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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 04-14-16
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 04-14-16 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 04/13/2016 8:25:56 PM PDT by Salvation

April 14, 2016

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 8:26-40

The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
“Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.”
So he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
“Go and join up with that chariot.”
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
“Do you understand what you are reading?”
He replied,
“How can I, unless someone instructs me?”
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading:

Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.


Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
“I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?”
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water.
What is to prevent my being baptized?”
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing.
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Responsorial Psalm PS 66:8-9, 16-17, 20

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia Jn 6:51

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 6:44-51

Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
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.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”


TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; easter; jn6; prayer
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To: All
Regina Coeli 

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. / For He whom you did merit 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.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.


21 posted on 04/13/2016 9:00:40 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Information: Sts. Tiburtius, Valerian, Maximus

Feast Day: April 14

22 posted on 04/14/2016 7:56:59 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Blessed Lidwina

Feast Day: April 14
Born: 1380 :: Died: 1433

Lidwina was born at Schiedam in Holland. The name Lidwina means "suffering." Her parents were poor folk. Lidwina was quite young, when a deep affection for Our Lady of Schiedam began to grow in her heart. When she was fifteen, Lidwina gave herself completely to God.

She may have become a nun later, but when she was sixteen, in a single afternoon, her whole life changed. Lidwina went skating with her friends and one of them accidentally bumped her. Lidwina fell down hard on the ice and broke a rib. She was in great pain.

But that fall brought other problems, too. In the days ahead, she had very bad headaches, nausea, fever, thirst and her whole body hurt badly.

Crying, Lidwina told her father she could not bear the pain anymore. But the pain got even worse. Sores began to form on her face and body. She also became blind in one eye. Finally, she got paralyzed and could no longer leave her bed.

Lidwina was upset and bitter. Why had God let this happen to her? What did he want from her? And what could she still give to him anyway?

Her parish priest, Father John, came to visit and pray with her. He helped her think of what Jesus had suffered. She began to realize the beautiful gift that she would give to Jesus: she would suffer for him. She would offer her sufferings to console him, who had suffered so much on the cross. Her suffering became a beautiful prayer to God.

For thirty-eight years, Lidwina suffered. It seemed impossible that she could remain alive in such serious condition. But she did. God comforted her in many ways. Lidwina was good to everyone who came to her poor little room. She prayed to God and suffered for their special intentions. They knew God would listen to Lidwina.

Lidwina's special love was for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. For many years, she seemed to live only on Holy Communion. She saw visions of Heaven and Purgatory and Christ’s Passion. She was also visited by saints.

Miracles took place at her bedside and some people said she was possessed by evil spirits. She became completely blind for the last seven years of her life. She had a beautiful final vision of Jesus giving her Holy Communion shortly before she died.

Reflection: Let us pray today for a heart that is able to give thanks to God when suffering comes our way.


23 posted on 04/14/2016 8:00:17 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
John
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  John 6
44 No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day. nemo potest venire ad me, nisi Pater, qui misit me, traxerit eum ; et ego resuscitabo eum in novissimo die. ουδεις δυναται ελθειν προς με εαν μη ο πατηρ ο πεμψας με ελκυση αυτον και εγω αναστησω αυτον εν τη εσχατη ημερα
45 It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometh to me. Est scriptum in prophetis : Et erunt omnes docibiles Dei. Omnis qui audivit a Patre, et didicit, venit ad me. εστιν γεγραμμενον εν τοις προφηταις και εσονται παντες διδακτοι θεου πας ουν ο ακουων παρα του πατρος και μαθων ερχεται προς με
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father; but he who is of God, he hath seen the Father. Non quia Patrem vidit quisquam, nisi is, qui est a Deo, hic vidit Patrem. ουχ οτι τον πατερα τις εωρακεν ει μη ο ων παρα του θεου ουτος εωρακεν τον πατερα
47 Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life. Amen, amen dico vobis : qui credit in me, habet vitam æternam. αμην αμην λεγω υμιν ο πιστευων εις εμε εχει ζωην αιωνιον
48 I am the bread of life. Ego sum panis vitæ. εγω ειμι ο αρτος της ζωης
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. Patres vestri manducaverunt manna in deserto, et mortui sunt. οι πατερες υμων εφαγον το μαννα εν τη ερημω και απεθανον
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die. Hic est panis de cælo descendens : ut si quis ex ipso manducaverit, non moriatur. ουτος εστιν ο αρτος ο εκ του ουρανου καταβαινων ινα τις εξ αυτου φαγη και μη αποθανη
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

6:52 If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.

