We are grateful to accompany you on your journey of personal conversion. In this mornings gospel reading we find Nicodemus struggling to understand when Jesus tells him that he must be born from above, born of the Spirit. John 6:35-40 There are places to which Christians have been going on pilgrimage for a very long time. This is what we find Barnabas doing in todays first reading. Our website uses analytical cookies to make it possible to analyze our website and optimize for the purpose of a.o. However, such stormy moments can be times of grace, opportunities for the Spirit in work in new ways in the church. It follows that the Lord will never call us to something that would result in a diminishment of life for ourselves or for others. According to the gospel reading, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world. Todays first reading follows on from the rulers, elders and scribes ordering Peter and John in a threatening manner not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. They are portrayed as failing to understand Jesus teaching, especially when he speaks of himself as the Son of Man who must be rejected, suffer and die. That is part of the calling of each one of us. We tell the story of the person who has died, very often with a focus on the final days or weeks of his or her life. It is that mood of Easter that we try to imbibe and enter into during these seven weeks of the Easter season. That statement has been a source of inspiration for many believers over the centuries. In the first reading, God initially draws the Ethiopian to his Son through the Scriptures. Resistance, even hostility, to the churchs message can allow the Lord to work in new ways. I am the gate of the sheepfold. It falls to us to respond to all he has done and is doing if that relationship is to become a reality. Indeed he has already done so, laying down his life so that we may have life and have it to the full. Our calling as individual believers and as a community of faith is to allow the Holy Spirit to take flesh in our lives so that others can see heavenly things through our way of living and our manner of relating to one another. There is a time for every matter under heaven, according to the Book of Ecclesiastes. Jesus is not calculating about his giving of the Spirit. View the embedded image gallery online at: National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, https://www.carmelites.org.au/lectiodivina#sigProId061537aa3b, 25th Anniversary of Santa Cruz Massacre . There is a great deal more to life than the satisfaction of our physical needs. As Jesus says, it blows where it pleases. The gospel was perhaps intended as a word of encouragement to the church, assuring them that just as they had travelled and were still travelling the way of the cross, Jesus had travelled that way before them. Our website uses analytical cookies to make it possible to analyze our website and optimize for the purpose of a.o. AnalyticalOur website uses analytical cookies to make it possible to analyze our website and optimize for the purpose of a.o. The sheepfold mentioned in the gospel reading was an enclosed area. When we pray, we open ourselves to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon us and to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Do not be afraid. They were for taking him into the boat, but in no time it reached the shore at the place they were making for. Yet, Marks portrayal of the failure of the disciples serves as a foil for his portrayal of Jesus faithfulness to them, in spite of all their weaknesses. Each of us has some responsibility for some little flock of our own, whether our situation on life. The first reading suggests that no human power can block the preaching of the gospel, not even the imprisonment of the apostles, Jesus closest associates. Paul went on to make an important contribution to the life of the church in Antioch, and the church there, in turn, was a great support to Paul in his future missionary work. and I know the Father; God will seek to draw us to his Son in a variety of ways. It was finally approved by Pope Innocent in 1247 and later underwent mitigations which were not in the original text. This morning we ask the Lord to channel our energies and our gifts in ways that serve his purpose in the world. The Lord took Paul by surprise, and he can take any of us by surprise. If what the gospel reading says is true then how we respond to Jesus, the one whom God has sent into the world, is of enormous significance. John was very aware that none of those things could be said about himself. 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. This mornings gospel reading begins with an image of the disciples locking themselves into a room somewhere in Jerusalem. All of a sudden it is bright beyond 7.00 pm. Yes, Jesus fed their physical hunger in the wilderness, but more importantly he wants to feed their spiritual hunger, their longing for true life, the life that endures forever, eternal life. The question that people ask in todays gospel reading is a perfectly understandable one, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? The notion of eatings someones flesh is abhorrent. It is a day when we remind ourselves that we are called. As the gospel reading says, their faces were downcast. Now the will of him who sent me In response, Jesus challenges them to work, not for food that cannot last, but for food that endures to eternal life. Where could food be found to feed such a crowd? The Lord will provide in abundance the means for us to take the path that leads to life. If you do not believe me when I speak about things in this world, In the words of the gospel reading, he leads us to a place where we may life and have it to the full. Unlike the pilgrims who walk with a sense of joyful anticipation, they walk in a despondent state, their faces downcast. Then out of the blue, the risen Lord stopped him in his tracks. There is a mysterious quality to the wind. One of the great verses of Johns gospel is to be found at the beginning of our gospel reading this morning, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. No earthly power can hold back the Spirit. In this mornings gospel reading Jesus identifies himself as the one who can satisfy these deeper hungers in our hearts, the hunger for God, for a love that is faithful, for a life that endures beyond this life. Give me your hand; put it into my side. In the world of Jesus, there were no sheepdogs to help the shepherd in his work with the sheep. These cookies may track your personal