Compline

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Examination of Conscience

A brief examination of conscience may be made. In the communal celebration of the Office, a Penitential Rite using the formulas of the Mass may be inserted here.

[I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

And, striking their breast, they say:

through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;

Then they continue:

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

The absolution by the Priest follows:

May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.]

HYMN

At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious King,
Who has washed us in the tide
Flowing from his wounded side;
Praise the Lord, whose love divine
Gives his sacred blood for wine,
Gives his body for the feast,
Christ the victim, Christ the priest.

Where the Paschal blood is poured,
Death’s dark angel sheathes his sword;
Israel’s host in triumph go
Through the waves that drown the foe.
Christ the Lamb whose blood was shed,
Paschal victim, Paschal bread;
Let us with a fervent love
Taste the manna from above.

Mighty Victim from on high,
Pow’rs of hell now vanquished lie;
Sin is conquered in the fight:
You have brought us life and light;
Your resplendent banners wave,
You have risen from the grave;
Christ has opened Paradise,
And in him all men shall rise.

Easter triumph, Easter joy,
Sin alone can this destroy;
Souls form sin and death set free
Glory in their liberty.
Hymns of glory, hymns of praise
Father unto you we raise;
Risen Lord, for joy we sing;
Let our hymns through heaven ring.

Tune: Salzburg 77.77 D
Music: Jacob Hintze, 1622-1702
Text: Ad regias Agni dapes
Translation: Robert Campbell, 1814-1868, adapted by Geoffrey Laycock

Or:

Holy God, we praise thy Name!
Lord of all, we bow before thee!
All on earth they scepter claim,
All in heaven above adore thee!
Infinite thy vast domain,
Everlasting is thy reign.

Hark the loud celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and Seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heavens with sweet accord:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord!

Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name thee,
While in essence only One,
Undivided God we claim thee;
And adoring bend the knee,
While we own the mystery.

Melody: Großer Gott 78.78.77
Music: Katholisches Gesangbuch, Vienna, c. 1774
Text: Ignaz Franz, 1719-1790
Translation: Clarence Walsworth, 1820-1900

PSALMODY

Ant. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 88
Prayer of a very sick person

This is your hour when darkness reigns (Luke 22:53).

Lord my God, I call for help by day; *
I cry at night before you.
Let my prayer come into your presence. *
O turn your ear to my cry.

For my soul is filled with evils; *
my life is on the brink of the grave.
I am reckoned as one in the tomb: *
I have reached the end of my strength,

like one alone among the dead; *
like the slain lying in their graves;
like those you remember no more, *
cut off, as they are, from your hand.

You have laid me in the depths of the tomb, *
in places that are dark, in the depths.
Your anger weighs down upon me: *
I am drowned beneath your waves.

You have taken away my friends *
and made me hateful in their sight.
Imprisoned, I cannot escape; *
my eyes are sunken with grief.

I call to you, Lord, all the day long; *
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work your wonders for the dead? *
Will the shades stand and praise you?

Will your love be told in the grave *
or your faithfulness among the dead?
Will your wonders be known in the dark *
or your justice in the land of oblivion?

As for me, Lord, I call to you for help: *
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Lord, why do you reject me? *
Why do you hide your face?

Wretched, close to death from my youth, *
I have borne your trials; I am numb.
Your fury has swept down upon me; *
your terrors have utterly destroyed me.

They surround me all the day like a flood, *
they assail me all together.
Friend and neighbor you have taken away: *
my one companion is darkness.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

READING
Jeremiah 14:9a

You are in our midst, O Lord,
your name we bear:
do not forsake us, O Lord, our God!

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.

You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.

CANTICLE OF SIMEON

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace, alleluia.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, + now you let your servant go in peace; *
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation *
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations *
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

All-powerful God
keep us united with your Son
in his death and burial
so that we may rise to new life with him,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
– Amen.

BLESSING

May the all-powerful Lord
grant us a restful night
and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
The Son whom you merited to bear, alleluia,
has risen as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia!
For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia!

Or:

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia,
quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia;
ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Or:

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this exile
show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.

Or:

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you!
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.

Or:

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve,
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes occulos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

Or:

Loving mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.

Information: St. Zita of Lucca

Feast Day:	April 27
Born:	1218 at Monsagrati near Lucca, Italy
Died:	27 April 1272 at Lucca, Italy
Canonized:	5 September 1696 by Pope Leo X and Pope Innocent XII
Major Shrine:	Basilica di San Frediano, Lucca
Patron of:	Domestic servants, homemakers, lost keys, people ridiculed for their piety, rape victims, single laywomen, waiters, waitresses

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Zita

Feast Day: April 27
Born: 1218 ::Died: 1278

Zita is known as the patron saint of domestic workers. She was born in the village of Monte Sagrati, near Lucca, in Italy. Her parents were very pious and raised Zita in a loving, Christian way.

In those days poor parents normally sent their teenage daughters to work with trustworthy families who could afford servants. The young women would live with the families for a few years and were paid to do the housework. Zita was sent to the Fatinelli family in Lucca when she was twelve.

Mr. and Mrs. Fatinelli were good people who had several workers. Zita was happy to be able to work and send money to her parents. She did her duties well and formed habits of praying at fixed times each day. She work early in the morning to go to daily Mass.

Because Zita was a hard-worker the other workers were annoyed. They were lazy and tried to do as little as they could get away with. They began to pick on Zita and were always against her when their employers were not around.

Zita was very hurt but she prayed for patience. She never complained about the workers. She firmly did her work as well as possible no matter what they thought. When one of the workers tried to kiss her, Zita fought him off. He left the room with several scratches on his face.

Mr. Fatinelli questioned her privately about the incident. She told him honestly what had happened. After that, Zita was made the head housekeeper. The Fatinelli children were placed under her care. Best of all, the other workers stopped bullying her. Some even tried to be like her.

Zita spent her whole life with the Fatinelli family. While others came and went, she stayed. She served them lovingly and cared for them as her own family. Zita died peacefully on April 27, 1278. She was sixty years old.