Ego sum panis vivus, qui de cælo descendi.

6:52 Si quis manducaverit ex hoc pane, vivet in æternum : et panis quem ego dabo, caro mea est pro mundi vita.

εγω ειμι ο αρτος ο ζων ο εκ του ουρανου καταβας εαν τις φαγη εκ τουτου του αρτου ζησεται εις τον αιωνα και ο αρτος δε ον εγω δωσω η σαρξ μου εστιν ην εγω δωσω υπερ της του κοσμου ζωης

24 posted on 04/14/2016 8:56:02 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
44. No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to me.
46. Not that any man has seen the Father, save he which is of God, he has seen the Father.

AUG. He took man's flesh upon Him, but not after the manner of men; for, His Father being in heaven, He chose a mother upon earth, and was born of her without a father. The answer to the murmurers next follows: Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Murmur not among yourselves; as if to say, I know why you hunger not after this bread, and so cannot understand it, and do not seek it: No man can come to Me except the Father who has sent Me draw him. This is the doctrine of grace: none comes, except he be drawn. But whom the Father draws, and whom not, and why He draws one, and not another, presume not to decide, if you would avoid falling into error. Take the doctrine as it is given you: and, if you are not drawn, pray that you may be.

CHRYS, But here the Manichees attack us, asserting that nothing is in our own power. Our Lords words however do not destroy our free agency, but only show that we need Divine assistance. For He is speaking not of one who comes without the concurrence of his own will, but one who has many hindrances in the way of his coming.

AUG. Now if we are drawn to Christ without our own will, we believe without our own will; the will is not exercised, but compulsion is applied. But, though a man can enter the Church involuntarily, he cannot believe other than voluntarily; for with the heart man believes to righteousness. Therefore if he who is drawn, comes without his will, he does not believe; if he does not believe, he does not come. For we do not come to Christ, by running, or walking, but by believing, not by the motion of the body, but the will of the mind. You are drawn by your will. But what is it to be drawn by the will? Delight you in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desire. There is a certain craving of the heart, to which that heavenly bread is pleasant. If the Poet could say, "Trahit sua quemque voluptas," how much more strongly may we speak of a man being drawn to Christ, i.e. being delighted with truth, happiness, justice eternal life, all which is Christ? Have the bodily senses their pleasures, and has not the soul hers? Give me one who loves, who longs, who burns, who sighs for the source of his being and his eternal home; and he will know what I mean. But why did He say, Except my Father draw him? If we are to be drawn, let us be drawn by Him to whom His love said, Draw me, we will run after You. But let us see what is meant by it. The Father draws to the Son those who believe on the Son, as thinking that He has God for His Father. For the Father begat the Son equal to Himself; and whoso thinks and believes really and seriously that He on Whom He believes is equal to the Father, him the Father draws to the Son. Arius believed Him to be a creature; the Father drew not him. Thomas says, Christ is only a man. Because he so believes, the Father draws him not. He drew Peter who said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God; to whom accordingly it was told, For flesh and blood, has not revealed it to you, but My Father which is in heaven. That revelation is the drawing. For if earthly objects, when put before us, draw us; how much more shall Christ, when revealed by the Father? For what does the soul more long after than truth? But here men hunger, there they will be filled. Wherefore He adds, And I will raise him up at the last day: as if He said, He shall be filled with that, for which he now thirsts, at the resurrection of the dead; for I will raise him up.

AUG. Or the Father draws to the Son, by the works which He did by Him.

