First Reading: Acts 7:51 - 8:1
But you are a stubborn people, you hardened your hearts and closed your ears. You have always resisted the Holy Spirit just as your fathers did. Was there a prophet whom your ancestors did not persecute? They killed those who announced the coming of the Just One whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the Law through the angels but did not fulfill it."
When they heard this reproach, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against Stephen. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God's right hand, so he declared: "I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God."
But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he knelt down and said in a loud voice: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he died.
Saul was there, approving his murder. This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem. All, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab
R./ Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Or: R. Alleluia
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name's sake you will lead and guide me.
R./ Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Or: R. Alleluia
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.
My trust is in the Lord;
I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy.
R./ Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Or: R. Alleluia
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plottings of men.
R./ Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Or: R. Alleluia
Gospel Reading: Jn 6:30-35
The people said to Jesus, "Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe you. What sign do you perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says: They were given bread from heaven to eat."
Jesus then said to them, "Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread God gives is the One who comes from heaven and gives life to the world." And they said to him, "Give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty."
It is the Father
We continue with Chapter 6 of John. Jesus explains the nature of the Father in Heaven, in an attempt to clarify the misconception of the Jews. They believed it was Moses who provided their ancestors with Manna in the desert. So they said: He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus corrects that notion. It was not Moses, but my Father in Heaven who gives you the bread from heaven. He goes on to explain four elements from their argument:
It is the Father – the initiator and the source of life;
The life that God offers is a pure gift – a gift that God longs to give;
The Father – the giver of life also nourishes the life with the bread from heaven:
And this heavenly bread is to be eaten: People need to believe, receive and actively absorb this bread from heaven.
This authentic bread came down from heaven gives life, not only to Israel but also to the whole world. The word – World – does not necessarily mean the universe. Rather it refers to the human society that is corrupted by the power of sin. It is to this concrete, broken, and corrupted world that Jesus wishes to give life. Unless this corrupted society is redeemed, the rest of the people would remain captive under their destructive influence.
Jesus would not only give bread from heaven, but he was the bread from heaven.
Jesus makes a self-description with the powerful words “I am …” It contains a veiled revelation of Jesus’ divine origin.
… Whoever comes to me will never hunger. Whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
As Jesus had already promised the Samaritan woman: whoever drinks the water that I shall give will never thirst again [4:14], so now he promises the same to those who come to him: Those who undertake the journey of faith to believe in him, would never be hungry. To accept Jesus as the bread of life means coming to him and believing in him.
The offer of Jesus is not confined: whoever comes …, whoever believes… Its outreach was inclusive and expressed the universal, unconditional love of the Father.
Let us desire for this bread through which our lives are nourished – “the Bread of Life”
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Introduction
Stephen and the persecuted Christians of the early Church relive the passion of Christ; they suffer not only for Christ, but also with him and like him; their attitude is also: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit; Lord, do not hold this against them." But Stephen and the first Christians are sure that death has not the final say: they will live on with the risen Christ.
Christians are sustained in life by the true bread from heaven, Christ, who breaks for them the bread of his word and the bread of himself, for he is "given" bread, sacrificing himself to give life. Christ is the answer to our deepest hungers. We too should hunger for him and say, "Give us this bread always."
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, generous Father,
you have given us your Son Jesus
that we may relive with him and like him
his passion and his resurrection.
Through Jesus, give us the courage
to place ourselves into your hands
in the trials of life and in death,
that one day we may see your glory
and at your right hand your Son Jesus Christ,
who lives with you for ever.
General Intercessions
- For people who search for the meaning of life and who hunger for what is right and good, that they may find Jesus, we pray:
- For those whose faith is tested in persecutions, that the Lord may give them the strength to remain faithful, we pray:
- For our Christian communities, that they may never be deprived of the eucharist, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, eternal Father,
in these signs of bread and wine
you give us your Son Jesus Christ.
May we eat him and never be hungry,
believe in him, and never thirst.
May he be to us the bread of immortality
that sustains us on the road of life,
until we reach your eternal home
where we can live with you for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, loving God,
your Son has nourished us
with the bread of life of himself.
Give us this bread always.
Let Jesus still our deepest hungers,
for all that is beautiful, true and good,
that we may be to everyone we touch
bread given for the life of the world,
together with your Son Jesus Christ
who lives with you and with us for ever.
Blessing
"Give us this bread always," said the crowd. Christ is our bread, our food, our riches, the meaning of our lives, who accompanies us on the journey of life. May he always keep nourishing us with himself. We ask God to bless us, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