Reflection: By her example, St. Zita helps us see that work is beautiful when it is done with Christian love. Is my work a sign of Christian love

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: April 27, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who have come to know the grace of the Lord's Resurrection, may through the love of the Spirit, ourselves rise to newness of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Easter: April 27th

Friday of the Third Week of Easter; Our Lady of Montserrat (CAN) Old Calendar: St. Peter Canisius, confessor and doctor; St. Zita, virgin

Today the Church in Canada celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Montserrat. Monserrat is located in the region of Catalonia in Spain. Legend relates that the original sculpture was carved by St. Luke and brought to Montserrat by St. Peter in 50 A.D. St. Ignatius of Loyola, a former Crusader, decided to become a missionary after having prayed before this image of Mary.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Peter Canisius. His feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on December 21. It is also the feast of St. Zita of Lucca, a virgin who died in 1278.

Our Lady of Montserrat
The origin of the devotion to Our Lady at the shrine of Montserrat according to the earliest written records dates from 932, when the Count of Barcelona confirmed and renewed an endowment to the shrine made by his father in 888. This gift was again confirmed in 982 by Lothaire, King of France. Constant and unbroken tradition is that even previous to 888, an image of Our Lady was miraculously found among the rocks of Montserrat. Montserrat itself is a fantastic mountain group, four thousand feet high, about twenty miles from Barcelona. The name, Montserrat, of Latin origin, means saw-edged mountain. It is formed by huge boulders that raise their immense bulk perpendicularly to that four thousand foot summit. Outwardly, it resembles the seemingly inaccessible monasteries seen on high Mount Athos in Greece: "Montserrat is, and will forever be, a source of deep impressions caused by the singularity of the place. There, what is material becomes cyclopean, the mysterious is turned mystical and the picturesque is promoted to sublimity." There is a story that the mountain was once a huge boulder with a smooth surface. At the time of the Crucifixion of Jesus, however, when the sun darkened, the rock was shaken to its very foundations and when light returned, the mountain had a thousand peaks.

The legend relates that the figure of Our Lady came from Jerusalem to Barcelona, and was brought into the mountains to save it from the Saracens. It is true that the Montserrat statue has oriental features, but this could well be traced to the Byzantine sculptors who were constantly employed in the West. The legend goes on to say that in the eighth century shepherds one night saw strange lights on the mountain and heard Seraphic music.

Guided by the shepherds, the Bishop of Manresa found, in a cavern, a wooden figure of Our Lady and the Holy Child. He ordered that the statue be carried into the cathedral immediately. However, the procession with the statue never reached the cathedral because, after much marching, the small wooden figure became too heavy so that the Bishop decided to accept it as a sign and left it in a chapel of a nearby hermitage. The statue remained there until a church was built on the site of the present abbey on the top of the rocks near where the statue was discovered.

Since that incident, this statue is the most celebrated, the most important of Spain; it is thirty-eight inches in height, and is known as "La Morenata" — The Little Black Madonna. The wood is now black with age; one of its most striking features is the dignified expression of Our Lady. In her right hand, she holds a majestic orb.

Excerpted from Shrines to Our Lady, Zsolt Aradi

Things to Do:

Visit this website to view some pictures of the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat.
Read more about the statue of Our Lady of Montserrat.

St. Zita
St. Zita spent her life from age 12 until her death at age 60 as a servant in the household of the Sagrati family. Zita had been born into a devout family, and when she was a child, she would respond with instant obedience when her mother would say either, "This is pleasing to God" or "That would displease God." As a servant, Zita was an excellent worker. Both the household and the Sagrati children were committed to her care. Zita believed that "A servant is not pious if she is not industrious; work-shy piety in people of our position is sham piety." Zita was also a great friend to the poor, giving away her food and contenting herself with scraps. For years she had to suffer hostility from the other domestics, but on several occasions her goodness was miraculously recognized. One morning, when she had inadvertently over-stayed in church praying until sunrise, she hurried home to find the bread dough already prepared for the oven. Zita's last years were spent in the esteem of the household and engaged in contemplation and charity. She was especially devoted to prisoners awaiting execution, and she spent hours praying for them. St. Zita died very peacefully while at prayer.

Excerpted from Saints Calendar and Daily Planner by Tan Books

Patron: Domestic workers.

Things to Do:

Bake a loaf of bread today in honor of St. Zita, the Little Cook.

From: Acts 9:1-20

Saul on His Way to Damascus

[1] But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest [2] and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damas-
cus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring
them bound to Jerusalem. [3] Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus,
and suddenly a light from Heaven flashed about him. [4] And he fell to the ground
and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” [5]
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are per-
secuting; [6] but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
[7] The men who were travelling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but
seeing no one. [8] Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened,
he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damas-
cus. [9] And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

[10] Now there was a disciple at Damascus called Ananias. The Lord said to him
in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” [11] And the Lord said to
him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas
for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying, [12] and he has seen
a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain
his sight.” [13] But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this
man, how much evil he has done to Thy saints at Jerusalem; [14] and here he
has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Thy name.” [15] But
the Lord said to him, “Go for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry My name
before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; [16] for I will show him how
much he must suffer for the sake of My name.” [17] So Ananias departed and en-
tered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord
Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that
you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” [18] And immedia-
tely something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he
rose and was baptized, [19] and took food and was strengthened.

For several days he was with the disciples at Damascus.

Paul Begins His Apostolate

[20] And in the synagogues immediately he proclaimed Jesus, saying, “He is
the Son of God.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-3. Roman authorities recognized the moral authority of the Sanhedrin and even
permitted it to exercise a certain jurisdiction over members of Jewish communi-
ties outside Palestine—as was the case with Damascus. The Sanhedrin even had
the right to extradite Jews to Palestine (cf. I Maccabees 15:21).

Damascus was about 230-250 kilometers (150 miles) from Jerusalem, depending
on which route one took. Saul and his associates, who would probably have been
mounted, would have had no difficulty in doing the journey in under a week. This
apparition took place towards the end of the journey, when they were near Da-
mascus.

2. “The Way”: the corresponding word in Hebrew also means religious behavior.
Here it refers to both Christian lifestyle and the Gospel itself; indirectly it means
all the early followers of Jesus (cf. Acts 18:25ff; 19:9, 23; 22:4) and all those who
come after them and are on the way to Heaven; it reminds us of Jesus’ words,
“The gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it
are few” (Matthew 7:14).