CHRYS. Great indeed is the Son's dignity; the Father draws men, and the Son raises them up. This is no division of works, but an equality of power. He then shows the way in which the Father draws. It is written in the Prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. You see the excellence of faith; that it cannot be learnt from men, or by the teaching of man, but only from God Himself. The Master sits, dispensing His truth to all, pouring out His doctrine to all. But if all are to be taught of God, how is it that some believe not? Because all here only means the generality, or, all that have the will.

AUG. Or thus, When a schoolmaster is the only one in a town, we say loosely, This man teaches all here to read; not that all learn of him, but that he teaches all who do learn. And in the same way we say that God teaches all men to come to Christ: not that all do come, but that no one comes in any other way.

AUG. All the men of that kingdom shall be taught of God; they shall hear nothing from men: for, though in this world what they hear with the outward ear is from men, yet what they understand is given them from within; from within is light and revelation. I force certain sounds into your ears, but unless He is within to reveal their meaning, how, O you Jews, can you acknowledge Me, you whom the Father has not taught?

BEDE. He uses the plural, In the Prophets, because all the Prophets being filled with one and the same spirit, their prophecies, though different, all tended to the same end; and with whatever any one of them says, all the rest agree; as with the prophecy of Joel, All shall be taught of God.

GLOSS. These words are not found in Joel, but something like them; Be glad then you children of Sion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you a Teacher. And more expressly in Isaiah, And all your children shall be taught of the Lord.

CHRYS. An important distinction. All men before learnt the things of God through men; now they learn them through the Only Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.

AUG. All that are taught of God come to the Son, because they have heard and learnt from the Father of the Son: wherefore He proceeds, Every man that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to Me. But if every one that has heard and learnt of the Father comes, every one that has not heard of the Father has not learnt. For beyond the reach of the bodily senses is this school, in which the Father is heard, and men taught to come to the Son. Here we have not to do with the carnal ear, but the ear of the heart; for here is the Son Himself, the Word by which the Father teaches, and together with Him the Holy Spirit the operations of the three Persons being inseparable from each other. This is attributed however principally to the Father, because from Him proceeds the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore the grace which the Divine bounty imparts in secret to men's hearts, is rejected by none from hardness of heart: seeing it is given in the first instance, in order to take away hard-heartedness. Why then does He not teach all to come to Christ? Because those whom He teaches, He teaches in mercy; and those whom He teaches not, He teaches not in judgment. But if we say, that those, whom He teaches not, wish to learn, we shall be answered, Why then is it said, Will you not turn again, and quicken us? If God does not make willing minds out of unwilling, why prays the Church, according to our Lord's command, for her persecutors? For no one can say, I believed, and therefore He called me: rather the preventing mercy of God called him, that he might believe.

AUG. Behold then how the Father draws; not by laying a necessity on man, but by teaching the truth. To draw, belongs to God: Every one that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to Me. What then? has Christ taught nothing? Not so. What if men saw not the Father teaching, but saw the Son. So then the Father taught, the Son spoke. As I teach you by My word, so the Father teaches by His Word. But He Himself explains the matter, if we read on: Not that any man has seen the Father, save He which is of God, He has seen the Father; as if He said, Do not when I tell you, Every man that has heard and learnt of the Father, say to yourselves, We have never seen the Father, and how then can we have learnt from Him? Hear Him then in Me. I know the Father, and am from Him, just as a word is from him who speaks it; i.e. not the mere passing sound, but that which remains with the speaker, and draws the hearer.

CHRYS. We are all from God. That which belongs peculiarly and principally to the Son, He omits the mention of, as being unsuitable to the weakness of His hearers.

47. Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believes in me has everlasting life.
48. I am that bread of life.
49. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51a. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.

AUG. Our Lord wishes to reveal what He is; Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believes in Me, has everlasting life. As if He said; He that believes in Me has Me: but what is it to have Me? It is to have eternal life: for the Word which was in the beginning with God is life eternal, and the life was the light of men. Life underwent death, that life might kill death.

CHRYS. The multitude being urgent for bodily food, and reminding Him of that which was given to their fathers, He tells them that the manna was only a type of that spiritual food which was now to be tasted in reality, I am that bread of life.

CHRYS. He calls Himself the bread of life, because He constitutes one life, both present, and to come.

