A LAMP TO MY FEET. A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said in a loud voice,

“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in Him who sent me.

Whoever sees me sees also Him who sent me.

I have come into the world as light,

so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.

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If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them.

I came, not to judge the world, but to save it.

Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them.

The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day!

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This is true, because I have not spoken on my own authority,

but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak.

And I know that His command brings eternal life.

What I say, then, is what the Father has told me to say.”

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– John 12:44-50 (GNT)

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MORE FROM JESUS…

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Jesus also tells us,

“Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” (Mat 13:9)

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PRAYER…

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Lord Jesus, teach me to do Your will, for You are my God!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never die.

No one can snatch them away from me.”

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– John 10:27-28 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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If we do not oppose divine grace, then we shall come to believe in Jesus.

We are known to Him and loved by Him,

and so we go gladly for His protection and remain faithful with the help of His grace,

which is a pledge of the eternal life which the Good Shepherd will eventually give us.

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It is true that in this world we will have to strive

and that, in the course of striving, we will sustain wounds;

but if we stay united to the Good Shepherd

nothing and no one will snatch us from Him,

because our Father, God, is stronger than the Evil One.

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Our hope that God will grant us final perseverance is not based on our strength but on God’s mercy:

this hope should always motivate us to strive to respond to grace

and to be more faithful to the demands of our faith.

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PRAYER…

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Speak to me, Lord, I love to listen to Your voice.

Lead me, O Lord my Shepherd, and I will gladly follow You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“I am the good shepherd.

As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me.

And I am willing to die for them.”

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– John 10:14-15 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus, who describes Himself as the good shepherd,

tells us that He is willing to lay down His life for us, His ‘sheep’

“Here”, says St. John Chrysostom, “He is speaking of His passion,

making it clear this would take place for the salvation of the world

and that He would go to it freely and willingly.”

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Our Lord “did what He said He would do”, St. Gregory comments;

“He gave His life for His sheep,

and He gave His body and blood in the Sacrament

to nourish with His flesh the sheep He had redeemed.”

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Christ knows His sheep,

He knows and loves His people, His church;

He knows their wants, their dangers, and their characters;

His is a deep, divine interest in their welfare.

He knows their hearts,

and, as their shepherd, He aids and defends them to the point of being willing to die for them.

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We, His sheep, His faithful, know Him – that is, we acknowledge and love Him as our Saviour and Friend.

We need Him badly and we humbly go to Him

also because His teachings and commands give us hope and protection, while setting us free.

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The Lord is my loving Shepherd who, as I follow and obey,

“lets me rest in fields of green grass

and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.

He gives me new strength

and He guides me in the right paths.” (Ps 23:2-3)

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PRAYER…

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Watchful Shepherd, protect me,

search tirelessly for me should I ever wander off

and bring me back home and tend and heal my wounds.

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Good Shepherd,

thank You for laying down Your Life for me.

Nourish me, Lord, with the Bread of Life,

that I may reflect Your likeness

and enjoy the spring of Living Water that never ends.

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Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Once you were like sheep who wandered away.

But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

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– 1 Peter 2:25 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Here St. Peter applies to Christ the words the prophet Ezekiel places on the lips of God:

"I will seek out My sheep and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered" (Ezek 34:12).

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Our Lord founded the Church as a sheepfold

"whose sheep, although watched over by human shepherds,

are nevertheless at all times led and brought to pasture by Christ Himself,

the Good Shepherd and prince of shepherds,

who gave His life for His sheep.” (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium" (“Light of the World”))

Jesus Christ makes Himself available

as my Shepherd and the Guardian of my soul.

It is now up to me

to accept His direction and guidance, His protection and care.

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PRAYER…

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Lord Jesus, You chose to be my Shepherd, my Guardian.

Grant, O Lord, that I will always choose to follow You; to be protected by You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“What gives life is God’s Spirit; human power is of no use at all.

The words I have spoken to you bring God’s life-giving Spirit.

Yet some of you do not believe. […]

This is the very reason I told you

that no people can come to me unless the Father makes it possible for them to do so.”

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– John 6:63-65 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus is telling us

that we cannot accept the mystery, that His body and blood are a pledge of eternal life and a guarantee of the resurrection of the body,

if we think of it in too human a way, in other words, by just seeking to indulge our senses or having too earthbound a view of things.

Only someone who listens to His words and receives them as God’s revelation, which is “spirit and life”, is in a position to accept them.

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This is how Jesus had explained the “mystery” of the Eucharist:

“I am telling you the truth:

if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood,

you will not have life in yourselves.

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life,

and I will raise them to life on the last day.

For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink.

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Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them.

The living Father sent me, and because of Him I live also.

In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me.

This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven […].

Those who eat this bread will live forever.” (Jn 6:53-58)

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Jesus stresses very forcefully that it is necessary to receive Him in the Blessed Eucharist

in order to share in divine life and develop the life of grace received in Baptism.

No parent is content to just bring children into the world:

they have to be nourished and looked after to enable them to reach maturity.

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Jesus clearly states that His body and blood

are a pledge of eternal life and a guarantee of the resurrection of the body.

St. Thomas Aquinas gives this explanation:

“The Word gives life to our souls, but the Word made flesh nourishes our bodies.

In this Sacrament is contained the Word not only in His divinity but also in His humanity;

therefore, it is the cause not only of the glorification of our souls but also of that of our bodies.”

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Communion is a real meal. There is no room for saying that Jesus was speaking only symbolically.

Communion is not merely a metaphor, but it is really eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Christ.

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St. Alphonsus Liguori expounds:

“But why should Jesus so ardently desire us to receive Him in Holy Communion?

