FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER - 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me, and I live in him,
says the Lord. JN 6:56

ACTS 9:1-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Sometimes, like Saul, we can be full of self-righteous indignation and our rage causes us to be destructive. We become so consumed by our own convictions we leave no room for dialogue and respect for those whose beliefs are different from our own. Too often overzealous bigots believe they are doing God's work as they belligerently destroy all opposition in their path. So it was with Saul until he encountered You on the road to Damascus.

There will come a time in our life when we like Saul are face to face with You, Lord, and we must make a choice either for You or against You. If we choose You we choose joy, life, and peace. We choose to enter the Kingdom of God and make our home in it through faith as did Saul.

Saul's conversion was dramatic and complete. Once he encountered You there would be no half-measures on his part. He was all in. He because utterly docile to the Spirit of God and his whole life from then on was controlled by the will of God.

He understood the mission You gave him. Always aware of who he was and who he had become after his conversion he remained grateful and humble for the wonderful gift of faith that he received and he spent his whole life preaching and teaching the Good News that saves. He was unwavering and undaunted in the face of hardship, persecution, torture, and imprisonment. He suffered gladly for the privilege of suffering for the sake of the Gospel.  

What about us who are given the free gift of faith? What poor use we make of it. What lackluster lives we lead.  How great will our shame be when we are called to give an account of our stewardship of the riches entrusted to us. Too often we have remained dumb instead of living faith-filled lives that shout from the rooftops that You O Lord are indeed the Son of God.

JOHN 6:52-59 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Your statement in today's Gospel passage taken from John is unequivocal, it's meaning is crystal clear - 

For my flesh is real food

and my blood is real drink.

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood

lives in me

and I live in him.

And the real irony is that Bible-believing Christians who claim that sola Scriptura is the only infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice have a blind spot when it comes to certain passages in the Bible just as readily as cafeteria Catholics who erroneously believe they can pick and choose their beliefs and practices from the entire body of teaching of the Church.

Like the Jews in Your day, Protestants to this day argue about what You meant when You said, "My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink." They will bend themselves out of shape to try and fit the context to line up with their beliefs and yet they unabashedly call themselves obedient to You Word.

John says that You solemnly reiterated what You said, You did not water it down, You did not add any clarifications, You did not assure them that they misunderstood what You had said, instead he records You repeating over and over again : 

‘I tell you most solemnly,

if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.

Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.

You are the Living Bread that the Father has sent us from heaven and we have You assurance that anyone who eats this bread will live forever.

We thank You, Lord, for the gift of faith that enables us to take You at Your Word believe it and receive Your Life.