The Gospel according to John (10:1-10)

Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 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. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” Although Jesus used this figure of speech, the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Opening Prayer: Lord, help me to be convinced to listen to you instead of the “thieves” who often claim they want to help me, because I know that only you want the best for me.

Encountering Christ: There are many image portrayals of Jesus being a shepherd is an endearing image. Many artists have shown Jesus as a gentle and kind man holding a sheep in His arms or on His shoulders. In part, it is this holy image that we put before our mind’s eye to ponder today. This is an inviting image and one that helps us to turn to our Lord, as a child would turn to a parent in need. But though this gentle and endearing image of Jesus as a shepherd is quite inviting, there are other aspects of His role as Shepherd that should also be considered.

I think of the time Jesus carried me on His shoulders, but He became exhausted carrying me because I was too chubby! He said, “Mi Gordito (Chubby) would you mind walking with me? 

We have all heard the scripture of “The Lost Sheep”. We have heard the parable when the Shepherd Jesus left the other 99 alone while he searched for the one. We ask ourselves, why would He risk the 99 over the 1? Doesn’t it make sense to save the lives of the 99 over the one lost? Well, allow me to interpret what Jesus would say in today’s language, “Not in my house”! In Jesus’ mind, He knows that the 99 can take care of each other in His absence and it is the 1 who needs the Love, compassion, and guidance to make their lives right.

We can relate this to our society today we tend to ignore the one lost soul, the marginalized, the voiceless, the hungry, and the homeless. In our fast-paced lives, we tend to think of our own agenda. We may suppress our guilt by telling ourselves that I will tend to that person tomorrow. BUT, What if you were that one lost lamb? What if you were that person that needs a hand, a shoulder to cry on, that needs a meal, or just someone to listen to? How would you feel if you saw the same person pass your life and they wouldn’t stop to assist you?

What does it mean to be a shepherd? More specifically, how is it that Jesus most perfectly acts as the Good Shepherd of us all? How can I be a shepherd? A shepherd is sacrificial and being sacrificial is the truest and most accurate definition of love. As Fr. Greg Boyle would say, “We don’t go to the marginalized to make a difference; we go to make us different”.

Though Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” Who gave His life for us all, we must also daily strive to imitate His sacrificial love for others. We must be Christ, the Good Shepherd, to others every day. And the way we do this is by looking for ways to lay our lives down for others, putting them first, overcoming every selfish tendency, and serving them with our lives. Love is not only experiencing endearing and heartwarming moments with others; first and foremost, love is about being sacrificial.

Closing Prayer: Jesus our Good Shepherd, I thank You profoundly for loving me to the point of sacrificing Your life on the Cross. You love me not only with the utmost tenderness and compassion but also in a sacrificial and selfless way. As I receive Your divine love, dear Lord, help me to also imitate Your love and to sacrifice my life for others. Jesus, my Good Shepherd, I trust in You.

Action of the Day:  Seek out the “1” and the Holy Spirit will tell you what to do next.

The Gospel according to John (John 6:52-59)

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Opening Prayer:  Lord Jesus, break open your word to me as I turn my hearts to you in prayer. I long to remain in you and let you remain in me. Just as you challenged the crowds with the truth of your Flesh and Blood being offered for them, you challenge me with the truth, which gives me life. And as I have prayed all week, make my heart burn while you speak to me.

Encountering Christ: In today’s gospel we learn that the key to our spiritual health is found AND centered in the Eucharist. When Jesus says ”Amen, amen” to the Jews He really was saying “Hey guys! Pay attention to this statement.”

Sometimes I think we take Jesus for granted – especially in the close encounter where we receive Eucharist at Mass on Sunday – or even daily if you are one that goes every morning to jump start your day. We repeat this sacred action so often that at some point it just becomes part of our routine while at Mass. We have to be careful and we have to go back to this gospel to re-read and process Jesus’ words giving us the command to eat His body and drink His blood in order to attain life eternal. It cannot become routine!

Think about this for a second. The Catholics are the only faith group that believes in the actual presence of Jesus in the form of the bread and wine. Other faiths memorialize Eucharist BUT do not believe in the real presence – only a remembrance. So the question for today is… do you believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. For some who are reading this reflection today, you may be asking yourselves why in the world would I ask a question like that. Well, there are a number of Catholics who do not believe in the real presence – they believe it is the same as our other Christian brothers and sisters of other faiths. This has become a sad but significant issue in our church today.

So today let’s give thanks to the Father and the Son for their love for us AND, in particular, give thanks to Jesus for leaving us Himself in the Eucharist – to receive daily if possible. What a great way to experience God internally and what a great God to allow us to share this bread of life that will sustain us for our entire earthly journey.

Closing Prayer:  Jesus, your words are truth and life. Like Peter, we have believed and come to know. To whom shall we go, for you have the words of everlasting life. I will never turn away from the challenging yet life-giving words you speak to me in the Catholic Church and in your Scriptures. Speak Lord, your servant is listening! 

Action for the Day: Lord, today by your grace I will renew my “yes” to you frequently. The “yes” of my baptism. The “yes” of my confirmation. The “Amen” of my first communion. The “yes” of my life’s vocation.  

Sit and ponder the real presence of Jesus in the exposition of the Eucharist. What a gift to us!

This photo was taken at one of the annual Deacon Retreats where the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament takes place all day throughout the retreat weekend.

