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Today, 4th of December, we celebrate
Saint John Damascene
Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up her seven columns;
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
"Let whoever is simple turn in here;
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding."
Ps 34:2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9
R./ Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R./ Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.
R./ Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from all his distress he saved him.
R./ Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R./ Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Ephesians 5:15-20
Brothers and sisters:
Watch carefully how you live,
not as foolish persons but as wise,
making the most of the opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not continue in ignorance,
but try to understand what is the will of the Lord.
And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
John 6:51-58
Jesus said to the crowds:
"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."
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."
Dear brothers and sisters, peace and all good.
This Sunday, the book of Proverbs reminds us of a need of our time: we need a culture of meaning, rich in knowledge and truth, that can be communicated. No matter how we find ourselves, or how old we are, we all need to know the meaning of life. It is enough to become aware of our poverty and desire to be initiated into that culture. Communion with the Lord and our discipleship offer us the necessary rations of truth and word.
The second reading refers us to another need of believers: that of being prepared for the critical times of faith that have come and continue to come. “Take advantage of the opportunity.” The Greek word used, “Kairós”, has the sense of opportunity, of possibility. It is not a generic time, but a favorable moment, which we can take advantage of to improve, to change for the better. The Christian, as a child of God, can recognize his presence and try to fulfill his will, in order to be happy.
That is why it is advisable not to abuse wine, which is a bad advisor. It is better to dedicate oneself to prayer, to give thanks to God and, like Mary in the “Magnificat”, to thank Him for all that He has done for us. It is good to be grateful. Because in everyone’s life there are enough moments to recognize God’s passing through it. And every day try to fulfill what God wants from us.
The Gospels of all these last Sundays are full of the smell of good bread. The Lord has been telling us that He is the bread come down from heaven, the living bread, that whoever eats of this bread has eternal life. And one wonders why the Lord Jesus is called the Good Shepherd, and the title of the Good Bread or the Good Baker has never caught on. The whole Gospel smells of freshly baked bread…
With the evangelist Saint John, we go through this sixth chapter step by step. There is still one last stretch, the crossroads before the word of Jesus. It will be the moment for the disciples to take the floor, and decide what to do. Today, it is still the Master who has the floor.
He presents himself again as the Bread of life come down from Heaven. And he repeats the words we have already heard, “‘my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.’ To understand these words, we must take into account the whole life of Jesus: his journey, his destiny, his self-giving. That self-giving was total, he emptied himself so that we might live. To eat his flesh and drink his blood is to open oneself in faith to Him, to participate in that journey, in that destiny, in that self-giving.
“‘My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.’ Here a mysterious maternal dimension of the Lord is revealed to us: just as the mother, in the womb, gives of her own substance to the child, and makes it viable; just as, once born, she breastfeeds it with her own milk, and makes it more viable; so He gives his own flesh and his own blood, and makes us viable. The child receives from the fullness of the mother; we receive from the fullness of the Lord. Just as the child has been literally entrained in the mother (and carries her entrained), we are entrained in Him and we must entrain Him in us (sacramental communion).
“‘My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.’ Jesus is not deceptive water that does not quench thirst, nor wine that stuns and intoxicates, nor loneliness without roads, nor lost path or cut off road.
This was the profound and authoritative teaching that Jesus dispensed in Capernaum. Its essential characteristics revolve, more than on the sacrament itself, on the mystery of the person and life of Jesus, which is gradually revealed. That mystery embraces in unity the Word and the sacrament. The Word and the sacrament set in motion two different human faculties: hearing and sight, which place man in a life of communion and obedience to God.
To my flesh, perishable and destined to death, is offered today the possibility of eternal life through the resurrected and, therefore, incorruptible flesh of the Son. Eternal life, the life of God, the blessed life, the happy life, the life without shadow, without mourning and without tears, comes to me through the Son, through his flesh, which becomes bread to eat. The Eucharist puts me in contact with eternal life, allows me to overcome death and unhappiness. What gift could be more desirable? Can I ask for anything more than eternal life?
In the Eucharist is present all of God’s desire for communion with me, his desire that I accept his gift as an act of love, that I understand the unique importance that his Son has for my life and for my fulfillment. Life comes to me from the Father, through the flesh of the Son, thanks to the mediation of the apostolic Church, which celebrates the Eucharist so that I too, with my purified and surrendered flesh, may become a bridge to bring life to the world. This is the mystery of our faith! The flesh is truly “the foundation of salvation” (Tertullian).
Your brother in faith,
Alejandro, C.M.F.