3-19. This is the first of the three accounts of the calling of Saul—occurring proba-
bly between the years 34 and 36—that are given in the Acts of the Apostles (cf.
Acts 22:5-16; 26:10-18); where important events are concerned, St. Luke does
not mind repeating himself. Once again the Light shines in the darkness (cf. John
1:5). It does so here in a spectacular way and, as in every conversion, it makes
the convert see God, himself and others in a new way.

However, the episode on the road to Damascus is not only a conversion. It marks
the beginning of St. Paul’s vocation: “What amazes you seems natural to me:
that God has sought you out in the practice of your profession!

“This is how He sought the first, Peter and Andrew, James and John, beside their
nets, and Matthew, sitting in the custom-house.

“And — wonder of wonders! — Paul, in his eagerness to destroy the seed of the
Christians” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 799).

The background to St. Luke’s concise account is easy to fill in. There would have
been no Hellenist Christians left in Jerusalem: they had fled the city, some going
as far afield as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. Many had sought refuge in Da-
mascus, and Saul must have realized that their evangelizing zeal would win ma-
ny converts among faithful Jews in that city. Saul genuinely wanted to serve God,
which explains his readiness to respond to grace. Like most Jews of his time,
he saw the Messiah as a political liberator, a warrior-king, a half-Heavenly, half-
earthly figure such as described in the apocryphal “Book of Enoch”, 46: “It is im-
possible to imagine how even his glance terrifies his enemies. Wherever he turns,
everything trembles; wherever his voice reaches everything is overwhelmed and
those who hear it are dissolved as wax in fire.” A hero of this type does not fall
into the power of his enemies, much less let them crucify him; on the contrary,
he is a victor, he annihilates his enemies and establishes an everlasting king-
dom of peace and justice. For Saul, Jesus’ death on a cross was a clear proof
that He was a false messiah; and the whole notion of a brotherhood of Jews and
Gentiles was inconceivable.

He has almost reached Damascus when a light flashes; he is thrown onto the
ground and hears a voice from Heaven calling his name twice, in a tone of sad
complaint.

Saul surrenders unconditionally and places himself at the Lord’s service. He
does not bemoan his past life; he is ready to start anew. No longer is the Cross
a “scandal”: it has become for him a sign of salvation, the “power of God”, a
throne of victory, whose praises he will sing in his epistles. Soon St. Paul will
learn more about this Way and about all that Jesus did and taught, but from this
moment onwards, the moment of his calling, he realizes that Jesus is the risen
Messiah, in whom the prophecies find fulfillment; he believes in the divinity of
Christ: he sees how different his idea of the Messiah was from the glorified, pre-
existing and eternal Son of God; he understands Christ’s mystical presence in
His followers: “Why do you persecute me?” In other words, he realizes that he
has been chosen by God, called by God, and immediately places himself at his
service.

4. This identification of Christ and Christians is something which the Apostle will
later elaborate on when he speaks of the Mystical Body of Christ (cf. Colossians
1:18; Ephesians 1:22f).

St. Bede comments as follows: “Jesus does not say, ‘Why do you persecute My
members?’, but, ‘Why do you persecute Me?’, because He Himself still suffers af-
fronts in His body, which is the Church. Similarly Christ will take account of the
good actions done to His members, for He said, ‘I was hungry and you gave Me
food...’ (Matthew 25:35), and explaining these words He added ‘As you did it to
one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ (Matthew 25:40)” (”Super
Act. Expositio, ad loc.”).

5-6. In the Vulgate and in many other translations these words are added be-
tween the end of verse 5 and the start of verse 6: “It is hard for thee to kick
against the goad. And he, trembling and astonished, said: “Lord, what will Thou
have me to do? And the Lord said to him”. These words do not seem to be part
of the original sacred text but rather a later explanatory gloss; for this reason the
New Vulgate omits them. (The first part of the addition comes from Paul’s ad-
dress in Acts 26:14).

6. The calling of Saul was exceptional as regards the manner in which God called
him; but the effect it had on him was the same as what happens when God gives
a specific calling to the apostolate to certain individual Christians, inviting them to
follow Him more closely. Paul’s immediate response is a model of how those who
receive these specific callings should act (all Christians, of course, have a com-
mon calling to holiness and apostolate that comes with Baptism).

Paul VI describes in this way the effects of this specific kind of vocation in a per-
son’s soul: “The apostolate is [...] an inner voice, which makes one both restless
and serene, a voice that is both gentle and imperious, troublesome and affectio-
nate, a voice which comes unexpectedly and with great events and then, at a par-
ticular point, exercises a strong attraction, as it were revealing to us our life and
our destiny. It speaks prophetically and almost in a tone of victory, which even-
tually dispels all uncertainty, all timidity and all fear, and which facilitates — ma-
king it easy, desirable and pleasant—the response of our whole personality, when
we pronounce that word which reveals the supreme secret of love: Yes; Yes,
Lord, tell what I must do and I will try to do it, I will do it. Like St. Paul, thrown
to the ground at the gates of Damascus: What would You have me do?

“The roots of the apostolate run deep: the apostolate is vocation, election, inte-
rior encounter with Christ, abandonment of one’s personal autonomy to His will,
to His invisible presence; it is a kind of substitution of our poor, restless heart,
inconstant and at times unfaithful yet hungry for love, for His heart, the heart of
Christ which is beginning to pulsate in the one who has been chosen. And then
comes the second act in the psychological drama of the apostolate: the need to
spread, to do, to give, to speak, to pass on to others one’s own treasure, one’s
own fire. [...]

“The apostolate becomes a continuous expansion of one’s soul, the exuberance
of a personality taken over by Christ and animated by His Spirit; it becomes a
need to hasten, to work, to do everything one can to spread the Kingdom of God,
to save other souls, to save all souls” (”Homily”, 14 October 1968).

8-11. Straight Street runs through Damascus from east to west and can still be
identified today.