It is because love always sighs for, and tends to a union with, the object beloved.

True friends wish to be united in such a manner as to become only one. The love of God for us being immense, He destined us to possess Him not only in Heaven,

but also here below, by the most intimate union, under the appearance of bread in the Eucharist.

It is true we do not see Him; but He beholds us, and is really present;

yes, He is present in order that we may possess Him

and He conceals Himself, that we may desire Him,

and until we reach our true homeland Jesus Christ wishes in this way to be entirely ours, and to be perfectly united to us”

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In the same way as bodily food is necessary for life on earth, Holy Communion is necessary for maintaining the life of the soul.

We will never be able to appreciate enough the intimacy with God Himself – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – that we are offered in the eucharistic banquet.

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Let us therefore take up Jesus’ unequivocal invitation for us to nourish our soul frequently with the food of His body,

that we may share eternal life with Him.

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PRAYER…

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Feed me, Lord Jesus, my heart is hungry and my spirit thirsts.

Breathe on me, Holy Spirit, and fill me with life.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!

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– Psalm 34:8 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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If we welcome Jesus into our life,

if we take refuge in Him

then we will taste and discover how good He is.

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If we are stubborn and unrepentant,

our taste is impaired,

and we remain unchanged,

preferring the taste of our selfish pleasures.

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Jesus is the Bread of Life

and we cannot truly get to know Him

and how good He is

unless we taste for ourselves.

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Don’t hold back, try Him,

go to Him with an open heart,

learn all about Him,

listen to what He has to say,

speak to Him and ask Him to help change You,

humbly seek His forgiveness

and lovingly seek grace to obey Him

and then you can truly taste and see how good He is

…and your heart will be fill with joy.

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PRAYER…

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Here I am, Jesus,

I so need to be fed and strengthened by Your Truth.

Come into my heart and take over!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“I am the bread of life.

Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever;

and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

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– John 6:48-51 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Today, rather than have a reflection spelt out for us,

let us make some time to sit down quietly (more quietly than usual perhaps)

and call upon the Holy Spirit to help us listen to and absorb Jesus’ very own words.

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Today, allow the Holy Spirit to open you up to the Lord,

so that you will hear Jesus Himself speaking to you

as you allow Him to touch your heart with His great love.

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PRAYER…

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My Lord and my God!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one can come to the Father except through me.”

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– John 14:6 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus is the Way to the Father

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…through what He teaches,

for by keeping to His teaching we will reach Heaven;

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…through faith, which He inspires,

because He came to this world so “that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:15);

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…through His example,

since no one can go to the Father without imitating the Son;

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…through His merits,

which make it possible for us to enter our Heavenly home;

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…and, above all, He is the Way

because He reveals the Father, with whom He is one because of His divine nature.

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Jesus, the Son of God, is the Truth

because by coming to this world He shows that God is faithful to His promises,

and because He teaches the truth about who God is

and tells us that true worship must be “in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:23).

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He is the Life

because from all eternity He has divine life with His Father,

and because He makes us, through grace, sharers in that divine life.

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QUOTE…

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“[Jesus is], as it were, saying,

‘By which route do you want to go? I am the Way.

To where do you want to go? I am the Truth.

Where do you want to remain? I am the Life.’

Every man can attain an understanding of the Truth and the Life;

but not all find the Way. […]

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Make your way contemplating His humility

and you will reach God”

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– St. Augustine

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PRAYER…

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O most gracious God,

to trust in You above all things, is all I need.

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How foolish I am whenever I put You aside

to seek immediate comfort from worldly distractions.

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Dear Lord,

help me stop expecting my consolation to come immediately.

Help me stop seeking earthly solace here and now in the things of this world.

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Lord,

You are the Only Way,

You are the Real Truth,

You are Eternal Life.

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Here I am, Lord, lead me, teach me and enrich me, Lord, with Your grace.

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Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“I am the bread of life.

He who comes to me will never be hungry;

he who believes in me will never thirst.”

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– John 6:35 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Taste and see how good the Lord is!
The one who takes refuge in Him is truly happy! (Ps 34:8)

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When you are close to the Lord,

when you have a personal relationship with Him,

when you call upon Him every day of your life

and in every moment – good or bad –

you cannot but rejoice, be thankful, and declare:

“Taste and see how good the Lord is,

He is truly the Bread of Life!”

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Going to Jesus means believing in Him,

for it is through faith that we approach our Lord.

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Those who go to Jesus will never be hungry or thirsty,

because He is the one who faithfully meets all our noblest needs and aspirations.

He is the one who brings incomparable inner joy to all who take refuge in Him.

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For those of us who believe in Him,

for those of us who trust in Him,

Jesus is always there

to help us with all our anxieties;

to calm our minds;

and to generously fill our hearts with hope.

He is truly the Bread of Life!

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PRAYER…

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Lord, without You I hunger, without You I thirst.

In You, Lord, I have all that I need!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food.

Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.

For God the Father has given me the seal of His approval.”

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– John 6:27 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus wants us to have faith in Him,

for He is the Son of Man,

the giver of the food that does not perish.

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Without faith in Him whom the Father has sent,

it is not possible to recognise and accept this glorious ‘gift’ which does not pass away.

Not to believe in Jesus is, consequently, the gravest error we can make.

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We are all invited to a profound conversion,

to a deep union with the Sacred Heart

so as to experience the richness of His merciful and just love.

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Jesus, the Son of the Living God, is the way to salvation and eternal life.

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PRAYER…

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Jesus, grant that my focus will always be on You, my Lord,

for nothing and no one compares to You.

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