The Gospel according to 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, share your word and Eucharist with me as I turn my heart to you now in prayer. I need your resurrected power and life. Just as you opened the truth of your Father to the crowds, open the Gospel to me and give me a true hunger for you. Make my heart burn while you speak to me.

Encountering Christ: Have you ever sat in front of your favorite meal, eyes bugging out, mouth watering, in a moment of shear delight at the anticipation of something you have looked forward to for some time. You tear through it realizing you need to slow down and enjoy every morsel.  Then you are done.  You need to take a breath and maybe loosen your belt and think to yourself, I don’t want to eat another bite.  Then someone suggest apple pie a la mode or a molten chocolate lava cake.  Now, you don’t even want to think about food.  That is until you get hungry again.

No matter how often or how much we eat we will eventually get hungry again.  There is no food or amount of food that will ever satisfy our hunger forever.

Today’s Gospel talks about something or better someone who can nourish and fulfill our need and desire for spiritual food.  In fact, it provides a beautiful pathway to the ultimate prayer, worship, liturgical experience that we can share at every celebration of the mass.

“Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.”  In the liturgy of the mass, we hear many beautiful prayers, both ancient and contemporary, and the Word of God in Holy Scripture.  We are also blessed with the opportunity to listen to a homily where a bishop, priest, or deacon can help us dig deeper into the message that God wants to share with us.  The Liturgy of the Word is intended to awaken our hearts and minds to Jesus who awaits us in the meal prepared on the altar.

If we think about it everything, both in liturgy and outside of liturgy, should draw us and lead us to Jesus on the altar.  There we encounter the one who made our salvation possible through his suffering, death, and resurrection. He offers us food, the bread that is his flesh for the world.  Food that feeds our souls in such a way that no earthly food could ever satisfy.  Food for the journey home.

The more we contemplate the significance and incredible gifts present in the celebration of mass, the Word of God and the Holy Eucharist, the more we should be in awe of how intimate we can be with the Holy Trinity.  Every mass provides us with an opportunity to experience heaven and earth colliding in an explosion of grace that transforms our earthy bodies into vessels of the divine.  Then we can make the love, compassion, and mercy of God known in all places we are blessed to be.

Closing Prayer: Lord of heaven and earth, may our hunger for you draw us ever closer to the divine gifts you offer us in the celebration of mass.  May your Word and Holy Eucharist help transform us into missionaries that help change the world, one encounter at a time.

Action for the Day: Prepare yourself for you next mass experience by reading the scripture for that day.  Contemplate the meaning of the readings through prayer and study.  Think about how this preparation will help you encounter the risen Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  Bon appetit!

The Gospel According to John 6:35-40

Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

Opening Prayer: Be present to your family, O Lord, we pray, and graciously ensure those you have endowed with the grace of faith, an eternal share in the Resurrection of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.

Encountering Christ: Are we truly ‘nourished’ by Eucharist and by the word in scripture? Are we aware of the ‘symbolism’ of the Eucharist; this is my body broken, my blood poured out for you; do this, be broken and poured out in loving service of others?

At that moment, in the Mass, when the priest has prayed the Lamb of God prayer, broken a part of the host, and put it in the chalice, he leans forward and prays, “Never let me be parted from you.” That prayer expresses the desire of the beloved. The love we feel from Jesus and others here on earth is just a promise, a down payment.

Covid-19 has emphasized for us how essential the ‘real’ presence of each of us is to each other. This is an invitation to reflect on the beauty and life-giving gift that being present to one another in service truly is.

Jesus promised us that if we come to him we would never hunger and thirst. Yet he also called “blessed” are those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). So, in some way, we are supposed to hunger, to feel that deep desire, that feeling of need for our Savior. The hunger Jesus satisfies is that existential longing for meaning and for transcendence. 

We all long for our lives to matter, to make an impact, to mean something to someone. We want to be loved, needed, protected, and desired. None of us want to ever feel insignificant. That is a divine longing that reflects the God in whose images we are created. Jesus fully satisfies all that is in his person and particularly in his Incarnation and in the Eucharist. He has come down to be with us because he loves us and because we all matter to Him. 

Yet, to be fully satisfied we need to believe in him. We need to take the risk of giving our hearts and minds to him in faith. The satisfaction of not hungering and thirsting is tied directly to coming to him and believing in him. Faith and following him are the solution. This is also true on the human level. No one can fall in love and experience the completeness that another brings, which is amazingly beautiful even if imperfect, without taking the risk of following and in the giving of ourselves completely. 

The whole life of Jesus is a response to the Father’s will. Remaining completely faithful to the Father is what nourishes and sustains him. When we pray, we seek to find and do the Father’s will ourselves, continuing the work that Jesus started.

In Jesus’ life of complete obedience to the Father, we recognize our own call and our own true identity as human beings. Jesus came to draw each one of us to the Father. Everything he says and does is for this purpose.

Let us ask Jesus to help us to be as he was: not self-serving on some personal level, but doing the will of God, our Father.

It may be that, in our prayers, we learn to recognize what is enduring, and what is at the heart of life. 

Closing Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought life and hope where there was once only despair and defeat. Give us the unwavering hope of everlasting life, the inexpressible joy of knowing your unfailing love, and the steadfast faith and obedience in doing the will of our Father in heaven. Amen