ancient meaning: 'one who shares the same bread'. Christ wants us to be companions with Him. The Gospel tells of what happened as two of the followers of Jesus were walking away from Jerusalem thinking that Jesus was dead and gone, and Jesus then appeared to them on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24). But in order to be recognised, he actually ate a meal with bread with them and it's obviously speaking to us of the Eucharist: 'The two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.' (Lk 24:35). Also remember the documents of Vatican II (Lumen Gentium 26): 'We comulgate in order to become the same as that which we receive.'. St Paul writes to the Corinthians: 'Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of unleavened dough. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth' (1 Cor 5:7-8). Let's make the effort with a heart-felt enthusiasm, as in the letter to the Ephesians: 'Loving as beloved children' (Eph 4:5). That's different to doing so as 'employees' obeying rules. As mankind travels far and works hard, they may end up with 'smelly socks', but St Paul adds today: we can be a 'fragrant aroma' if offered to God! ......... Dara. - - En ESPAÑOL: - 19º Domingo: 1º Reyes 19:4-8. Ef 4:30-5:2. Jn 6:41-51. Este domingo es sobre el Pan de la Vida - la Buena Nueva que Dios quiere nutrirnos y guiarnos. ¡Pero nos toca a nosotros ‘tomar un primer paso' y 'abrir la puerta'. ¡Como con la comida normal, tenemos que comer y digerir antes de que podamos absorber! En ese sentido, nos conviene leer bien la Biblia y dar tiempo a la meditación. La misión de Jesús empieza con la gente criticándole por decir que es divino, y supongo que eso es entendible entonces (José y María eran simplemente otra pareja en el manojo), pero nosotros ahora hemos oído de la la resurrección, ¡y realmente lo apoya! ¡La Palabra de Dios está viva y activa! Empezar a 'comer' como tal para mí era empezar a orar – a leer y meditar etc.. Los resultados no eran inmediatos, pero vinieron. ¡Paciencia es una virtud! Nos toca abrir la puerta a la fe en Cristo, pero el hecho en sí de que estamos inspirados a empezar la búsqueda, es un regalo de Dios. Jesús dice hoy "nadie puede venir sino los que han sido llamados" (Jn 6:44). Era mi experiencia de pacientes con enfermedades fatales y de investigaciones poste-mortem que era ‘una llamada’ a mí. ¡Te pones a pensar que algún día el cuerpo muerto va a ser el mío! Jesús añada hoy: "Yo le levantaré a quién cree en mí en el último día". El Antiguo Testamento habla del maná en el desierto (Ex 16), pero el paso cristiano es adelante, ya que Jesús da mucho más que maná: "Ésta es mi carne para la vida del mundo"... la vida eterna. La primera lectura tiene a Eliseo deprimido y hambriento, y un ángel aparece y le alimenta. Eso simboliza para mí como el tiempo pasado en la oración puede restaurarnos. Pero el ángel no proporciona simplemente comida, envía Eliseo en una jornada de cuarenta días y noches (1ºReyes 19:8). Eso es como una llamada misionera. Y cuarenta para los judíos representa 'la totalidad' o 'la constancia'. En lugar de un trabajo que empieza algún día y acaba algún día, es una llamada a tener una cierta actitud constante de vida. Por eso tenemos los 40 días de Cuaresma - el tiempo cuando Jesús fue tentado en el desierto (Lc 4:1-2). La vida en el mundo va a ser siempre una jornada con desafíos. Con respecto a Jesús diciendo que es 'el Pan de vida', recuerda que la hostia Eucarística es de pan ácimo porque ése era el tipo que podría hacerse bastante rápidamente para el vuelo de los judíos de la esclavitud en Egipto (el Éxodo). Después de esto tenían lo que llamaron 'la fiesta de pan ácimo' todos los años en el cual se comía el cordero sacrificado (lo que ahora para nosotros es el propio Jesús). El Libro de Deuteronomio dice esto: 'No comeréis pan fermentado con el cordero. Comeréis con él, el pan ácimo, el pan de aflicción para que recordaréis el día de su salida con prisa asustada de la tierra de Egipto' (Dt 16:3). Entonces cuando comemos ahora la Eucaristía de la Última Cena, deberíamos recordarnos que estamos en una jornada que dura estos pocos años de la vida física. Recordándose eso, puede influenciar a nuestros planes para