13. Ananias refers to Christ’s followers as “saints”; this was the word normally
used to describe the disciples, first in Palestine and then in the world at large.
God is THE Holy One (cf. Isaiah 6:3); as the Old Testament repeatedly says,
those who approach God and keep His commandments share in this holiness:
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to all the congregation of the people of Israel,
You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy’” (Leviticus 19:1-2).

The use of this term is an example of the spiritual sensitivity of our first brothers
and sisters in the faith: “What a moving name—saints! —the early Christians
used to address each other!...

“Learn to be a brother to your brothers” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 469).

15-16. Our Lord calls St. Paul His “vessel of election”, which is a Hebraicism
equivalent to “chosen instrument”, and He tells Ananias how much the Apostle
will have to suffer on His account. A Christian called to the apostolate is also,
by virtue of this divine vocation, an instrument in the hands of God; to be effec-
tive he must be docile: he must let God use him and must do what God tells
him.

The task God has given him is far beyond Paul’s ability—”to carry My name be-
fore the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel”. In Acts we will see how Paul ful-
fills his mission, with the help of God’s grace and suffering a great deal on ac-
count of His name. Down through the centuries, in diverse circumstance, those
whom the Lord elects to carry out specific missions will also be able to perform
them if they are good instruments who allow grace to act in them and who are
ready to suffer for their ideals.

19. In spite of the exceptional manner in which God called St. Paul, He desired
him to mature in the normal way—to be instructed by others and learn God’s will
through them. In this case he chose Ananias to confer Baptism on Paul and
teach him the basics of the Christian faith.

In Ananias we can see a trace of the role of the spiritual director or guide in Chris-
tian asceticism. There is a principle which states that “no one can be a good
judge in his own case, because everyone judges according to his own inclinations”
(cf. Cassian, “Collationes”, XVI, 11). A person guiding a soul has a special “grace
of state” to make God’s will known to him; and even if the guide makes a mistake,
the person who is being guided will—if obedient—always do the right thing, always
do God’s will. In this connection St. Vincent Ferrer says: “Our Lord Jesus Christ,
without whom we can do nothing, will not give His grace to him who, though he
has access to an expert guide, rejects this precious means of sanctification, thin-
king that he can look after on his own everything that touches on his salvation. He
who has a director, whom he obeys in everything, will reach his goal more easily
and more quickly than if he had acted as his own guide, even if he be very intelli-
gent and have the very best of spiritual books” (”Treatise on the Spiritual Life”, 2,
1).

On the spiritual guidance of ordinary Christians, who seek holiness and carry
out apostolate in the context of everyday life, St Escriva, writes: “A Director. You
need one. So that you can give yourself to God, and give yourself fully...by obedi-
ence. A director who understands your apostolate, who knows what God wants:
that way he will second the work of the Holy Spirit in your soul, without taking
you from your place, filling you with peace, and teaching you how to make your
work fruitful” (”The Way”, 62).

20-23. In his letter to the Galatians (cf. Galatians 1:16f) St. Paul tells of how he
went into Arabia after his conversion and then returned to Damascus. He spent
almost three years away, and it was on his return that he preached the divinity
of Jesus, using all his energy and learning, now placed at the service of Christ.
This surprised and confounded the Jews, who immediately began to take ac-
tion against him.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: John 6:52-59

The Discourse on the Bread of Life (Continuation)

(Jesus said to the Jews,) [52] The Jews disputed among themselves, saying,
“How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” [53] So Jesus said to them, “Tru-
ly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His
blood, you have no life in you; [54] he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood
has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. [55] For My flesh is food
indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. [56] He who eats My flesh and drinks My
blood abides in Me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent Me, and I live be-
cause of the Father, so he who eats Me will live because of Me. [58] This is the
bread which came from Heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who
eats this bread will live for ever.” This He said in the synagogue, as He taught
in Capernaum.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

49-51. The manna during the Exodus was a figure of this bread—Christ himself—
which nourishes Christians on their pilgrimage through this world. Communion
is the wonderful banquet at which Christ gives Himself to us: “the bread which I
shall give for the life of the world is My flesh”. These words promise the manifes-
tation of the Eucharist at the Last Supper: “This is My body which is for you” (1
Corinthians 11:24). The words “for the life of the world” and “for you” refer to the
redemptive value of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In some sacrifices of the
Old Testament, which were a figure of the sacrifice of Christ, part of the animal
offered up was later used for food, signifying participation in the sacred rite (cf.
Exodus 11:3-4). So, by receiving Holy Communion, we are sharing in the sacri-
fice of Christ: which is why the Church sings in the Liturgy of the Hours on the
Feast of Corpus Christi: “O sacred feast in which we partake of Christ: His suf-
ferings are remembered, our minds are filled with His grace and we receive a
pledge of the glory that is to be ours” (”Magnificat Antiphon”, Evening Prayer II).

52. Christ’s hearers understand perfectly well that He means exactly what He
says; but they cannot believe that what He says could be true; if they had un-
derstood Him in a metaphorical, figurative or symbolic sense there would be no
reason for them to be surprised and nothing to cause an argument. Later, Jesus
reaffirms what He has said—confirming what they have understood Him to say
(cf. verses 54-56).

53. Once again Jesus stresses very forcefully that it is necessary to receive Him
in the Blessed Eucharist in order to share in divine life and develop the life of
grace received in Baptism. No parent is content to bring children into the world:
they have to be nourished and looked after to enable them to reach maturity.
“We receive Jesus Christ in Holy Communion to nourish our souls and to give
us an increase of grace and the gift of eternal life” (”St. Pius X Catechism”, 289).

54. Jesus clearly states that His body and blood are a pledge of eternal life and
a guarantee of the resurrection of the body. St. Thomas Aquinas gives this expla-
nation: “The Word gives life to our souls, but the Word made flesh nourishes our
bodies. In this Sacrament is contained the Word not only in His divinity but also
in His humanity; therefore, it is the cause not only of the glorification of our souls
but also of that of our bodies” (”Commentary on St. John, in loc.”).

