THIRD WEEK OF EASTER: FRIDAY

TODAY'S WORD

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Acts: 9:4-5 "Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."


FIRST READING 

REFLECTION

The first reading tells one of the great stories that we find in the New Testament, the story of the conversion of Saint Paul. 

He was persecuting the church, believing that this was what God wanted him to do. 

He was trying to protect God’s people from a very strange message that was being preached by some Jews about a crucified criminal being the long-awaited Messiah. 

He was being the good Pharisee that he believed God wanted him to be. 

Then out of the blue, the risen Lord stopped him in his tracks. 

In one of his letters he wrote, ‘Christ Jesus took hold of me’. It was as if a heavenly light helped him to see everything in a new way. 

His meeting with Jesus convinced him that Jesus was alive, risen from the dead. 

He now knew that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah; he was the Son of God. 

From that moment he knew that Jesus was calling to announce this message to all, especially to the pagans. 

It was as if the risen Lord was creating him anew; his energies and gifts were being channelled in a new direction; he had become a new creation. 

Later on, writing to the church in Corinth, he would say, ‘if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation’.

Christ is always working to create us anew. What he did for Paul in a very dramatic way, he can do for all of us in smaller ways. 

This morning we ask the Lord to channel our energies and our gifts in ways that serve his purpose in the world.


GOSPEL REFLECTION

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus speaks of the importance of eating his flesh and drinking his blood so as to draw life from him. 

Yet, in these Covid times, it hasn’t been possible for believers to receive the Eucharist. 

We have had to live without the Eucharist and this has been a great loss for many Catholics. 

Yet, the Lord finds other ways of coming to us when we cannot receive the Eucharist.

But still, there are those of us who behave like the unbelieving Jews. 

We still see the Eucharist as mere symbolism if not still bread and wine. 

We might not be as angry as the Jews and bring Jesus to His death again, but we are bringing ourselves to death in the faith. 

These days when the Bread of Life discourse of Jesus is being read, it is a good opportunity for us to reflect on it deeper, and better, and see how relevant this is in our lives. 

Remember that when we take communion, the bread will be digested to be part of our body. 

But we must not forget that in the same process, we must be transformed to Jesus, to be His true and faithful follower.

What seems impossible for us is certainly not impossible at all for God. 


RESOLUTION

Let's resolve to ask God for His grace to be faithful and obedient in carrying out His will.

Have a blessed Friday 

Let's  continue our prayers for all the sick and suffering