John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 6
30.	They said therefore to him: What sign therefore dost thou shew, that we may see, and may believe thee? What dost thou work?	Dixerunt ergo ei : Quod ergo tu facis signum ut videamus et credamus tibi ? quid operaris ?	ειπον ουν αυτω τι ουν ποιεις συ σημειον ινα ιδωμεν και πιστευσωμεν σοι τι εργαζη
31.	Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.	Patres nostri manducaverunt manna in deserto, sicut scriptum est : Panem de cælo dedit eis manducare.	οι πατερες ημων το μαννα εφαγον εν τη ερημω καθως εστιν γεγραμμενον αρτον εκ του ουρανου εδωκεν αυτοις φαγειν
32.	Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you; Moses gave you not bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.	Dixit ergo eis Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis : non Moyses dedit vobis panem de cælo, sed Pater meus dat vobis panem de cælo verum.	ειπεν ουν αυτοις ο ιησους αμην αμην λεγω υμιν ου μωυσης δεδωκεν υμιν τον αρτον εκ του ουρανου αλλ ο πατηρ μου διδωσιν υμιν τον αρτον εκ του ουρανου τον αληθινον
33.	For the bread of God is that which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world.	Panis enim Dei est, qui de cælo descendit, et dat vitam mundo.	ο γαρ αρτος του θεου εστιν ο καταβαινων εκ του ουρανου και ζωην διδους τω κοσμω
34.	They said therefore unto him: Lord, give us always this bread.	Dixerunt ergo ad eum : Domine, semper da nobis panem hunc.	ειπον ουν προς αυτον κυριε παντοτε δος ημιν τον αρτον τουτον
35.	And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.	Dixit autem eis Jesus : Ego sum panis vitæ : qui venit ad me, non esuriet, et qui credit in me, non sitiet umquam.	ειπεν δε αυτοις ο ιησους εγω ειμι ο αρτος της ζωης ο ερχομενος προς με ου μη πειναση και ο πιστευων εις εμε ου μη διψηση πωποτε

30. They said therefore to him, What sign show you then, that we may see, and believe you? what do you work?
31. Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32. Then said Jesus to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33. For the bread of God is he which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.
34. Then said they to him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

AUG. To eat then that meat which endures to everlasting life, is to believe in Him. Why do you make ready your tooth and your belly? Only believe, and you have eaten already. As He called on them to believe, they still asked for miracles whereby to believe; They said therefore to Him, What sign show you then, that we may see and believe You? What do you work?

CHRYS. Nothing can be more unreasonable than their asking for another miracle, as if none had been given already. And they do not even leave the choice of the miracle to our Lord; but would oblige Him to give them just that sign, which was given to their fathers: Our fathers did eat manna in the desert.

ALCUIN. And to exalt the miracle of the manna they quote the Psalm, As it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

CHRYS. Whereas many miracles were performed in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the desert, they remembered this one the best of any. Such is the force of appetite. They do not mention this miracle as the work either of God, or of Moses, in order to avoid raising Him on the one hand to an equality with God, or lowering Him on the other by a comparison with Moses; but they take a middle ground, only saying, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert.

AUG. Or thus; Our Lord sets Himself above Moses, who did not dare to say that He gave the meat which perishes not. The multitude therefore remembering what Moses had done, and wishing for some greater miracle, say, as it were, you promise the meat which perishes not, and does not works equal to those Moses did. He gave us not barley loaves, but manna from heaven.

CHRYS. Our Lord might have replied, that He had done miracles greater than Moses: but it was not the time for such a declaration. One thing He desired, viz. to bring them to taste the spiritual meat: then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. Did not the manna come from heaven? True, but in what sense did it? The same in which the birds are called, the birds of heaven; and just as it is said in the Psalm, The Lord thundered out of heaven. He calls it the true bread, not because the miracle of the manna was false, but because it was the figure, not the reality. He does not say too, Moses gave it you not, but I: but He puts God for Moses, Himself for the manna.

AUG. As if He said, That manna was the type of this food, of which I just now spoke; and which all my. miracles refer to. You like my miracles, you despise what is signified by them. This bread which God gives, and which this manna represented, is the Lord Jesus Christ, as we read next, For the bread of God is He which comes down from hearer, and gives life to the world.

BEDE. Not to the physical world, but to men, its inhabitants.

THEOPHYL. He calls Himself the true bread, because the only-begotten Son of God, made man, was principally signified by the manna. For manna means literally, what is this? The Israelites were astonished at first on finding it, and asked one another what it was. And the Son of God, made man, is in an especial sense this mysterious manna, which we ask about, saying, What is this? How can the Son of God be the Son of man? How can one person consist of two natures?

