Wednesday, April 22, 2015
THURSDAY, 3rd Week of Easter
April 23, 2015 THURSDAY, 3rd Week of Easter
St. George, Martyr; St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr
White
Acts 8:26 – 40 / Jn 6:44 - 51
[Popularly featured as a knight slaying a dragon, St. George (d. 303) was martyred during the persecution of Diocletian. He is the Patron Saint of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Genoa and Venice.]
[St. Adalbert (956 – 997) was Bishop of Prague and preached the Gospel in Eastern Europe.]
Reading: Acts 8:26 – 40
An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south towards the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road." So he set out and it happened that an Ethiopian was passing along that way. He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians; he had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was on his way home. He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip, "Go and catch up with that carriage." So Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, "Do you really understand what you are reading?" The Ethiopian replied, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. This was the passage of Scripture he was reading:
He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, he did not open his mouth. He was humbled and deprived of his rights. Who can speak of his descendants? For he was uprooted from the earth.
The official asked Philip, "Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of someone else?"
Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of Jesus, using this text of Scripture as his starting point. As they traveled down the road they came to a place where there was some water. Then the Ethiopian official said, "Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being baptized?"
Then he ordered the carriage to stop; both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy.
Philip found himself at Azotus, and he went about announcing the Good News in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Gospel: Jn 6:44 - 51
Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me.
For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that you may eat of it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world."
Reflection:
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 fulfil 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.
WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:
BIRTHDAY
CAROL CHUA
ELENA SALAZAR
FR. XAVIER L. OLIN S.J.
JOBERT OCHOA
KATRINA BIANCA DY SIY
TEODORO V. CALAUNAN JR.
PRAYER INTENTION
MAURICIO & NATY GO DE JESUS & FAMILY
OTHER INTENTIONS
Specially for Joy Droke in Austin, Texas.
For the eternal repose of Maricris Zara.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 12:57 PM 
