Thursday, May 12, 2011

"Ang bisan sin-o nga magkaon sa sini nga pagkaon, magakabuhi sa wala sing katapusan"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Juan 6:44-51)
Wala sing tawo nga makapalapit sa akon kon indi pagtandugon ang iya tagipusuon sang Amay nga nagpadala sa akon. Kag ang mga tawo nga magpalapit sa akon banhawon ko sa katapusan nga adlaw.

May ginsulat ang isa ka propeta nga nagasiling, 'Tudluan sang Dios ang tanan nga mga tawo.' Gani ang tanan nga nagapamati sa mga ginatudlo sang Amay magapalapit sa akon.

Wala ako nagasiling nga may tawo na nga nakakita sa Amay. Ako nga naghalin sa Dios nga Amay amo gid lang ang nakakita sa iya.

"Sa pagkamatuod, ginasugid ko sa inyo nga ang nagatuo sa akon may kabuhi na nga wala sing katapusan, tungod kay ako amo ang pagkaon nga nagahatag sang kabuhi.

Ang inyo mga katigulangan nagkaon sang pagkaon nga ginatawag nga "manna" sang didto pa sila sa kamingawan, pero nagkalamatay gihapon sila.

Pero ako ang pagkaon nga naghalin sa langit. Ang bisan sin-o nga magkaon sa sini nga pagkaon indi na pagsilutan sang kamatayon.

Ako amo ang buhi nga pagkaon nga naghalin sa langit. Ang bisan sin-o nga magkaon sa sini nga pagkaon magakabuhi sa wala sing katapusan. Tungod kay ang pagkaon nga akon ihatag sa iya wala sing iban kundi ang akon lawas. Ini nga lawas ihatag ko agod makabaton ang mga tawo diri sa kalibutan sang kabuhi nga wala sing katapusan."

Prayers:
"Lord Jesus, you are the living bread which sustains me in this life. May I always hunger for the bread which comes from heaven and find in it the nourishment and strength I need to love and serve you wholeheartedly. May I always live in the joy, peace, and unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and in the age to come."
***
Reflection of the Daily Gospel:
God offers his people abundant life, but we can miss it. What is the bread of life which Jesus offers? It is first of all the life of God himself – life which sustains us not only now in this age but also in the age to come. The Rabbis said that the generation in the wilderness have no part in the life to come. In the Book of Numbers it is recorded that the people who refused to brave the dangers of the promised land were condemned to wander in the wilderness until they died. The Rabbis believed that the father who missed the promised land also missed the life to come. God sustained the Israelites in the wilderness with manna from heaven. This bread foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers.

Jesus makes a claim only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. The manna from heaven prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper which Jesus gave to his disciples on the eve of his sacrifice. The manna in the wilderness sustained the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land. It could not produce eternal life for the Israelites. The bread which Jesus offers his disciples sustains us not only on our journey to the heavenly paradise, it gives us the abundant supernatural life of God which sustains us for all eternity. When we receive from the Lord’s table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood and partakers of his divine life. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.

Jesus offers us the abundant supernatural life of heaven itself – but we can miss it or even refuse it. To refuse Jesus is to refuse eternal life, unending life with the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world but glory in the world to come. When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist or Lord's Supper is an intimate union with Christ. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for the "bread of life"?

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