Apr 21, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of the 4th week of Eastertide
Gospel John 10:1-10
“I am the gate of the sheepfold”. Yesterday we celebrated the Sunday of the Good Shepherd where we meditated about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. But in this passage, we are finding out another identity of this Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd is not only a Shepherd but, in the sheepfold, He is the gate. When all the sheep return to the sheepfold, the Shepherd is not going to get rest as He was travelling with the sheep all day, but He becomes the gate of the sheepfold. This shows how much this Shepherd is connected to His sheep. Practically His life is a life with the sheep. In the sheepfold, He is the gate. He protects the sheep; He protects each one of us from being attacked by the thieves and brigands. He is the Shepherd in the field, and He is the gate in the sheepfold because the sheep belong to Him. There is a personal relationship between the sheep and the Shepherd. There is this personal relationship between Jesus and us. Let’s reflect: Easter is living the personal relationship between Jesus and me.
Apr 20, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
4th Sunday of Easter
Gospel – John 10:11-18
Good Shepherd Sunday
World Day of Prayer for Vocations
The image of Good Shepherd comes from this passage when Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep”. This passage is so beautiful when our relationship with Jesus Christ is explained in a personal relationship with Good Shepherd. A Shepherd who knows me and who is ready to lay down His life for me. Jesus loves me as I am as He knows me. He loves me as a shepherd. The shepherd has a protective love. A protective love which protects me from all my enemies. The love of the Shepherd is special because when the shepherd knows when a sheep is weak, he gives special attention. A shepherd is not judgemental. He loves the sheep as they are. The love of this shepherd is identified with his voice. His words, His voice, is the assurance of His presence. That is Jesus, the good Shepherd. A love which even the death can’t stop. A love which continues forever with Resurrection. Nothing can stop the love of this good Shepherd. Let’s reflect: Easter is recognizing the voice of Jesus, the good shepherd.
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/vocations/documents/20240421-messaggio-61-gm-vocazioni.html
Apr 20, 2024 | POSITIVE IMPULSES
It’s important to find out what we are. Only an encounter with God the Infinite you can discover who truly are! Because all our other encounters in our way with others, confine us to the schemes and frameworks of the one whom we meet. But with the Infinite, there are no schemes and frameworks, He is infinite, and He puts no limits in our unfolding into our truth. Only before the Infinite I can find the truth about myself. Encounters with the infinite lead us to confront the depths of our own being and understand our place in the grand scheme of existence. In these encounters, there's a sense of liberation from the constraints of societal norms and personal limitations, allowing for a more authentic exploration of one’s truth. It’s transcending the limitations of our finite existence. It transcends our individual identity and fosters a profound sense of interconnectedness with the whole universe and all living beings. This interconnectedness is the foundation of compassion, empathy, and love. This liberation which gives us the glimpse of the truth about ourselves is discovery of our vocation.
Don Giorgio
Apr 19, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saturday of the 3rd week of Eastertide
Gospel – John 6:60-69
“It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life”. This statement of Jesus made a great reaction among his disciples. According to the Gospel, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him. What is the reason? The reason is that Jesus said that the flesh has nothing to offer. Many of the disciples of Jesus who were following Him, wanted to see the victory of the flesh. The victory of one of the powers of this world gaining power over the rest. But the victory which Jesus speaks is completely different. This is the victory of the spirit. The victory of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Love. The victory of the flesh is power and strength, it’s about domination and muscle, it’s about command and authority. But the Spirit is about humility and service, it’s about selflessness and meekness, it’s about life and love. Jesus is the source of that. That is what Simon Peter is confessing, “Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.” Easter is recognizing Jesus as the source of Holy Spirit who is the source of life.
Apr 18, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Friday of the 3rd week of Eastertide
Gospel John 6:52-59
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” This is a very natural question. But the answer of Jesus is this: “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink”. How can we understand this question and this answer? The solution to this dilemma is the resurrection. Resurrection is the reality that resolves the dilemma. Jesus Risen is the bread of life. The flesh of Jesus tortured and crucified and dead is Risen. That is the body of the Risen Christ. This suffering is for us, for our salvation. He shed each drop of blood from His flesh for us. This same body is Risen. This same body has conquered the death. This body is powerful than the death and it became life. It became bread as wished by Jesus Christ himself. In resurrection Jesus Christ becomes the bread of life. In resurrection His flesh becomes real food because in His death on the cross each cell of His body became the reparation of our sins. In resurrection His blood becomes real drink for the same reason. His life is our life. He becomes the bread of life. Let’s reflect: Easter is understanding the process of Jesus Christ becoming the bread of life.