ALCUIN. Who by the humanity, which was assumed, came down from heaven, and by the divinity, which assumed it, gives life to the world.

THEOPHYL. But this bread, being essentially life, (for He is the Son of the living Father,) in quickening all things, does but what is natural to Him to do. For as natural bread supports our weak flesh, so Christ, by the operations of the Spirit, gives life to the soul; and even incorruption to the body, (for at the resurrection the body will be made incorruptible.) Wherefore He says, that He gives life to the world.

CHRYS. Not only to the Jews, but to the whole world. The multitude, however, still attached a low meaning to His words: Then said they to Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. They say, Give us this bread, not, Ask Your Father to give it us: whereas He had said that His Father gave this bread.

AUG. As the woman of Samaria, when our Lord told her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall never thirst, thought He meant natural water, and said, Sir, give me this water, that she might never be in want of it again: in the same way these say, Give us this bread, which refreshes, supports, and fails not.

35. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes in me shall never thirst.

CHRYS. Our Lord now proceeds to set forth mysteries; and first speaks of His Divinity: And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He does not say this of His body, for He speaks of that at the end; The bread that I will give you is My flesh. Here He is speaking of His Divinity. The flesh is bread, by virtue of the Word; this bread is heavenly bread, on account of the Spirit which dwells in it.

THEOPHYL. He does not say, I am the bread of nourishment, but of life, for, whereas all things brought death, Christ has quickened us by Himself. But the life here, is not our common life, but that which is not cut short by death: He that comes to Me shall never hunger; and, He that believes in Me shall never thirst.

AUG. He that comes to Me, i.e. that believes in Me, shall never hunger, has the same meaning as shall never thirst; both signifying that eternal society, where there is no want.

THEOPHYL. Or, shall never hunger or thirst, i.e. shall never be wearied of hearing the word of God, and shall never thirst as to the understanding: as though He had not the water of baptism, and the sanctification of the Spirit.

Catena Aurea John 6

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Stephen Harding

Feast Day: April 17
Born: (about) 1060 :: Died: 1134

Stephen was born at Sherborne, Dorsetshire in England. He first studied at the monastery of Sherborne and later in Paris and Rome. He was a good student who liked to learn. Stephen was especially interested in literature. He was serious about life and prayed daily.

When Stephen completed his studies, he and his friend set out on foot as pilgrims for Rome. On their way back, they stopped at the monastery of Molesme in Burgundy. Stephen was very impressed by the holiness of St. Robert who was the abbot there and decided to join this poor and holy group of monks.

These men prayed, fasted and worked hard. That was their way of showing their love for God. Stephen noticed how happy they were. For a while, Stephen served God joyfully with them. But little by little the monks did not want to live such a strict life anymore.

So St. Robert and St. Stephen and twenty of the monks started a new monastery. They built it themselves in the wilderness in France called Citeaux. They lived a life of work and great poverty. They wanted to imitate the poverty of Jesus. They followed the Rule of St. Benedict and kept strict silence.

When St. Robert was called back to Molesme, Stephen became the abbot and founded the order of the Cistercians. But these were difficult times. The monks had very little food and then more than half of the monks became sick and died. It looked as though the community would come to an end. They needed new, young members to continue their life.

Stephen prayed with faith and God answered his prayer. God sent to these monks thirty young men who wanted to join them. They arrived at the monastery gate all together. Their leader, St. Bernard was to become a great saint too. This was a marvelous day for St. Stephen and the monks.

St. Stephen spent the last few years of his life setting up twelve more monasteries. He wrote a book of rules for the Cistercian monks and the famous "Charter of Charity". With great fatherly affection, he trained St. Bernard to take his place.

When he lay dying, St. Stephen heard the monks around him whispering that Stephen did not have to be afraid to die. He had worked so hard and loved God so much. But St. Stephen said that he was afraid he had not been good enough. And he really meant it. That shows us how humble this great saint was. He died in 1134.

Catholic Culture

Easter: April 17th

Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

MASS READINGS

April 17, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who open wide the gates of the heavenly Kingdom to those reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, pour out on your servants an increase of the grace you have bestowed, that, having been purged of all sins, they may lack nothing that in your kindness you have promised. 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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Old Calendar: St. Anicetus, pope and martyr; St. Stephen Harding (Hist)

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Ancetus, who was the tenth successor of St. Peter. He governed the Church from 155 to 166, years of great difficulty when Christianity in Rome had to face not only persecution by the emperors but also the heretical tendencies of the second century. St. Anicetus was visited in Rome by St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who came to discuss with him the date of Easter.

Historically today is the feast of St. Stephen Harding, at Citeaux in France who was first to live in the Cistercian desert and who joyfully welcomed St. Bernard and his companions when they came to him.

