The Living Bread

 

  Jn 6:44-51

Eat This And Live Forever

 ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

The myth of the Fountain of Youth has fascinated us for centuries and the search for it still goes on. Does it exist? Will it ever be found? But we do know that the Bread of Life is real; it does exist and is available to us daily. Jesus has left us with this gift in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. My we grow is appreciation for this Bread of Life and make every effort to partake of it as often as possible.  If we were offered a million dollars daily by going to Mass, we would be there, wouldn't we?  The Eucharist is worth more than a million dollars.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, you are the Bread of Life; help me to receive you as often as possible. Amen.

Doing The Father's Will

 

 Jn 6:35-40

 Hunger Not

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Jesus calls us to a deep, radical FAITH and gives us his own flesh as the food to nourish and sustain it. What we need to do is set aside our fears and doubts and allow him to feed us with his own flesh and blood. He states very clearly that it is not the Father's will to lose anybody along the way, hence he provides the best food possible: his own flesh and blood. May we look to him with deeper faith each day, know his love and care and come one day to enjoy the eternal life he promises.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, thank you for your deep love which nourishes us and helps us do your will. Deepen my love and faith in you. Amen.

The Bread of Life

 

 Jn 6:30-35

A Lasting Sign

³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirst."

Jesus knew that we need bread for the journey of life. What better food than his own flesh and blood in the outward form of bread and wine?  The holy sacrifice of the Mass is offered daily, making the bread of life conveniently available to us. If we cannot attend daily Mass, then we can at least attend weekly on Sundays. What can be more important than partaking of the Bread of Life? Yet startling statistics indicate that Mass attendance is very low...in France, less than 10% of Catholics attend on Sundays. We have drifted from the Bread of Life and wonder why all the chaos in the world. Do we have to be "rocket scientists" to see the connection?  Let us get back on track and return to the altar of God and receive this life-giving Bread.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, help me to be a faithful communicant and allow you to feed my soul with the Bread of Life as often as possible. Amen.

 

Setting the Stage

 Note: the internet in our house was "down" this morning so I could not produce this slice of bread at the regular time. I hope it brings nourishment whenever you are able to pray with it.

 

 Jn 6:22-29

²² The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. ²³ Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Jesus the Bread of Life

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷ Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Hungry for Jesus, or just hungry?  Free bread, yes, but setting the stage for the discourse on the Bread of Life, and ultimately, the Eucharist. Jesus teaches by using concrete situations and examples. The lesson to follow is a huge, major one, so Jesus is careful to prepare his audience well for this is the Bread that will nourish his followers in the coming centuries, and still does in our time. Faith is the firm foundation needed for the understanding and acceptance of this lesson. May we be as eager to partake of this bread that feeds the soul, as the people were to eat of the bread that fed their bodies.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, thank you for this precious Gift. Help me to appreciate it more and more and partake of it as often as I can. Amen.

 

We Are Witnesses

 

  Lk 24:35-48

³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

We continue to focus on the resurrected Jesus. We see his efforts to convince his Apostles that indeed, something new, something "impossible" had really happened: he was alive but in a new form and that they had a job to do: to go and tell the whole world about this. Indeed they did and we continue to do so, but there are still more non-believers than believers. There are 2.8 billion Christians, only one third of the world's population.  In a world on the brink of a major war, when the number of "nones" or people with not church affiliation or faith is ever increasing, we are in a similar situation to where the apostles were that first night. We are meditating these days on the Resurrection and praying for the coming of the Spirit. May our faith grow stronger and our mission become clearer,  to spread the Good News, and in Marist terms, "make Jesus known and loved."

Bro. Rene

Dear God, help me to understand my mission  and grant me the grace to carry it out. Amen.    

Don't Be Afraid

 

 Jn 6:16-21

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷ where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

We can picture the storm and feel the fear in the seasoned fishermen heightened by the apparition of Jesus walking on the raging waters. When they allowed him to enter the boat, the storm ceased and they safely reached the shore. How often do we panic when faced with choices affecting our future or the future of those we love? Or when overwhelmed with trials we feel we can't handle, or when Jesus seems to have abandoned us? Yes, life has it's "storms" but each one is an opportunity for us to cast aside our fear and allow Jesus to come into our boat. He is the ONE who calms the storms in our lives. May we always turn to him when we feel we are perishing. He will not disappoint us.

Bro Rene 

Dear Jesus, so often I feel tempest-tossed with the demands of my daily life and the choices I have to make. Cast away my fear,  come into my boat and calm the raging waters in my soul. Amen.

 

A Preview

 

 Jn 6:1-15

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Just picture 5,000 hungry people, five loaves, two fish and 12 baskets of "left-overs".   Truly a spectacular miracle! Not only does it show Jesus's compassion for the crowd, but sets the stage for the gift of himself in the Eucharist.  He knows and takes care of our physical and spiritual needs and does something concrete to meet them. Does this event embolden us and give us confidence to proceed when what we face seems impossible? When we hunger for guidance, or strength to bear illness, disability, or difficult choices, is not Jesus there with the solutions?  May we learn to put our trust in him and be confident that as he fed this multitude, he will take care of us.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, you demonstrated your loving care in a spectacular way by feeding the 5,000. Help me to trust that you will satisfy my needs as well. Amen.