hacer uso bueno de nuestra vida breve y evitar las riquezas mundanas, honores y placeres que nos detendrían. Estamos de camino todos en un 'éxodo’ a través de la vida. ¡Tomemos la comunión con un corazón entusiástico para que lleguemos a ‘la tierra prometida’! Esto da el significado a orar en el 'Padre Nuestro': "Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día"! Y es pertinente que recibimos la comunión cuando estamos reunidos en la iglesia. Cristo quiere que todos sean ‘compañeros’. La palabra 'compañero' viene del significado antiguo: ‘uno que comparte el mismo pan’. Cristo quiere que seamos compañeros con Él. El Evangelio cuenta lo que pasó cuando dos de los seguidores de Jesús estaban caminando fuera de Jerusalén pensando que Jesús estaba muerto e ido, y Jesús apareció a ellos en el camino a Emmaus (Lc 24). Pero para ser reconocido, él comió una comida con pan con ellos y está hablándonos obviamente de la Eucaristía: 'Los dos recontaron lo que había pasado en el camino y como le reconocieron en la ruptura del pan.' (Lc 24:35). También recuerde los documentos de Vaticano II (el Lumen Gentium 26): 'Comulgamos para llegar a ser igual que lo que recibimos.'. San Pablo escribe a los corintios: 'Echa fuera la levadura vieja, para que seáis un lote fresco de pan ácimo. Para esto nuestro cordero pascual, Cristo, se ha sacrificado. Entonces no queremos celebrar la fiesta con la levadura vieja, la levadura de malicia y maldad, sino con el pan ácimo de sinceridad y verdad' (1º Cor 5:7-8). Hagamos el esfuerzo con un entusiasmo sincero, como en la carta de los Efesios: 'Amando como niños queridos' (Ef 4:5). Eso es diferente a hacerlo como empleados obedeciendo reglas. La huma19thSunday: 1 Kgs 19:4-8. Eph 4:30-5:2. Jn 6:41-51. - The Gospel this weekend is this: Jn 6:41-51. The Jews murmured about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," 42 and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring * among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets: 'They shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes --has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; 50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 51 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." - The first reading is this. 1 Kgs 19:4-8. Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." 5 He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. 6 He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, 7 but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!" 8 He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb. - The second reading is this: Eph 4:30-5:2. And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 (And) be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. 5:1 So be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. - MEDITATION: This Sunday is about the 'Bread of Life' - the Good News that God wants to nurture us and guide us. But we ourselves need to 'take a first step' and 'open the door'. As with food, we need to eat and digest before we can absorb! In that sense, we should read the Bible well and give time to meditation. The mission of Jesus begins with people criticising him for claiming to be divine, and I suppose that's understandable back then (Joseph and Mary were just another couple in the bunch), but we now have the resurrection to back Jesus up, and it really backs him up! The Word of God is alive and active! To begin to 'eat' as such for me was to begin to pray - to read and meditate etc.. The results weren't immediate, but they came. Patience is a virtue! Each person opens the door to faith in Christ, but even the fact that we're inspired to begin the search, is itself a gift of God. Jesus says today "No one can come unless they've been called" (Jn 6:44). It was my experience of patients with fatal illness and post-mortem examinations in hospitals that was like a 'call' to me. I realised that some day the dead body is going to be mine! Jesus goes on to say today: "I will raise him who believes in me on the last day". The Old Testament tells of the manna in the desert (Ex 16), but the Christian step forward is that Jesus gives much more than manna: "This is my flesh for the life of the world"... the