St. Anicetus
Pope Anicetus, St. Peter's tenth successor (154-165), ruled at a time when many noteworthy events transpired in the Church of God. It was the golden age of Gnosticism, and its chief proponents, Valentine and Marcion, had come to Rome. From the Orient Polycarp arrived to discuss the question regarding the day for celebrating Easter. Among other illustrious men in Rome at the time were Justin Martyr (cf. April 14), who took the occasion to write his second apology and thus precipitated his martyrdom; and the renowned Jewish Christian scholar, Hegesippus. During the pontificate of Pope Anicetus the Church suffered persecution under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. There is extant a decree in which Anicetus forbade his clergy the vain and frivolous grooming of their hair. His grave is near that of St. Peter in the Vatican.

Things to Do:

Vanity in dress and worldly attire is unbecoming for the faithful too while engaged in divine worship. For they are standing in God's presence, they are in the company of the Blessed Virgin, of the angels, and of their patron saints - yes, the blessed in heaven take part in the sacred drama. It is not surprising, then, that members of liturgically-minded congregations show a different attitude in the matter of dress and personal adornment than that common elsewhere. Resolve to dress yourself in a way that shows you realize the sublime events that are being enacted at each Mass you attend.

St. Stephen Harding
Stephen Harding, son of an English noble, was born at Sherborne in Dorsetshire, England, about the middle of the eleventh century. He consecrated himself to the monastic life in the Abbey of Sherbonne in Dorsetshire, where he received his early education. He later studied in Paris and Rome, where he pursued a brilliant course in humanities, philosophy and theology.

After studying in Paris and Rome, he visited the monastery of Molesmes. Impressed by its leaders, Robert of Molesmes and Alberic (who were later canonized), Stephen joined the community.

After a few years, the three men, along with another 20 monks, established a more austere monastery in Citeaux. Eventually, Robert was recalled to Molesme (1099), Alberic died (1110), and Stephen was elected abbot.

Stephen Harding is credited with writing the famous Carta Caritatis (Charter of Charity - often referred to as the Charter of Love). It was a six page constitution which laid out the relationship between the Cistercian houses and their abbots, set out the obligations and duties inherent in these, and ensured the accountability of all the abbots and houses to the underlying themes of charity and living according to the rule of Benedict.

Since the monastery received very few novices, he began to have doubts that the new institution was pleasing to God. He prayed for enlightenment and received a response that encouraged him and his small community. From Bourgogne a noble youth arrived with 30 companions, asking to be admitted to the abbey. This noble was the future St. Bernard. In 1115 St. Stephen built the abbey of Clairvaux, and installed St. Bernard as its Abbot. From it 800 abbeys were born.

In 1133, Stephen resigned as the head of the order, due to age and disability, and died the following year.

Excerpted from Catholic Fire

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Stephen Harding at EWTN
Read the Carta Caritatis here
Learn more about the Cistercians.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Acts 7:51–8:1

3rd Week of Easter

Stephen . . . looked up intently to heaven. (Acts 7:55)

According to St. Robert Bellarmine, “The secret to dying well is living well.” It’s a simple formula: those who “live well” by trying their best to keep the commandments and embody the beatitudes will feel more prepared to meet the Lord at the end of their lives. They will be more peaceful, less fearful, and more concerned about the people they are leaving behind.

Of all the deaths we read about in Scripture (apart from Jesus’ death, of course), it would be hard to find one more inspiring than Stephen’s. Luke tells us that at the beginning of Stephen’s trial, “his face was like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). And today, we read how his last words were words of forgiveness: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (7:60). Now that’s what dying well looks like!

Stephen’s faith-filled death can seem very heroic to us. And to a degree it is—he even had a vision of Jesus in heaven just before he died! But let’s take Robert Bellarmine’s words and apply them to Stephen. Clearly, this was a man who lived well. The grace that he showed at his death was just a continuation of the grace he had experienced throughout his life. Stephen was already in the habit of looking “intently to heaven” (Acts 7:55). He was already in the habit of “seeing” Jesus and feeling his presence. He was already in the habit of forgiving his persecutors and surrendering his life to the Lord. So his death was nothing more—and nothing less—than an extension of his life of discipleship.

Now, it’s only natural to feel some fear of death. It’s the biggest unknown of our existence. What will heaven be like? What will we do for all eternity? What about our bodies? Will we really see God? What if it’s only a story? Questions like these come to us almost instinctively, and we shouldn’t be ashamed of them. But they don’t have to control us. Thank God we have people like Stephen who can show us how to “live well” and who can help us learn how to “die well”!

“Thank you, Jesus, for opening heaven to me every day. Lord, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you.”