Our Lord uses a stronger word than just “eating” (the original verb could be trans-
lated as “chewing”) which shows that Communion is a real meal. There is no
room for saying that He was speaking only symbolically, which would mean that
Communion was only a metaphor and not really eating and drinking the Body
and Blood of Christ. “All these invitations, promises and threats sprang from the
great desire which (Jesus) had of giving us Himself in the holy Sacrament of the
altar. But why should Jesus so ardently desire us to receive Him in Holy Com-
munion? It is because love always sighs for, and tends to a union with, the object
beloved. True friends wish to be united in such a manner as to become only one.
The love of God for us being immense, He destined us to possess Him not only
in Heaven, but also here below, by the most intimate union, under the appearance
of bread in the Eucharist. It is true we do not see Him; but He beholds us, and is
really present; yes, He is present in order that we may possess Him and He con-
eals Himself, that we may desire Him, and until we reach our true homeland Je-
sus Christ wishes in this way to be entirely ours, and to be perfectly united to us”
(St. Alphonsus Liguori, “The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”,
Chapter 2).

55. In the same way as bodily food is necessary for life on earth, Holy Commu-
nion is necessary for maintaining the life of the soul, which is why the Church ex-
horts us to receive this Sacrament frequently: “Every day, as is desirable, and in
the greatest possible numbers, the faithful must take an active part in the sacri-
fice of the Mass, avail themselves of the pure, holy refreshment of Holy Com-
munion and make a suitable thanksgiving in return for this great gift of Christ the
Lord. Here are the words they should keep in mind: ‘Jesus Christ and the Church
desire all Christ’s faithful to approach the sacred banquet every day. The basis
of this desire is that they should be united to God by the sacrament and draw
strength from it to restrain lust, to wash away the slight faults of daily occurrence
and to take precautions against the more serious sins to which human frailty is
liable’ (Decree of the S.C. of the Council, 20 December 1905)” (Paul VI, “Myste-
rium Fidei”).

“The Savior has instituted the most august sacrament of the Eucharist, which tru-
ly contains His flesh and His blood, so that he who eats this bread may live for-
ever; whosoever, therefore, makes use of it often with devotion so strengthens the
health and the life of his soul, that it is almost impossible for him to be poisoned
by any kind of evil affection. We cannot be nourished with this flesh of life, and
live with the affections of death. [...]. Christians who are damned will be unable
to make any reply when the just Judge shows them how much they are to blame
for dying spiritually, since it was so easy for them to maintain themselves in life
and in health by eating His Body which He had left them for this purpose. Unhap-
py souls, He will say, why did you die, seeing that you had at your command the
fruit and the food of life?” (St. Francis de Sales, “Introduction to the Devout Life”,
II, 20, 1).

56. The most important effect of the Blessed Eucharist is intimate union with Je-
sus Christ. The very word “communion” suggests sharing in the life of our Lord
and becoming one with Him; if our union with Jesus is promoted by all the sacra-
ments through the grace which they give us, this happens more intensely in the
Eucharist, for in it we receive not only grace but the very Author of grace: “Real-
ly sharing in the body of the Lord in the breaking of the eucharistic bread, we are
taken up into communion with Him and with one another. ‘Because the bread is
one, we, though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread’ (1
Corinthians 10:17)” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 7). Precisely because the Eu-
charist is the sacrament which best signifies and effects our union with Christ,
it is there that the whole Church manifests and effects its unity: Jesus Christ
“instituted in His Church the wonderful sacrament of the Eucharist, by which the
unity of the Church is both signified and brought about” (Vatican II, “Unitatis Re-
dintegratio”, 2).

57. In Christ, the Incarnate Word sent to mankind, “the whole fullness of deity,
dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9) through the ineffable union of His human nature
and His divine nature in the Person of the Word. By receiving in this sacrament
the body and blood of Christ indissolubly united to His divinity, we share in the
divine life of the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. We will never be able to
appreciate enough the intimacy with God Himself—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—
that we are offered in the eucharistic banquet.

“We can therefore do nothing more agreeable to Jesus Christ than to go to Com-
munion with the dispositions suitable to so great an action, since we are then
united to Jesus Christ, according to the desire of this all-loving God. I have said
with ‘suitable’ and not ‘worthy’ disposition, for who could communicate if it was
necessary to be worthy of so great a Savior? No one but a God would be worthy
to receive a God. But by this word suitable, or convenient, I mean such a dispo-
sition as becomes a miserable creature, who is clothed with the unhappy flesh
of Adam. Ordinarily speaking, it is sufficient that we communicate in a state of
grace and with an anxious desire of advancing in the love of Jesus Christ” (St.
Alphonsus Liguori, “The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”,
Chapter 2).

8. For the third time (cf. 6:31-32 and 6:49) Jesus compares the true bread of life,
His own body, with the manna God used to feed the Israelites every day during
their forty years in the wilderness—thereby inviting us to nourish our soul fre-
quently with the food of His body.

“Going to Communion every day for so many years! Anybody else would be a
saint by now, you told me, and I...I’m always the same!’ Son, I replied, keep up
your daily Communion, and think: what would I be if I had not gone’” (St J. Es-
criva, “The Way”, 534).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Acts 9:1-20

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4)

Paul’s conversion on the Damascus road has all the elements of a dramatic film. A villainous lead character is suddenly stopped in his tracks by a light from the sky. A voice comes from heaven, and this villain undergoes an amazing transformation and embarks on a whole new adventure.

What about your own conversion story? More than likely, it wasn’t so dramatic. Perhaps a friend spoke to you, or maybe you started reading the Scriptures, and over time, God got through to you. Most of us probably wouldn’t pay to go see our story at the movies!

But how we came to the Lord is not really important. What matters is that we have come to him. He loves each one of us passionately. He wants all of us to be saved and come to know the truth about him (1 Timothy 2:4). To him, every conversion story is valid and powerful. It’s part of his awesome design for creation—a plan that he worked out before we were even born (Jeremiah 1:5). Just as he had a perfect plan for Paul’s life, he has one for each of us as well.

Remember, too, that God’s plan doesn’t begin and end with a dramatic conversion. What if Paul hadn’t continued seeking the Lord after his experience on the Damascus road? Most likely he would have returned to his old ways! After all, it took him ten years before he was ready to go on his first missionary journey, and even then he was still striving for holiness. He knew he had to walk with Jesus day after day if he was going to become the person God wanted him to be. And so do we.