AUG. And because they had taunted Him with the manna, He adds, Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. Your fathers they are, for you are like them; murmuring sons of murmuring fathers. For in nothing did that people offend God more, than by their murmurs against Him. And therefore are they dead, because what they saw they believed, what they did not see they believed not, nor understood.

CHRYS. The addition, In the wilderness, is not put in without meaning, but to remind them how short a time the manna lasted; only till the entrance into the land of promise. And because the bread which Christ gave seemed inferior to the manna, in that the latter had come down from heaven, while the former was of this world, He adds, This is the bread which comes down from heaven.

AUG. This was the bread the manna typified, this was the bread the altar typified. Both the one and the other were sacraments, differing in symbol, alike in the thing signified. Hear the Apostle, They did all eat the same spiritual meat.

CHRYS. He then gives them a strong reason for believing that they were given for higher privileges than their fathers. Their fathers eat manna and were dead; whereas of this bread He says, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. The difference of the two is evident from the difference of their ends. By bread here is meant wholesome doctrine, and faith in Him, or His body: for these are the preservatives of the soul.

AUG. But are we, who eat the bread that comes down from heaven, relieved from death? From visible and carnal death, the death of the body, we are not: we shall die, even as they died. But from spiritual death which their fathers suffered, we are delivered. Moses and many, acceptable of God, eat the manna, and died not, because they understood that visible food in a spiritual sense, spiritually tasted it, and were spiritually filled with it. And we too at this day receive the visible food; but the Sacrament is one thing, the virtue of the Sacrament another. Many a one receives from the Altar, and perishes in receiving; eating and drinking his own damnation, as said the Apostle. To eat then the heavenly bread spiritually, is to bring to the Altar an innocent mind. Sins, though they be daily, are not deadly. Before you go to the Altar, attend to the prayer you repeat: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. If you forgive, you are forgiven: approach confidently; it is bread, not poison. None then that eat of this bread, shall die. But we speak of the virtue of the Sacrament, not the visible Sacrament itself; of the inward, not of the outward eater.

ALCUIN. Therefore I say, He that eats this bread, dies not: I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

THEOPHYL. By becoming incarnate, He was not then first man, and afterwards assumed Divinity, as Nestorius fables.

AUG. The manna too came down from heaven; but the manna was shadow, this is substance.

ALCUIN. But men must be quickened by my life: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live, not only now by faith and righteousness, but for ever.

51b. - And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

AUG. Our Lord pronounces Himself to be bread, not only in respect of that Divinity, which feeds all things, but also in respect of that human nature, which was assumed by the Word of God: And the bread, He says, that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

BEDE. This bread our Lord then gave, when He delivered to His disciple the mystery of His Body and Blood, and offered Himself to God the Father on the altar of the cross. For the life of the world, i.e. not for the elements, but for mankind, who are called the world.

THEOPHYL. Which I shall give: this shows His power; for it shows that He was not crucified as a servant, in subjection to the Father, but of his own accord; for though He is said to have been given up by the Father, yet He delivered Himself up also. And observe, the bread which is taken by us in the mysteries, is not only the sign of Christ's flesh, but is itself the very flesh of Christ; for He does not say, The bread which I will give, is the sign of My flesh, but, is My flesh. The bread is by a mystical benediction conveyed in unutterable words, and by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, transmuted into the flesh of Christ. But why see we not the flesh? Because, if the flesh were seen, it would revolt us to such a degree, that we should be unable to partake of it. And therefore in condescension to our infirmity, the mystical food is given to us under an appearance suitable to our minds. He gave His flesh for the life of the world, in that, by dying, He destroyed death. By the life of the world too, I understand the resurrection; our Lord's death having brought about the resurrection of the whole human race. It may mean too the sanctified, beatified, spiritual life; for though all have not attained to this life, yet our Lord gave Himself for the world, and, as far as lies in Him, the whole world is sanctified.

AUG. But when does flesh receive the bread which He calls His flesh? The faithful know and receive the Body of Christ, if they labor to be the body of Christ. And they become the body of Christ, if they study to live by the Spirit of Christ: for that which lives by the Spirit of Christ, is the body of Christ. This bread the Apostle sets forth, where he says, We being many are one body. O sacrament of mercy, O sign of unity, O bond of love! Whoso wishes to live, let him draw nigh, believe, be incorporated, that he may be quickened.