data. Then their eyes were opened, and the sad journey away from Jerusalem became a joyful journey back to the city. They will all be taught by God, When myself and my brothers were very small my parents used to tie a cloth around where the gate met the railings so that we could not open the gate. When we engage in it, it helps us to appreciate more fully both the sacrament of baptism and of the Eucharist. When Jesus declares in todays gospel reading, my yoke is easy and my burden light, he is saying that his teaching, his understanding of Gods will, is not something burdensome. In that image Jesus paints in the gospel reading, the shepherd does not lead the sheep to pasture one at a time, but together as a flock. but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already, He looks to us not to stand in his way but to allow him to work with us and through us to bring about this great gathering of people from north, south, east and west, around the risen Lord, the good shepherd who laid down his life for all of humanity. Toggle Submenu for Novenas & Celebrations, National Shrine and Museum of St. Therese. He wanted to listen to their story in all its sadness and despondency. As Saint Paul came to realize, the Lords power is often made perfect in weakness. The gospels suggest that Jesus identified himself with the shepherds of his time because in saw in their work an image of his own ministry. He declares that no one will ever steal his followers from him. A little later in that same gospel of John, Jesus declares that, after his death and resurrection, he will send us the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, who will guide us into all the truth. Being a member of the community of those who believe in Jesus can be a source of bemusement to many, or even derision. As we listen, we are gradually transformed from within. In all four gospels, Jesus shows us how so much of human life can speak to us of Gods life, the kingdom of heaven. We can be distressed at the degree of doubt that we experience within ourselves, troubled that such doubts may even become more pronounced as we get older. In todays first reading it is was while the early church in Jerusalem was at prayer that they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and in the strength of that Spirit began to proclaim the word of God boldly. Philips ministry to the Ethiopian led the Ethiopian to take an initiative of his own, Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptized? It is as if the final step of God drawing the Ethiopian to his Son was through the medium of creation, water. Jesus often spoke about day to day realities, like the wind, as a way of talking about more spiritual realities. Below you can choose which kind of cookies you allow on this website. When it comes to our faith, there is a great deal to understand. Marks gospel was the primary written source for the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Sometimes a conversation about a loved one who has just died can have laughter as well as sadness in it. Catherine was a truly extraordinary woman. We are then sent from the Eucharist to live with his life, to live his life. He wants people to go in and out through him. Yet, the gospel reading we have just heard acknowledges another reality. This mornings gospel reading makes the very generous statement that all who live by the truth come out into the light. When we listen attentively to the Lords word, we are opening ourselves to Holy Spirit, and in the power of that Spirit we will be able to witness to our faith in the Lord with something of the courage shown by Peter and the apostles in todays first reading. In that reading, Jesus declares that we first need to hear the teaching of the Father and learn from it before we can come to him as the bread of life who gives us his flesh, his body, for the life of the world. A gate creates an opening into an otherwise closed environment. The stranger who joined the two disciples on their sad journey was the very person whose death they were grieving. The first words of the risen Lord to his disciples in todays gospel reading are, Peace be with you. He showed them his hands and his side so that they would be in no doubt that the one who stood in their midst was the one who had been crucified, the one whom they had abandoned in fear. The Bible is the Word of God which is always alive and active, always new. If we are to pass through the gate that is Jesus, we have to consciously choose this gate and exclude other gates. She insisted that the Popes place was beside the bones of the martyrs. We see that gift of Barnabas at work in this mornings reading. His way of speaking reflects what he said at the last supper where, having taken, blessed and broken bread, he gave it to his disciples and said, This is my body. These cookies may track your personal data. Perhaps, therefore, we will find it easy to identify with Thomas in todays gospel reading. Are not his sisters all with us? Gods love revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus had triumphed over human wickedness. His first approach to Jesus is tentative, coming to Jesus under cover of darkness. and speaks in an earthly way. His reading of the passage gave rise to a question for him that he sought an answer to from Philip, Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else? When Philip then proclaimed the gospel to him, the Ethiopian took a further initiative on his spiritual quest, again in the form of a question, Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptized? Having been baptized by Philip, the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. He invites us, as he invited the two disciples, to share with him the story of our lives in all its various hues. There are different ways of telling the story of the troubles in the North of Ireland over the past thirty five years or more. The Lord relates to us in a personal way and he invites us to relate to him in a personal way. That restlessness drives us to make contact with other people; it often leads us to set out on a journey of one kind or another, whether it is a physical journey, or an inner journey. He calls and he waits for us to respond to his call. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. In todays gospel reading, Jesus presents himself as the only one who can truly satisfy the deeper, spiritual, hunger in our lives. The gospel reading suggests that we respond by listening to his voice and allowing his word to make its home in us.

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