As the refrain to a popular worship song reminds us, “Step by step you lead me.” Whatever our initial conversion was like, it’s still going on! Today, try to draw closer to Jesus. If you’ve fallen down, rededicate your life to him. You don’t have to look back. You just have to keep pursuing your goal: “the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). There’s nothing to fear—he will be with you all the way!

“Jesus, I give you my life again today. Fill me with your grace, so that I can follow you faithfully. Help me, Lord, to get up when I stumble.”

Psalm 117:1-2; John 6:52-59

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 6
52.	6:53 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?	6:53 Litigabant ergo Judæi ad invicem, dicentes : Quomodo potest hic nobis carnem suam dare ad manducandum ?	εμαχοντο ουν προς αλληλους οι ιουδαιοι λεγοντες πως δυναται ουτος ημιν δουναι την σαρκα φαγειν
53.	6:54 Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.	6:54 Dixit ergo eis Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis : nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis, et biberitis ejus sanguinem, non habebitis vitam in vobis.	ειπεν ουν αυτοις ο ιησους αμην αμην λεγω υμιν εαν μη φαγητε την σαρκα του υιου του ανθρωπου και πιητε αυτου το αιμα ουκ εχετε ζωην εν εαυτοις
54.	6:55 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.	6:55 Qui manducat meam carnem, et bibit meum sanguinem, habet vitam æternam : et ego resuscitabo eum in novissimo die.	ο τρωγων μου την σαρκα και πινων μου το αιμα εχει ζωην αιωνιον και εγω αναστησω αυτον [εν] τη εσχατη ημερα
55.	6:56 For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.	6:56 Caro enim mea vere est cibus : et sanguis meus, vere est potus ;	η γαρ σαρξ μου αληθως εστιν βρωσις και το αιμα μου αληθως εστιν ποσις
56.	6:57 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.	6:57 qui manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem, in me manet, et ego in illo.	ο τρωγων μου την σαρκα και πινων μου το αιμα εν εμοι μενει καγω εν αυτω
57.	6:58 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me.	6:58 Sicut misit me vivens Pater, et ego vivo propter Patrem : et qui manducat me, et ipse vivet propter me.	καθως απεστειλεν με ο ζων πατηρ καγω ζω δια τον πατερα και ο τρωγων με κακεινος ζησεται δι εμε
58.	6:59 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.	6:59 Hic est panis qui de cælo descendit. Non sicut manducaverunt patres vestri manna, et mortui sunt. Qui manducat hunc panem, vivet in æternum.	ουτος εστιν ο αρτος ο εκ του ουρανου καταβας ου καθως εφαγον οι πατερες υμων το μαννα και απεθανον ο τρωγων τουτον τον αρτον ζησεται εις τον αιωνα
59.	6:60 These things he said, teaching in the synagogue, in Capharnaum.	6:60 Hæc dixit in synagoga docens, in Capharnaum.	ταυτα ειπεν εν συναγωγη διδασκων εν καπερναουμ

52. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53. Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54. Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

AUG. The Jews not understanding what was the bread of A peace, strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat? Whereas they who eat the bread strive not among themselves, for God makes them to dwell together in unity.

BEDE. The Jews thought that our Lord would divide His flesh into pieces, and give it them to eat: and so mistaking Him, strove.

CHRYS. AS they thought it impossible that He should do as He said, i.e. give them His flesh to eat, He shows them that it was not only possible, but necessary: Then said Jesus to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

AUG. As if He said, The sense in which that bread is eaten, and the mode of eating it, you know not; but, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

BEDE And that this might not seem addressed to them alone, He declares universally, Whoso eats My flash, and drinks My blood, has eternal life.

AUG. And that they might not understand him to speak of this life, and make that an occasion of striving, He adds, has eternal life. This then he has not who eats not that flesh, nor drinks that blood. The temporal life men may have without Him, the eternal they cannot. This is not true of material food. If we do not take that indeed, we shall not live, neither do we live, if we take it: for either disease, or old age, or some accident kills us after all. Whereas this meat and drink, i.e. the Body and Blood of Christ, is such that he that takes it not has not life, and he that takes it has life, even life eternal.

THEOPHYL. For it is not the flesh of man simply, but of God: and it makes man divine, by inebriating him, as it were, with divinity.

AUG. There are some who promise men deliverance from eternal punishment, if they are washed in Baptism and partake of Christ's Body, whatever lives they live. The Apostle however contradicts them, where he says, The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkeness, revelings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Let us examine what is meant here. He who is in the unity of His body, (i.e. one of the Christian members,) the Sacrament of which body the faithful receive when they communicate at the Altar; he is truly said to eat the body, and drink the blood of Christ. And heretics and schismatics, who are cut off from the unity of the body, may receive the same Sacrament; but it does not profit them, may, rather is hurtful, as tending to make their judgment heavier, or their forgiveness later. Nor ought they to feel secure in their abandoned and damnable ways, who, by the iniquity of their lives, desert righteousness, i.e. Christ; either by fornication, or other sins of the like kind. Such are not to be said to eat the body of Christ; forasmuch as they are not to be counted among the members of Christ For, not to mention other things, men cannot be members of Christ, and at the same time members of an harlot.

AUG. By this meat and drink then, He would have us understand the society of His body, and His members, which is the Church, in the predestined, and called, and justified, and glorified saints and believers. The Sacrament whereof, i.e. Of the unity of the body and blood of Christ, is administered, in some places daily, in others on such and such days from the Lord's Table: and from the Lord's Table it is received by some to their salvation, by others to their condemnation. But the thing itself of which this is the Sacrament, is for our salvation to every one who partakes of it, for condemnation to none. To prevent us supposing that those who, by virtue of that meat and drink, were promised eternal life, would not die in the body, Ho adds, And I will raise him up at the last day; i.e. to that eternal life, a spiritual rest, which the spirits of the Saints enter into. But neither shall the body be defrauded of eternal life, but shall be endowed With it at the resurrection of the dead in the last day.

55. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him.
57. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me.
58. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.
59. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

BEDE. He had said above, Whoso eats My flesh and drinks My blood, has eternal life: and now to show the great difference between bodily meat and drink, and the spiritual mystery of His body and blood, Ho adds, For My flesh its meat indeed, and My blood its drink indeed.

CHRYS. i.e. this is no enigma, or parable, but you must really eat the body of Christ; or He means to say that the true meat was He who saved the soul.

AUG. Or thus: Whereas men desire meat and drink to satisfy hunger and thirst, this effect is only really produced by that meat and drink, which makes the receivers of it immortal and incorruptible; i.e. the society of Saints, where is peace and unity, full and perfect. On which account our Lord has chosen for the types of His body and blood, things which become one out of many. Bread is a quantity of grains united into one mass, wine a quantity of grapes squeezed together. Then He explains what it is to eat His body and drink His blood: He that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, dwells in Me, and I in him. So then to partake of that meat and that drink, is to dwell in Christ and Christ in you. He that dwells not in Christ, and in whom Christ dwells not, neither eats His flesh, nor drinks His blood: but rather eats and drinks the sacrament of it to his own damnation.

CHRYS. Or, having given a promise of eternal life to those that eat Him, He says this to confirm it: He that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, dwells in Me, and I in him.

AUG. As for those, as indeed there are many, who either eat that flesh and drink that blood hypocritically, or, who having eaten, become apostates, do they dwell in Christ, and Christ in them? Nay, but there is a certain mode of eating that flesh, and drinking that blood, in the which he that eats and drinks, dwells in Christ, and Christ in him.

AUG. That is to say, such an one eats the body and drinks the blood of Christ not in the sacramental sense, but in reality.

CHRYS. And because I live, it is manifest that he will live also: As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father, even so he that eats Me, even he shall live by Me. As if He said, As the Father lives, so do I live; adding, lest you should think Him unbegotten, By the Father, meaning that He has His source in the Father. He that eats Me, even he shall live by Me; the life here meant is not life simply, but the justified life: for even unbelievers live, who never eat of that flesh at all. Nor is it of the general resurrection He speaks, (for all will rise again,) but of the resurrection to glory, and reward.

AUG. He said not, As I eat the Father, and live by the Father, so he that eats Me, even he shall live by Me. For the Son does not grow better by partaking of the Father, as we do by partaking of the Son, i.e. of His one body and blood, which this eating and drinking signifies. So that His saying, I live by the Father, because He is from Him, must not be understood as detracting from His equality. Nor do the words, Even he that eats Me, the same shall live by Me, give us the equality that He has. He does not equalize, but only mediates between God and man. If, however, we understand the words, I live by the Father, in the sense of those below, My Father is greater than I, then it is as if He said, That I live by the Father, i.e. refer my life to Him, as my superior, my humiliation in my incarnation is the cause; but He who lives by Me, lives by Me by virtue of partaking of My flesh.

HILARY. Of the truth then of the body and blood of Christ, no room for doubting remains: for, by the declaration of our Lord Himself, and by the teaching of our own faith, the flesh is really flesh, and the blood really blood. This then is our principle of life. While we are in the flesh, Christ dwells in us by His flesh. And we shall live by Him, according as He lives. If then we live naturally by partaking of Him according to the flesh, He also lives naturally by the indwelling of the Father according to the Spirit. His birth did not give Him an alien or different nature from the Father.

AUG. That we who cannot obtain eternal life of ourselves, might live by the eating that bread, He descended from heaven: This is the bread which comes down from heaven.

HILARY. He calls Himself the bread, because He is the origin of His own body. And lest it should be thought that the virtue and nature of the Word had given way to the flesh, He calls the bread His flesh, that, inasmuch as the bread came down from heaven, it might be seen that His body was not of human conception, but a heavenly body. To say that the bread is His own, is to declare that the Word assumed His body Himself.

THEOPHYL. For we do not eat God simply, God being impalpable and incorporeal; nor again, the flesh of man simply, which would not profit us. But God having taken flesh into union with Himself; that flesh is quickening. Not that it has changed its own for the Divine nature; but, just as heated iron remains iron, with the action of the heat in it; so our Lord's flesh is quickening, as being the flesh of the Word of God.

BEDE. And to show the wide interval between the shadow and the light, the type and the reality, He adds, Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.

AUG. The death here meant is death eternal. For even those who eat Christ are subject to natural death; but they live for ever, because Christ is everlasting life.

CHRYS. For if it was possible without harvest or fruit of the earth, or any such thing, to preserve the lives of the Israelites of old for forty years, much more will He be able to do this with that spiritual food, of which the manna is the type. He knew how precious a thing life was in men's eyes, and therefore repeats His promise of life often; just as the Old Testament had done; only that it only offered length of life, He life without end. This promise was an abolition of that sentence of death, which sin had brought upon us. These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum; where many displays of His power took place. He taught in the synagogue and in the temple, with the view of attracting the multitude, and as a sign that He was not acting in opposition to the Father.

BEDE. Mystically, Capernaum, which means beautiful town, stands for the world: the synagogue, for the Jewish people. The meaning is, that our Lord has, by the mystery of the incarnation, manifested Himself to tile world, and also taught the Jewish people His doctrines.

Catena Aurea John 6

The Institution of the Eucharist

Federico Fiori

1608
Oil on canvas, 290 x 177 cm
Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome

Regnum Christi

Seeking to Have Your Heart Filled

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Father James Swanson, LC

John 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.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here and now as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.

Petition: Lord, help me to face challenges and continue to follow you in faith.

1. What is it I Truly Seek? On the preceding day Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes to feed the multitude. The Jews realize there is something special here, that Jesus may be the Messiah, or at least a prophet. They are curious enough to continue following him and asking him questions. They have liked everything he has said up till now. Some of it they have not understood completely or correctly, but it has been close enough to what they are used to hearing that it causes them no great difficulty. They continue to ask questions, looking for understanding, especially understanding they can be comfortable with. What is my attitude when I question Our Lord about events and challenges in my life? Am I seeking to understand so I can embrace God’s plan better, or does my response depend on how much I comprehend?