eternal life. The first reading has Elijah depressed and hungry, and an angel comes to help to feed him. That symbolizes for me the way that time spent in prayer can restore us. But the angel doesn't just supply food, he sends Elijah on a journey of forty days and nights (1 K 19:8). That's like a missionary call. And forty to the Jews represents 'totality' or 'constancy'. Rather than a job to begin some day and end some day, it's a call to have a certain constant attitude of life. That's why we have the 40 days of Lent - the time Jesus spent being tempted in the desert (Lk 4:1-2). Life for us all is always going to be a journey with challenges. With regard to Jesus describing himself as 'the Bread of life', remember that the reason for our Eucharistic hosts being made of unleavened bread, is because that was the kind that could be made quickly enough to bring on the flight of the Jews from slavery in Egypt (the Exodus). Thereafter they had what they called a 'feast of unleavened bread' every year during which it was eaten with the sacrificed lamb (which now for us is Jesus himself). The Book of Deuteronomy says this: 'You shall not eat leavened bread with the lamb. You shall eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, that you may remember as long as you live the day of your departure from the land of Egypt; for in frightened haste you left that land' (Dt 16:3). Therefore, as we now eat at mass the Eucharist of the Last Supper, we should remind ourselves that we're on a journey passing through these few years on Earth. Reminding ourselves of that, may influence our plans to make good use of our brief lifetime and to avoid mundane riches, honours and pleasures, that would hold us back. We're all on our way on an 'exodus' through life. Lets comulgate with an enthusiastic heart so that we make it to the 'promised land'. This gives added meaning to praying the 'Our Father': "Give us this day our daily bread"! And it's relevant that we recieve communion as we gather together at church. Christ wants us all to be 'companions'. The word 'companion' comes from the ancient meaning: 'one who shares the same bread'. Christ wants us to be companions with Him. The Gospel tells of what happened as two of the followers of Jesus were walking away from Jerusalem thinking that Jesus was dead and gone, and Jesus then appeared to them on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24). But in order to be recognised, he actually ate a meal with bread with them and it's obviously speaking to us of the Eucharist: 'The two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.' (Lk 24:35). Also remember the documents of Vatican II (Lumen Gentium 26): 'We comulgate in order to become the same as that which we receive.'. St Paul writes to the Corinthians: 'Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of unleavened dough. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth' (1 Cor 5:7-8). Let's make the effort with a heart-felt enthusiasm, as in the letter to the Ephesians: 'Loving as beloved children' (Eph 4:5). That's different to doing so as 'employees' obeying rules. As mankind travels far and works hard, they may end up with 'smelly socks', but St Paul adds today: we can be a 'fragrant aroma' if offered to God! ......... Dara. - - En ESPAÑOL: - 19º Domingo: 1º Reyes 19:4-8. Ef 4:30-5:2. Jn 6:41-51. Este domingo es sobre el Pan de la Vida - la Buena Nueva que Dios quiere nutrirnos y guiarnos. ¡Pero nos toca a nosotros ‘tomar un primer paso' y 'abrir la puerta'. ¡Como con la comida normal, tenemos que comer y digerir antes de que podamos absorber! En ese sentido, nos conviene leer bien la Biblia y dar tiempo a la meditación. La misión de Jesús empieza con la gente criticándole por decir que es divino, y supongo que eso es entendible entonces (José y María eran simplemente otra pareja en el manojo), pero nosotros ahora hemos oído de la la resurrección, ¡y realmente lo apoya! ¡La Palabra de Dios está viva y activa! Empezar a 'comer' como tal para mí era empezar a orar – a leer y meditar etc.. Los resultados no eran inmediatos, pero vinieron. ¡Paciencia es una virtud! Nos toca abrir la puerta a la fe en Cristo, pero el hecho en sí de que estamos inspirados a empezar