Catena Aurea John 6
25 posted on 04/14/2016 8:57:15 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament

Dieric Bouts the Elder

1464-67
Oil on panel, 185 x 294 cm
Sint-Pieterskerk, Leuven


26 posted on 04/14/2016 8:57:53 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: All

Thursday

April 7, 2016

Dynamic Transformation

The essence of Catholicism is not sin, punishment, duty, or obligation, and it is more than a set of lifeless rules and regulations. Catholicism is more. It is more than most people think and more than most Catholics ever experience…The essence of Catholicism is dynamic transformation. You cannot become more like Jesus Christ and at the same time stay as you are.” ~ Matthew Kelly, Rediscover Catholicism

Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: “What is your favorite TV program? Would you watch this if Jesus was sitting next to you.”


27 posted on 04/14/2016 3:50:22 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

Easter: April 14th

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

MASS READINGS

April 14, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Almighty ever-living God, let us feel your compassion more readily during these days when, by your gift, we have known it more fully, so that those you have freed from the darkness of error may cling more firmly to the teachings of your truth. 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.

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Recipes (2)

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Activities (2)

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Prayers (4)


28 posted on 04/14/2016 3:55:40 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: Acts 8:26-40

3rd Week of Easter

He got up and set out. (Acts 8:27)

Hearing about Philip’s immediate response to the Spirit, some of us will think, “Yes! Philip has the secret—just do it!” Others may squirm uncomfortably, thinking, “I’m not one to take leaps of faith.”

That’s no surprise—God made us all different! You might have childhood memories of hesitating nervously at the edge of a swimming pool, or you might have been one of the kids dive-bombing in! And so you may experience different responses to Pope Francis’ encouragement to be an evangelist: excitement, trepidation, or a mix of the two. At the root of our call, however, there are some things worth remembering.

First, God wants everyone. In New Testament times, Ethiopians were the embodiment of different. Not just their skin color, but their culture and their distance from Jerusalem led Jews to view them with suspicion. But the Holy Spirit turned that thinking on its head by calling an Ethiopian to the Church right from the beginning.

Second, God wants the good news to spread. The Spirit directed Philip to a fellow heading home to Ethiopia not only so that this man would experience the love of his Father but also so that he could go on to become an evangelist and bring the gospel to his home country. The news about Jesus needs to keep spreading today, whether it’s across oceans or across the street.

Third, God’s timing is impeccable. This isn’t always as clear to us as it is in today’s story, but God sends us where we need to be, at the time we need to be there, for the purposes of his kingdom. Philip saw an opportunity, and he ran with it (if you’ll pardon the pun).

This third truth is vital. Without it, the first two can lead to either overzealous evangelization or extreme guilt for not measuring up. Are you struggling to muster the courage to strike up a conversation about faith with someone? Relax! God will open the door at just the right moment. In the meantime, just keep praying and keep guarding your peace. God will give you the opportunity in his good time.

“Lord, thank you for the example of your servants in the Bible. Help me to rely on your grace as I try to share your good news.”

Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
John 6:44-51

29 posted on 04/14/2016 4:37:58 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for April 14, 2016:

Now that the weather is warming up, plan a picnic! It’s a great way to spend some quality time together. Make it a just-for-two date or bring the whole family.

30 posted on 04/14/2016 4:40:28 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

Bread for Eternity
U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY
April 14, 2016 -Thursday of the Third Week of Easter


Father Daniel Ray, LC


John 6: 44-51


Jesus said to the crowds: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. 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. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world."

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 Jesus, help me value more the gift of yourself in the Eucharist.


  1. A Gift from the Loving Father: The Father is the one who sent him and who will draw souls to him. “No one can come to me unless the Father draw him.” So, those individuals who heard Christ’s words and were drawn to him that day were doing so because of a gift of faith from the Father. If we today have faith in Christ, it also is a gift from the Father, who wants to draw us to his Son. If we have doubts or weakness in faith, we should ask the Father to draw us nearer to his Son and to help us believe with our whole heart and mind.