2. Opening Our Horizons: Now Jesus has said something truly shocking. He wants them to eat his flesh and drink his blood! Up to this point, most of the crowd has been willing to accept him as a bread-provider. He fed them yesterday. Maybe, if they hang around long enough, he will do it again. Their ideas about the Messiah are too materialistic, based only on the re-establishment of David’s Kingdom at the expense of the Romans. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to take them to a new level. He wants to take them into the mystery of the loving generosity of God. As good as the manna in the wilderness was, he wants to give something much better. As wonderful as David’s Kingdom was, he wants to give a greater kingdom. This is so far beyond what they are looking for, they will not be able to understand what he is offering. It will have to be accepted in faith.

3. Great Gifts Come in Small Packages: We can understand many things, even many spiritual things. In his goodness, God has given us intelligence so that we can understand some of the truths about him. But these simpler truths don’t reveal the full glory of God. They are not as fulfilling as some of the more important truths about him. Jesus wants to give his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. He reveals this to the crowds, and since they lack faith, they don’t understand. Some straggle off to find another “wonder-worker”. Others, looking for understanding, go off to look for a “teacher” who makes sense to them. Hopefully, some are looking for the revelation of the mysteries of God, the greatest gifts that God can offer. They are not looking to fill their stomachs or their minds. They are looking to fill their hearts. These are the kinds of gifts that Jesus intends to give – and in abundance.

Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, so often I am looking for material gifts from you. Help me to realize that the greatest gifts you give may be beyond my understanding. Yet, if I am willing to accept them on faith, they will fill my heart. Perhaps with time, it will be possible for me to understand something of them as well, but greatness of faith lies in my trusting in you.

Resolution: What spiritual gift I am most in need of? Faith? Charity? Humility? Something else? Today I will set aside some time to ask God in prayer to grant me that gift.

The Bread of Life Pt. 3

Why did Jesus offer himself as “food and drink”? The Jews were scandalized and the disciples were divided when Jesus said “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you.” What a hard saying, unless you understand who Jesus is and why he calls himself the bread of life. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves (John 6:3-13), when Jesus said the blessing, broke and distributed the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, is a sign that prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper. The Gospel of John has no account of the Last Supper meal (just the foot washing ceremony and Jesus’ farewell discourse). Instead, John quotes extensively from Jesus’ teaching on the bread of life.

In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in a thanksgiving sacrifice as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator as the giver and sustainer of life. Melchizedek, who was both a priest and king (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:1-4), offered a sacrifice of bread and wine. His offering prefigured the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king (Hebrews 7:26; 9:11; 10:12). The remembrance of the manna in the wilderness recalled to the people of Israel that they live – not by earthly bread alone – but by the bread of the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3). At the last supper when Jesus blessed the cup of wine, he gave it to his disciples saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Jesus was pointing to the sacrifice he was about to make on the cross, when he would shed his blood for us – thus pouring himself out and giving himself to us – as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the world. His death on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the paschal (passover) lamb whose blood spared the Israelites from death in Egypt. Paul the Apostle tells us that “Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians5:7). Paul echoes the words of John the Baptist who called Jesus the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus made himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing to the Father. He “offered himself without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14) and “gave himself as a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2).

Jesus chose the time of the Jewish Feast of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum – giving his disciples his body and his blood as the true bread of heaven. Jesus’ passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection – the new passover – is anticipated in the Last Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of God’s kingdom. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center of our being. That life which he offers is the very life of God himself. Do you hunger for the bread of life?

One Bread, One Body

<< Friday, April 27, 2012 >>

Saint of the Day

Acts 9:1-20
View Readings

Psalm 117:1-2

John 6:52-59

A LIFE OF COMMUNION

"How can He give us His flesh to eat?" —John 6:52

Jesus said: "Let Me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (Jn 6:53). By this, Jesus probably meant that it was necessary for us to receive Him in Holy Communion. If Jesus was not speaking literally in today's Gospel reading, He would have said that He was only speaking symbolically to keep from unnecessarily driving people away from Him (see Jn 6:66). Therefore, in today's Gospel reading, Jesus revealed these truths:

Without receiving Him in Communion, we have no life in us (Jn 6:53).
In receiving Communion, we have life eternal and can expect the resurrection of our bodies on the last day (Jn 6:54).
In Communion, we receive spiritual nourishment (Jn 6:55).
Through Communion, we live in Jesus and He in us (Jn 6:56).
We will have life because of receiving Jesus in Communion (Jn 6:57).

Do you believe what Jesus said about Communion in the sixth chapter of John? If you do, you will probably try to receive Communion every day of your life and invite others to do the same. This is what we are doing in this book, One Bread, One Body. By teaching on the daily readings for the Mass, we hope to encourage you to receive Communion daily or as often as possible. Please join us in inviting as many as possible to center their lives on loving and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist.

Prayer: Father, may my faith in Your Son's presence in the Eucharist cause me to restructure my whole life.

Promise: "Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized, and his strength returned to him after he had taken food." —Acts 9:18-19

Praise: Jean and Marie had mothers who rejected them in childhood. This suffering united them, and they have forgiven their mothers.

Each “+” (cross) represents 10,000 deaths (or fraction thereof)

Revolutionary War 6,188
+

War of 1812 4,505
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Mexican War 4,152
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U. S. Civil War (both sides) 498,332
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Spanish-American War 2,446
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World War I 116,516
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World War II 405,399
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Korea 54,246
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Vietnam 58,167
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Desert Storm 293
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Afghanistan/Iraq Liberation 3,500
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Grand Total all U.S. Wars 1,150,744
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Abortions in the U.S. (Since Roe v. Wade in 1973) 54,559,615
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April 27, 2012

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 9:1-20

Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2

Gospel Jn 6:52-59

St. Zita

Daily Readings for: April 27, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Easter: April 27th

Meditation: Acts 9:1-20

The Bread of Life Pt. 3

One Bread, One Body

A LIFE OF COMMUNION

April 27, 2012

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 9:1-20

Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2

Gospel Jn 6:52-59

St. Zita

Daily Readings for: April 27, 2012(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Easter: April 27th

Meditation: Acts 9:1-20

The Bread of Life Pt. 3

One Bread, One Body

A LIFE OF COMMUNION

Daily Readings for: April 27, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)