Today’s Thoughts: As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ our first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy seems to take us and the Israelites on a trip down Memory Lane. Moses reminds the Israelites and us what God has done. We are reminded of God’s faithfulness during a time of struggle, difficulty, affliction, hunger and thirst. We are reminded that God always cared for the Israelites, always saw to it that they had food for their journey of faith.
Two times in our first reading Moses reminds the Israelites that God fed those on the journey with bread that was “unknown to their fathers.” Even though they did not understand the nature of this bread, they were hungry, so they ate it and were strengthened for their journey. Our first reading reminds us to remember God’s faithfulness in the past so that we might be moved to be faithful in our times. In the journey of faith when we do not struggle, when times are good, we might be tempted to forget the bountifulness and the faithfulness of God. We might be tempted to go it alone. We always need to be reminded that all we have is a gift from God! In our today’s Gospel, Jesus, as Moses did, is inviting us to move beyond the limits of what we know and our experiences of life, and trust in the Bread that we do not know. We like the Israelites in the desert are hunger, perhaps not physically but spiritually. We are looking to be nourished and Jesus is offering Eucharistic Bread, His Body and the Eucharistic wine His Blood. we do not understand. Jesus teaching through out John’s Gospel on his Body and Blood is not part of our human knowledge or experience but we are asked to have faith, to trust, to believe and to enter into the mystery so that we will have the strength to make the journey of faith to the promised land, eternal life! Our Solemnity today invites us into a journey of mystery, the mystery of God’s love and God’s ways. When we celebrate the Eucharist, when we participate in the Eucharistic, we are challenged to believe more deeply in Jesus, in the presence of God in our life. We challenge to give our life for others just as Jesus did. At each Eucharist when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus says, I demand your life of you. I have given you mind now go and be my Body and Blood in the world! Have a blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Sunday everyone!
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Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P. "Preacher on the Run"Just a few thoughts to help you on your journey through life...let me know from time to time what you think... Archives
April 2024
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