Daily Liturgy
Tuesday April 20
you have given us your Son Jesus,
that we may relive with 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.
Reading 1: ACTS 7:51—8:1A
Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit;
you are just like your ancestors.
Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,
whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
You received the law as transmitted by angels,
but you did not observe it.”
When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”;
and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul was consenting to his execution.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 31:3,4, 6 AND 7B
R. (6a) 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.
Alleluia: JN 6:35AB
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the bread of life, says the Lord;
whoever comes to me will never hunger.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: JN 6:30-35
The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
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.
Commentary
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”