la búsqueda, es un regalo de Dios. Jesús dice hoy "nadie puede venir sino los que han sido llamados" (Jn 6:44). Era mi experiencia de pacientes con enfermedades fatales y de investigaciones poste-mortem que era ‘una llamada’ a mí. ¡Te pones a pensar que algún día el cuerpo muerto va a ser el mío! Jesús añada hoy: "Yo le levantaré a quién cree en mí en el último día". El Antiguo Testamento habla del maná en el desierto (Ex 16), pero el paso cristiano es adelante, ya que Jesús da mucho más que maná: "Ésta es mi carne para la vida del mundo"... la vida eterna. La primera lectura tiene a Eliseo deprimido y hambriento, y un ángel aparece y le alimenta. Eso simboliza para mí como el tiempo pasado en la oración puede restaurarnos. Pero el ángel no proporciona simplemente comida, envía Eliseo en una jornada de cuarenta días y noches (1ºReyes 19:8). Eso es como una llamada misionera. Y cuarenta para los judíos representa 'la totalidad' o 'la constancia'. En lugar de un trabajo que empieza algún día y acaba algún día, es una llamada a tener una cierta actitud constante de vida. Por eso tenemos los 40 días de Cuaresma - el tiempo cuando Jesús fue tentado en el desierto (Lc 4:1-2). La vida en el mundo va a ser siempre una jornada con desafíos. Con respecto a Jesús diciendo que es 'el Pan de vida', recuerda que la hostia Eucarística es de pan ácimo porque ése era el tipo que podría hacerse bastante rápidamente para el vuelo de los judíos de la esclavitud en Egipto (el Éxodo). Después de esto tenían lo que llamaron 'la fiesta de pan ácimo' todos los años en el cual se comía el cordero sacrificado (lo que ahora para nosotros es el propio Jesús). El Libro de Deuteronomio dice esto: 'No comeréis pan fermentado con el cordero. Comeréis con él, el pan ácimo, el pan de aflicción para que recordaréis el día de su salida con prisa asustada de la tierra de Egipto' (Dt 16:3). Entonces cuando comemos ahora la Eucaristía de la Última Cena, deberíamos recordarnos que estamos en una jornada que dura estos pocos años de la vida física. Recordándose eso, puede influenciar a nuestros planes para hacer uso bueno de nuestra vida breve y evitar las riquezas mundanas, honores y placeres que nos detendrían. Estamos de camino todos en un 'éxodo’ a través de la vida. ¡Tomemos la comunión con un corazón entusiástico para que lleguemos a ‘la tierra prometida’! Esto da el significado a orar en el 'Padre Nuestro': "Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día"! Y es pertinente que recibimos la comunión cuando estamos reunidos en la iglesia. Cristo quiere que todos sean ‘compañeros’. La palabra 'compañero' viene del significado antiguo: ‘uno que comparte el mismo pan’. Cristo quiere que seamos compañeros con Él. El Evangelio cuenta lo que pasó cuando dos de los seguidores de Jesús estaban caminando fuera de Jerusalén pensando que Jesús estaba muerto e ido, y Jesús apareció a ellos en el camino a Emmaus (Lc 24). Pero para ser reconocido, él comió una comida con pan con ellos y está hablándonos obviamente de la Eucaristía: 'Los dos recontaron lo que había pasado en el camino y como le reconocieron en la ruptura del pan.' (Lc 24:35). También recuerde los documentos de Vaticano II (el Lumen Gentium 26): 'Comulgamos para llegar a ser igual que lo que recibimos.'. San Pablo escribe a los corintios: 'Echa fuera la levadura vieja, para que seáis un lote fresco de pan ácimo. Para esto nuestro cordero pascual, Cristo, se ha sacrificado. Entonces no queremos celebrar la fiesta con la levadura vieja, la levadura de malicia y maldad, sino con el pan ácimo de sinceridad y verdad' (1º Cor 5:7-8). Hagamos el esfuerzo con un entusiasmo sincero, como en la carta de los Efesios: 'Amando como niños queridos' (Ef 4:5). Eso es diferente a hacerlo como empleados obedeciendo reglas. La humanidad viaja lejos y trabaja difícilmente, y puede ser que uno tiene ‘calcetines apestosos’, pero Pablo agrega hoy: ¡Si nos ofrecemos a Dios podemos ser ‘un aroma fragante’! ......... Dara.
nidad viaja lejos y trabaja difícilmente, y puede ser que uno tiene ‘calcetines apestosos’, pero Pablo agrega hoy: ¡Si nos ofrecemos a Dios podemos ser ‘un aroma fragante’! ......... Dara. |
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