"Ang bisan sin-o nga magkaon sini nga tinapay magakabuhi sing dayon"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Juan 6:44-51)

Wala sing may makakari sa akon, kon indi sia pagbuyokon sang Amay nga nagpadala sa akon, kag banhawon ko sia sa katapusan nga adlaw.

Ang mga propeta nagsulat, ‘Pagatudloan sang Dios ang tanan nga mga tawo.’ Ang tagsatagsa nga nagapamati kag nagatuo sa Amay nagakari sa akon.

Wala ini nagakahulogan nga may nakakita sa Amay. Sia nga naghalin sa Dios amo lang ang nakakita sa Amay.

Nagasiling ako sa inyo sang matuod: ang nagatuo may kabuhi nga wala sing katapusan.

Ako amo ang tinapay sang kabuhi.

Ang inyo mga katigulangan nagkaon sang mana sa desierto, pero nagkalamatay sila.

Pero ang nagakaon sang tinapay nga naghalin sa langit indi mapatay.

Ako amo ang buhi nga tinapay nga naghalin sa langit. Ang bisan sin-o nga magkaon sini nga tinapay magakabuhi sing dayon; kag ang tinapay nga akon ihatag amo ang akon unod, nga akon ginahatag para sa kabuhi sang kalibutan.”

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"?