God's wisdom has prepared his wine
and laid the table.
He invites us:
''Come and eat my bread,
drink the wine I have prepared!"
This is our Lord's invitation to us.
May we answer his invitation
and may he always be with you. R/ And also with you.
The Eucharist at the Core of our Faith
We know that the very core of our faith is that Jesus' body was broken for us on the cross, that he shed his blood for us, but that he rose again from the dead and is alive. The deepest way for us to share in his death and resurrection is the Mass, the eucharist we celebrate. There the body of Christ is given to us as our food; there his blood is made present as shed to forgive our sins and to fill us with Jesus' life and strength and joy. Let us celebrate this eucharist with gratitude, for here the Lord gives himself totally to us.
The eucharist makes us one with the Lord Jesus.
How much are we one with him?
How often do we let sin alienate us from him?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you invite us
to eat your body and drink your blood:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you invite us
to live in you and to be one with you
so that you can be one with us:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you invite us to eat you
as our bread that overcomes death
and makes us live for ever:
Lord, have mercy R/ Lord, have mercy.
Lord, let this eucharist forgive our sins,
fill us with your love and strength
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
The Eucharist at the Core of our Faith
Let us pray that the eucharist
may fill us with the life of Christ
(PAUSE)
Our living God,
you let us taste and see how good you are
by giving us your Son Jesus Christ
as the bread and drink of life.
Give him to us today as our daily bread,
that with him we may pass from death to life.
Let his life flow in us and overflow
on our brothers and sisters,
that we may become his body to the world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading Introduction: Eating and Drinking Wisdom
Wisdom wants to share itself as food and drink, to give insight and life. Christ, the Word of God, is true wisdom. In the meal of the eucharist he transforms us into God's image.
Second Reading Introduction: Praising the Father through Christ
Christians learn the true wisdom of life from the Holy Spirit. In the liturgical assembly they sing out their thanks to the Father through Christ.
Gospel Introduction: Sharing Jesus' Life through the Eucharist
By eating the Lord's body and drinking his blood, we share in Jesus' life and we are sure he will raise us from the dead.
Our Lord Jesus has nourished us with his words of life and invites us to his table. Let us bring to him all our cares and those of the people we love. Let us say: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
- For the Church, that the eucharist may remain the source of its vitality and of its ability to witness to the presence of the Lord in his community, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
- For Christians everywhere, that they may hunger and thirst for justice in the world and give access to every person to spiritual values and the material goods they need, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
- For those in many parts of the world who don't have enough to eat, that people may unite to help them to earn their own food in dignity, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
- For us and for all Christians who come together around the Lord's table, that Christ may unite us heart and soul and make us open tables to one another, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, you give yourself to us as the bread of life. Help us to give ourselves like you, without charge and without regret. Stay with us, now and for eveer. R/ Amen.
Lord our God, as a Father who cares
you invites us to the table of your Son.
He will change our bread into his flesh,
our wine into the drink of life.
Make us one with him,
appease our hunger with his bread
and refresh us with his drink,
that we may live his life
of courage and commitment
and that we may live in your love
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
In the eucharistic prayer we sing out our praise and thanks to our Father as we join our Lord Jesus Christ, for he has made Jesus our bread of life.
One with Jesus our Lord
we pray in his own words
to our Father in heaven: R/ Our Father...
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
set us free from our cowardice and selfishness.
Nourish us with the bread of life,
gather us together and keep us united,
that the world may recognize
that your Son is alive in us
as we go forward in joyful hope
toward the coming in glory
of our Savior, Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
The bread that we break
is the bread of resurrection
to a new life and to new happiness.
It is bread to be shared,
for it is the bread of the Lord.
This is the Lord who says:
''My flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood
live in me and I live in them."
Happy are we to accept his invitation
to eat his bread of life.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Thank you, God our Father,
for nourishing us on the way to you
with the true bread and drink of life,
your Son Jesus Christ.
In this and in every eucharist,
let him take flesh again in us,
that we may do for one another
what he has done for us,
that we may be present to one another
as he is present and available to us,
and that with him we may live your life
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
We experience day after day
that it is not easy to live the Lord's gospel.
It is not easy to live a life that is worthwhile,
to be unselfish, compassionate,
to love and help one another
even when it is uncomfortable,
to lead a life of integrity,
to build a better world together.
It is true wisdom that prompts us
to come to the Lord's table
to seek his strength.
May the Lord accompany us
on the road of life and love
and may God bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go with the Lord
on the road to God and to one another. R/ Thanks be to God.
