Thomas, like the other disciples, saw and believed. It is based on the presumption that light is the enemy of anyone who might want to break into the premises. There are two ways of looking at gates. It is a verse worth pondering and reflecting upon at length. He comes at night, without drawing attention to himself. Jesus is portrayed as a young beardless man with a sheep draped around his shoulders. That is why he taught us to pray, Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. In our own lives, the sequence is not so much word, baptism, eucharist as baptism, word, eucharist. As Jesus received all from God and gave what he received to us, so Jesus looks to us to receive all from him and to give what we receive to one another. Vocations Sunday reminds us that the more fundamental call we hear in life is the call of the Lord. The language of eating the flesh, the body, of Jesus and drinking the blood of Jesus is shocking. This conflict in the church required the Twelve to clarify for themselves and for the other members of the church what their priorities were to be, We will continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word. The proclamation of the word leads to baptism and then in the gospel reading Jesus speaks in language that is clearly Eucharistic, the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world. Yet, his work on our behalf is always more significant than our work on his behalf. As St Paul says, While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We are being reminded that serious doubt and great faith can reside in one and the same person. We are more aware today than in the past that our relationship with Jesus and with his followers is a choice we have to make. When we have suffered a great loss we often feel the need to talk about the loss with someone. Barnabas inspires us to keep listening to what the Lord may be saying to us in and through the circumstances of our daily lives. and my blood is real drink. Click on the underlined name below for the daily reflections. If the wind is beyond our control and understanding, this is true to an even greater extent of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. Today we might call such a person a facilitator or an enabler of others. Ive been in the coffee shop before and at a neighboring table the people were speaking a language I didnt understand. The cardinals regretted their decision and elected a second Pope but could not persuade Pope Urban to retire. The Lord will provide in abundance the means for us to take the path that leads to life. Born in 1347, Catherine entered the Dominican Third Order at the age of eighteen and spent the next three years in seclusion, prayer, and austerity. Jesus showed himself to the Eleven and said to them: Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. With the Lords help what seemed impossible became possible. He not only gave them all every encouragement, he set out for Tarsus to bring Paul to Antioch, because he could see that this new development in Antioch was ripe for Pauls gifts. Our fundamental call is to be a loving and caring people, with a mind through which the good Shepherd thinks, a heart through which he loves, a voice through which he speaks and hands through which he works. It was presumably the Spirit who prompted the Ethiopian to read the passage of Scripture that so intrigued him. Jesus presents himself as the one who can satisfy this spiritual hunger. He is speaking here as the good Shepherd who is prepared to lay down his life so that the members of his flock can have life and have it to the full. In todays gospel reading, Jesus does not say, Come to my teaching, but Come to me. In reality, it was only beginning. They want more of the bread that Jesus provided in the wilderness. Below you can choose which kind of cookies you allow on this website. At a young age, she decided to give herself to the Lord, and she resisted the attempts of her family to find her a good husband. He immediately went off to Tarsus to look for Saul, or Paul, who had recently come to faith in Christ and Barnabas encouraged him to go to Antioch and support this new development there. Yet, it is language which expresses the depth of communion which Jesus wants to create between himself and his disciples. They had abandoned him when the hour of his passion and death came, but he had not abandoned them. The Lord comes to us in the Eucharist to draw us to himself so that he can live in us and through us. When it comes to our faith, there is a great deal to understand. Todays gospel reading gives us an insight into the prayer of Jesus, I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth If we look across the two readings this morning we find an interesting sequence. All Documents Quizes he cannot enter the kingdom of God: It is evident that Jesus is not speaking literally. Every so often the Lord prompts the church to take a new step beyond where it has been. May God bless you abundantly on your journey of personal conversion! The second stage is meditatio (reflection) where we think about the text we have chosen and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. The Lords presence to us and our awareness of his presence always makes the journey to the other side, the far shore, seem that bit shorter. The temptation to lock away our faith out of fear can be very strong. He not only calls on people to eat his flesh but to drink his blood. We can probably find it easy to sympathize with the fearful disciples in this mornings gospel reading. In receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, we are inviting him to live out in us his life towards God and towards others. There was the same greeting from the Lord, Peace by with you, and an invitation to Thomas to doubt no longer but believe. Zacchaeus heard Jesus invite himself to his home. Even though we may turn from the Lord at times, he never turns from us. They were in the throes of deep grief. OtherOur website places 3rd party cookies from other 3rd party services which aren't Analytical, Social media or Advertising. In the early centuries the church seems to have found Matthews gospel in particular more helpful for the life of faith because of the large amount of the teaching of Jesus it contains, relative to Mark. Carmelite Provincial Centre 75 Wright Street, Middle Park Victoria 3206 Australia.