Psalm 31:3-4, 6-8, 17, 21
John 6:30-35

Regnum Christi

April 17, 2018, The Unbearable Sign

16 Apr 2018

Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Father Daniel Ray, LC

John 6: 30-35

The crowd said to Jesus, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” So, Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” So, they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

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, increase my faith in you and in your Eucharistic presence.

1. God Sets the Table: For the Israelites in the time of Exodus, the manna from heaven was a saving gift. It descended daily from heaven so that they would not starve on the journey but be sustained and strengthened to be able to reach the Promised Land. The passage through the desert was arduous and long, but every morning there was enough manna to collect and sustain them well for that day. The true bread from heaven that the Father gives us—Christ in the Eucharist—does just the same for our souls: It nourishes us that we might not starve here, where spiritual food is scarce. It sustains and strengthens us, so we will be able to reach our eternal promised land.

2. In the Church we are Truly Fed: Those with no hunger need no bread, so they do not ask for it. Those who are hungry make or buy the bread they need. However, every man hungers in his soul for a bread that he cannot produce on his own and that no one can make for him. His only recourse to receive this sustenance is humbly to ask the only one capable of giving it; he must come before the Lord with open hands and an open heart. “Sir, give us this bread always.” It is a bread both from eternity and for eternity. It satisfies our deepest hunger. But the “bread from heaven” is no bread made by human hands. Christ can give himself only to those who recognize their need for him and who ask, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

3. Beyond Our Wildest Dreams: Could anyone have dreamt that God would descend among us as a man? Could anyone have imagined that he would descend further still to be our bread? Is there anything left that he would not do for us? To receive this unimaginable gift of his bread requires two things: “Whoever comes to me…” and “Whoever believes in me….” Coming to Christ requires moving—getting up from where we are, going to where he is, letting go of whatever our hands clench and turning our palms up to be filled with his gifts. To believe in Christ is to place our faith and confidence in him. It is to take him at his word and to accept in awe the truth of his real presence in the Eucharist.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, your real presence in the Eucharist is something I need to believe more with my heart. I do believe that with your bread I will never hunger and that with faith in you I will never thirst. Help me to grow in faith in your Real Presence. I know you will lead me to love you more through this precious gift of yourself.

Resolution: I will stop by a Catholic church to spend a few moments with Christ in the Eucharist, speaking with him, asking for a stronger faith in him.

Homily of the Day

April 17, 2018

In the Gospel reading, Jesus says that he is giving his flesh to save the world and the Jews react negatively. They misinterpret and misunderstand the language of Christ. They think that he is introducing cannibalism. The early Christians were, among other things, being accused of eating human flesh and drinking human blood. Since the Jews and the pagans could not understand the Holy Eucharist, they invented the notion that the Christians were cannibals.

Reason and human intelligence cannot entirely grasp matters on faith. There needs an illumination from God on things that have their origins from above, on things of the spirit. When Jesus speaks about bread, he is not talking about pandesal. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for our daily bread. Certainly God provides our daily sustenance, but it is not sufficient for a Christian. Our spirit needs to be sustained as well.

“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The bread of God is the Word of God which we must listen to or read about in the Scriptures. It is also the Eucharist – the body and blood offered by Christ to fulfill the will of the Father. And the Father’s will is none other than our redemption.

During Holy Communion, when we say Amen, we are signifying our readiness to do God’s will in our lives even if it entails sacrifices. This is possible if we believe in the goodness and love of God who is our Father.

One Bread, One Body

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<< Tuesday, April 17, 2018 >>

Acts 7:51�8:1
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Psalm 31:3-4, 6-8, 17, 21

John 6:30-35
Similar Reflections

ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR GOD'S FOOD?

"God's bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." �John 6:33

The Israelites were stuck in the desert without food. In His mercy, God sent heavenly bread, which the Israelites called manna, to feed His people for forty years until they could eat of the produce of the promised land. The manna, Jesus explained, is a foreshadowing of what God the Father was doing through Jesus. Jesus was sent from heaven to give life to the world (Jn 6:33). Jesus taught the Israelites that He was the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35), that the Father sent Him to feed His people and thereby give them life in this world until they join the eternal banquet in the heavenly promised land.

The Israelites needed to eat the manna in the desert or else starve to death. However, most of us will not starve today if we don't receive the Eucharist � or so we think. Let us place ourselves amid the Israelites in the desert. Jesus bluntly states that if we don't eat the heavenly manna, the Eucharist, we have no life in us (Jn 6:53). Be as hungry for the Eucharist as if you were starving in the desert.

Prayer: Father, change my desires so I only want to eat according to Your menu.

Promise: "I Myself am the Bread of Life." —Jn 6:35

Praise: Many saints' lives were sustained by eating only the Holy Eucharist.

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