  1. The Word Was Made Flesh: Christ’s birth took place in the town of Bethlehem, which in Hebrew (bêth-lehem), means "house of bread." He was also laid in a manger, where food for animals would normally be placed. Before becoming bread which would be our food, Christ first became man. Merely giving us some specially blessed bread would not be nearly as significant as giving himself. That is how God always loves: by giving himself completely and without reserve.


  1. His Flesh Was Made Bread: The Gospel accounts of Christ multiplying the loaves report he did so out of compassion for the crowd: "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way" (Matthew 15:32). This same compassion moves him to give himself as our bread in the Eucharist. He does not want us to die for lack of spiritual nourishment. Christ—in the greatest gesture of humility—became man like us, the same in every way except sin. But in an even greater gesture of humility, he descended further still to become our spiritual food.


Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, how can I not trust in you? You have already become human just like me. Then you descend to an even humbler state of service to become food for my soul. Help me to receive you in the Eucharist with gratitude, fully aware of your loving presence.

Resolution: I will start preparing my heart today to attend Mass this Sunday and receive Christ lovingly in Communion.


31 posted on 04/14/2016 4:54:47 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Homily of the Day
April 14, 2016

Jesus likened himself to bread, because it is a staple food. We all know that none of us could live very long without food. Without nourishment, our bodies would wither and eventually die. Just as food sustains our physical bodies, so does Jesus nourish our spirit.

In today’s Gospel passage, when Jesus speaks of life, he means something more than mere physical existence. The life Jesus refers to is one connected to God the Father for all eternity. Jesus tells us that without him, no one can enter into a relationship with God.

“First he offers himself as spiritual food which produces the very life of God within us. Second, he promises unbroken friendship and freedom from the fear of being forsaken or cut off from God. Third, he offers us the hope of sharing in his resurrection. Those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior will be raised up to immortal life with Jesus when he comes again on the last day.”

What are you feeding your spirit? Are you living to sustain your physical life, or are you nourishing your spirit with the love and light of Jesus?


32 posted on 04/14/2016 5:04:54 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 3

<< Thursday, April 14, 2016 >>
 
Acts 8:26-40
View Readings
Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20 John 6:44-51
Similar Reflections
 

HEAVENLY FOOD

 
"Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. This is the Bread that comes down from heaven for a man to eat and never die." —John 6:49-50
 

When it comes to food, God provides and man derides. God gave Adam and Eve all kinds of good food in the garden of Eden (Gn 2:16). Sadly, their craving to eat beyond what God provided led to mankind's downfall (Gn 3:6).

God then provided miraculous manna to the Israelites when they were stranded in the desert (Ex 16:14ff). He "furnished them bread from heaven, ready to hand, untoiled-for, endowed with all delights and conforming to every taste" (Wis 16:20). The manna even "was blended to whatever flavor each one wished"! (Wis 16:21) All this revealed God's sweetness toward His children (Wis 16:21). However, the Israelites in the desert soon wearied of this miraculous, tasty fare. They were "disgusted with this wretched food" (Nm 21:5) that God provided. They wanted meat, fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic (Nm 11:4-5).

Then, God once again provided His children with miraculous Bread from heaven. The infant Jesus came down from heaven and was placed in a manger, which is a feeding trough. This intimates that Jesus is Food. His "flesh is real food" (Jn 6:55). To make it unmistakable, Jesus proclaims: "I am the Bread of Life...I Myself am the Living Bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world" (Jn 6:48, 51). Jesus in the Eucharist is God's ultimate banquet. Will we reject this heavenly food? Or, will we gratefully eat what God provides?

 
Prayer: Father, may what enters and leaves my mouth be totally under Your lordship.
Promise: "Philip launched out with this Scripture passage as his starting point, telling him the good news of Jesus." —Acts 8:35
Praise: After several years of meeting Jesus at Mass on his lunch hour, John entered the seminary and became a priest.

33 posted on 04/14/2016 5:06:40 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Angel in the Waters

A book for children.

34 posted on 04/14/2016 5:07:57 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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