+61 3 9699 1922provincialoffice@carmelites.org.au, Carmelite CommunicationsCommunications Director: Fr David Hofman, O.Carm+61 3 9699 2950communications@carmelites.org.au. The College of Cardinals elected Urban VI who turned out disastrously. In the gospel reading, the risen Lord sends out his disciples to proclaim the gospel to the whole world, and the evangelist then says that as they went out to preach everywhere, the Lord was working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it. It is not that the Spirit is lawless, but the Spirit takes us beyond where law can take us. He will not allow the forces that are hostile to our relationship with him to get the better of us. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained., Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:Cookie Policy. The Lords particular call to each one of us is with a view to our being fully alive. In todays first reading we have the dramatic story of the call of Paul. Jesus came among us, full of Gods grace and truth, full of Gods gracious love and faithfulness, and we are invited to keep receiving from this fullness of God in Jesus. We reach out towards the Lord who journeys with us in the context of the church, in the company of our fellow pilgrims, those who are stumbling along the path of discipleship with us. She was born in 1347, the daughter of a prosperous wool dyer, and died in 1380, at the age of thirty three. God continues to draw us to his Son through the Word of God and through the ministry of other people of faith, like Philip. Going out about nine o'clock, Sheep are gathered in a sheepfold for protection. Sometimes a conversation about a loved one who has just died can have laughter as well as sadness in it. 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. In all four gospels, Jesus shows us how so much of human life can speak to us of Gods life, the kingdom of heaven. The life which flowed from the side of Jesus as he hung from the cross, symbolized by the blood and water, is conveyed personally to each of us when we eat his body and drink his blood. Jesus uses many images of himself in Johns gospel. In this mornings gospel reading, Jesus declares, I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full. The story the two disciples told ended in death; the story the stranger told from the Scriptures ended in glory, Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and enter into his glory? Jesus was sharing Gods story with the disciples and inviting them to see their story in the light of that bigger, more glorious, story. but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: When it comes to the Lords relationship with us, there is a role for us as well. We are to be constantly asking ourselves, What is the Lord saying to us? In the words of todays gospel reading, the Lord was working with them (the disciples) and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it. We encounter something of the mystery of God in and through every human birth. If we invite the Lord to stay with us, in response to the many ways he touches our lives, he will lead us to the Eucharist too, where his communion with us is deepened further. In different ways we too can abandon the Lord; we may deny and even betray him by something we say or do. A lot of our lives are lived in response to various calls that are made upon us. Other boats, however, had put in from Tiberias, near the place where the bread had been eaten. He says that they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me. Alternatively, please click the Cookie settings button to adjust which cookies this website stores during your visit. The Jewish Sanhedrin were worried about the growing popularity of the disciples of Jesus. He sums up this two-fold role he has as the gate by affirming, I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full. for those whose sins you retain, There are forces in the world that seek to undermine that relationship and even destroy it. Even though Gods quest for us is the more fundamental one, we need to be engaged in our own quest for God. In todays gospel reading Jesus declares, the sheep that belong to me listen to my voice. It is generally dated to around about the year 70. He had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Today we read the account from the gospel of John. The movement of the prayer is towards silence. In this fourth gospel, the words I am on the lips of Jesus suggest the name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. He can be speaking to us through new and unforeseen situations, such as the one in which we find ourselves at the moment. We traditionally use the term holy communion to refer to the Eucharist. He sent them out to continue his mission, as the Father sent me, so am I sending you. The story is a reminder to us that we need each other on the journey of faith. This Easter season, we ask the Holy Spirit to shape our longing, our desires, so that they correspond more to the Lords desire for us. That is why he goes on to say, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Before sending them, he breathed the Holy Spirit upon them, the Spirit of Gods enduring love. As Christians, we are all searching for Jesus in some sense. The general call to be the Lords disciple is lived out in particular ways. In the words of the gospel reading, we certainly cannot control where it comes from or where it goes to. We are called to listen attentively to the word of God, especially as proclaimed and lived by Jesus who is Gods Word in human form. We are very security conscious in these times. Jesus and his disciples found themselves before a situation that seemed beyond their ability to deal with. In the gospel reading, Jesus declares that no one knows the Son except the Father. As they prayed, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and in the strength of that Spirit they proclaimed the word of God courageously. This was a story about a great prophet who said and did wonderful things, who had been unjustly put to death, and whose body had gone missing from the tomb. Life after such a loss can be very difficult. The journey of faith is not always straightforward. We tend to focus on Jesus and his disciples, and on the crowd. We can all be like those drooping daffodils. As they were heading to a village called Emmaus, they were heading in the wrong direction. Joseph reminds us that our own personal response to our own calling from God will always have huge consequences for others. In that respect, he may be like many other disciples today. Then in the gospel reading Jesus speaks of the bread that he will give as his flesh for the life of the world, a clear reference to the Eucharist. She set about serving her neighbours, distributing alms to the poor, ministering to the sick and to prisoners. The relationship between the shepherd and his sheep was more immediate than it is today. They got into boats by the shore of the Sea of Galilee after Jesus and his disciples and crossed to Capernaum looking for him. Having been feed with bread in the wilderness, they wanted more of the same. He wanted to listen to their story in all its sadness and despondency. This can happen all too easily as we know. The Lords personal call to each of us will always be in harmony with that fundamental purpose of the Lords coming among us. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to discern what the Lord is saying to us. However, he was just as concerned, if not more concerned, with peoples spiritual hungers. That is why we gather as a community of faith, in various settings, especially in the setting of the Eucharist. Our website places advertising cookies to show you 3rd party advertisements based on your interests. Yes, Jesus fed them in the wilderness, but he has something more to give them, not just physical bread but a deeper and more enduring form of nourishment. Putting words on the events that have caused us such grief can help us to find some meaning in what has transpired. At the deepest level of our being, we are searching for God. It is sent out monthly at the end of the previous month (for instance the Lectio Divina of Febrary will be emailed out by the end of January). Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. One of the tasks of life for each of us as disciples of the Lord is to try and listen to the particular call that the Lord is addressing to each one of us here and now. All of these statements claim that Jesus has a unique relationship with God. and learn from it, Once the disciples show a willingness to take Jesus into the boat with them, they reach the shore. In todays gospel reading, the two disciples of Jesus had each other for support in the days after Jesus had been crucified. The Lord accommodated himself to Thomas doubt, meeting Thomas demand to put his hand into the wounds of the crucifixion. Gates are just there to be passed through; they dont as a rule call out to us; if we pass through a gate it is because we have decided to do so. He will breathe new life into us; he will give us strength in our weakness. In the first reading we have an Ethiopian returning home from his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. However, in spite of the locked doors, the risen Jesus came and stood among them. There is another way of looking at a gate. We can be grateful to this former persecutor of the church for opening us for up the riches of our Christian identity and destiny. #Catholic #Gospel #Reflection #Religion #Jesus #Faith #Homily #Eucharist #Mass #Liturgy #Trinity #Word #Preaching #Priest #Resurrection #Creed #Disciple #Saints #Christianity #Church. Jesus often used images drawn from the life of the people to talk about himself and his message. When someone precious has been taken from us, when we have experienced some bitter loss, when we see bad things happening to good people, when we have struggled with some experience of death, it can be difficult to believe in the emergence of new life, the possibility of a new beginning. They ran from the suffering and crucified Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Gods love, a love whose breadth and length and height and depth cannot be fully comprehended. We all have opportunities from time to time to create openings for people that allow the Lords work to be done. In the coming year of vocations, we pray that we would be attentive to that fundamental call of the Lord to each of us. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. The story they told ended in death, but the full story ended in life. Barnabas brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch. He was a leader of the church in Jerusalem and he approved very much of what he saw happening in the church of Antioch where the gospel was being preached not only to Jews but to pagans as well. We receive his body and blood in the Eucharist so that we may become more fully his body in the world. The works I do in my Fathers name testify to me. Each new day is a day of grace and opportunity to reflect. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. Mark wrote the first of the four gospels. Jesus observed how shepherds related to their flock and he recognized something of himself in them. The human experience of birth can speak to us of another kind of birth, a being born of the Spirit. The birth of a child is one of the greatest causes of joy in human experience, especially for the parents of the child. On this second Sunday of Easter, we are invited to make Thomas confession of faith our own, wherever we happen to find ourselves on our faith journey. you will not have life in you. We meet every Friday at 10am (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) [You are welcome to join from other time zones, eg. We had some March snow this year and all the daffodils in my garden began to droop under the weight of the snow on its leaves and flower. It is important that people feel safe in their own homes, but all the security can leave us a little bit more cut off from our neighbours and friendly visitors than we would like. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Yet, without Marks gospel the church would not have had the gospels of Matthew or Luke in the form they have come down to us. Barnabas immediately recognized that God was at work here. It is a statement worth reflecting upon. Jesus said to Nicodemus: You must be born from above. The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to him, How can this happen? Jesus answered and said to him, You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? She also wrote her great work, the Dialogues, describing the contents of her mystical conversations with Christ. God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, But, as I have told you, The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. In the second scene of todays gospel reading, the focus is on one disciple, Thomas. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. Therein lies the gospel, the good news of Gods loving and life-giving initiative towards us. When we find ourselves struggling with great religious doubts, and, as a result, maybe putting a distance between ourselves and the Lord and between ourselves and the community of believers, the Lord continues to engage with us and seek us out. He said to them, What matters are you discussing as you walk along? They stopped short, their faces downcast. Whereas the wind can be destructive, the Spirit is always life-giving. To see ourselves in the light of Jesus is to recognize how far we fall short of the person God has created us to be. No earthly power can hold back the Spirit. I am the bread of life. In the words of this mornings gospel reading, we are to believe in the one that God has sent. His frustration at being unable to speak clearly to the people gathered in St. Peters square was painfully obvious. Like the disciples, we can feel hopeless before certain situations. Our website uses functional cookies. There is often some tension between the Easter cry, Christ is risen! The one who comes from above is above all. Leading and driving are two very different activities. This is the reaction of the generous person, of the one who is prepared to give all he or she has, even though it appears to be far less than what is needed. He was reconciling them to himself, displaying his faithfulness to them, in spite of how they had failed him. We find it very hard to get started. We look forward to that eternal day when we will see the Lord, face to face. and I lay down my life for my sheep. 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. Yet, he calls out to us to follow him there; he calls us as someone who knows and loves us and desires what is best for us. He had a profound appreciation of the uniqueness of Jesus, which is why he could say, he must increase, but I must decrease. In fact, Jesus wants our relationship with him to be as close as his relationship with God the Father. No one can do that for us. He asked them, What are you discussing as you walk along? They stopped, looking downcast. God will find many ways of bringing us to his Son, if we allow ourselves to be drawn. The bread of the word is a necessary first course, as it were, that prepares us to receive the Eucharist well. The Lord who welcomes us when we come to him also seeks us out when we walk away from him. Above is the Holy Spirit radiating down on this ministry of mercy and compassion. John 6:35-40 It is not a condemnatory light; God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but so that, through him, the world may have life and have it to the full. Yet, Jesus declares that he wishes his relationship with his followers to have the same intimate nature. Something of a storm was brewing in this young church, which became the mother church, because it was from the church in Jerusalem that the other churches were founded. That is why the first reading for the feast of Mark is always from the first letter of Peter. It is in this latter sense that we have to understand the reference to the gate in this mornings gospel reading. There is no other city that is such a significant a pilgrim destination for three major world religions. As people of faith, we are always on a journey, on a pilgrimage. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.. Jesus seems to be saying that there is something about the wind which is beyond our control. There is a time for every matter under heaven, according to the Book of Ecclesiastes. Sunday, November 27 Monday, November 28 Tuesday, November 29 Wednesday, November 30 Thursday, December 1 Friday, December 2 Saturday, December 3 December 4 - December 10, 2022 God often draws us to his Son in and through other people of faith. As well as physical hungers, we also have deeper hungers within us, spiritual hungers and thirsts. "Lectio Divina", a Latin term, means "divine reading" and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them. but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. Jesus is speaking as the good shepherd who defends the members of his flock in times of danger, who stands up against the thieves and robbers who intend to do harm to the flock. The Lords concern is not just with the community as a whole, but with the individuals who make it up. In the gospel reading Jesus speaks of things of this world and heavenly things. After the execution of Stephen, the church in Jerusalem experienced a time of persecution. Yet, the Lord will always seek us out and offer us the gift of peace, the gift of his reconciling love. We spend our lives trying to submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus. Gospel Reflection - Order of Carmelites Catherine remained faithful to Urban, in spite of his faults, because he had been duly elected. Scepticism and deep faith can often be found in one and the same person. In time, Mark came to be appreciated on its own terms, and not just as a poorer version of Matthew. He had been through the darkness of Good Friday, with all its pain, confusion and disillusionment. Unlike other religious orders in the West which are founded in direct historical lineage to a specific teacher (eg. Supplied by the Madonna Magazine. Each of us has some responsibility for some little flock of our own, whether we are married or ordained or a religious or a single person. For my flesh is real food But the one who comes from heaven is above all. The real answer to the question addressed to Jesus, Where do you come from? is that Jesus comes from heaven or from God. We are grateful to accompany you on your journey of personal conversion. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. He had spoken to Nicodemus about the need to be born of water and the Spirit so as to enter the kingdom of God. The Lords personal call to each of us will always be in harmony with that fundamental purpose of his coming among us. Yet, Jesus as the gate has something important to say to us. When we experience the Lord in this way, we will be moved to invite him to stay with us, as the two disciples did when they reached Emmaus. has eternal life, We can sometimes find it difficult to believe in the ultimate triumph of life over death, of joy over sadness, when death and sadness remain very palpable realities for us. On the one hand, he felt the strong desire to be in union with God; on the other hand, he felt an almost violent tugging away from any contact with God. No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. what is born of the flesh is flesh; The first words of the risen Lord to his disciples in todays gospel reading are, Peace be with you. She was deeply involved in what was happening in Europe and in the church in her time. and yet you people reject our evidence. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem at the beginning of the sixth century BC, resulting in the Babylonian exile, and the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70 AD. but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. Keep the flock that you have gathered, preserve us in your love, now and forever. In response to their prayer, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to proclaim the word of God boldly. The Spirit is the Spirit of Gods personal love for the world. God continued to draw the Ethiopian to Jesus through the ministry of Philip, who was able to engage with the Ethiopians questions in a helpful way. The way the Lord relates to Nicodemus in this passage is perhaps not all that different to how he relates to all of us. When we find ourselves in some dark place because of a great loss, we value the company of people who love us. When it comes to the Lord we are not just one of a crowd, lost in a sea of faces. The gate was there to keep us in. The Lord continues to call us to himself, drawing us into an ever deeper relationship with him. We see that gift of Barnabas at work in this mornings reading. The first letter of Peter was written from the church of Rome to churches that are now in modern day Turkey. Pope Paul VI declared her a Doctor of the Church in 1970. Catherine was both a mystic and a woman of the world, who served those in greatest need and involved herself in the great issues of church and state of the day. He is a seeker after truth, after God. The church has been grieving this past week since the death of the Pope. I firmly believe that churches should be open as often and for as long as possible. When the risen Lord joined the two disciples, he first invited them to tell him what they had been talking about. My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. There tends to be a restlessness in all of us. We have no control over the direction of the wind; sometimes its direction will be a help to us, at other times it will be a hindrance to us. Jesus was pleased that they came looking for him, but he wanted to refine their search. He stood among them in all the power of his risen life. Yet, the story we have just heard relating to that road is a good news story. Unless very clear conditions were met, Thomas defiantly declares, I refuse to believe. However, shortly after his return to Rome, Gregory died. Each page includes a reference to each reading, as well as a link to the text of the readings. The movement did come from God, which is why it is still here two thousand years later, in spite of great persecution from without and great failings from within. In todays gospel reading, Jesus speaks of the importance of eating his flesh and drinking his blood so as to draw life from him.
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