carmelite daily reflection

When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted. So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. Those days are gone, unfortunately. In a few sentences, he spoke about the wonderful ministry and the crushing death of Jesus of Nazareth and, then, as a perplexing appendix, the story of how women disciples found his tomb empty on the third day. These cookies may track your personal data. The very personal call that the Lord addresses to each one of us will always be a call to give of ourselves in some way to others, to give life to others. In that respect, he may be like many other disciples today. People began to see that this movement wasnt just a particular branch of Judaism. This is the core of the gospel. In this he is being true to Gods will which is, according to the gospel reading, that all who see the Son and believe in him shall have eternal life. The relationship between the shepherd and his sheep was more immediate than it is today. What are we looking to him for? Although Peter and the other apostles had been given a formal warning by the religious authorities not to preach the gospel, they carried on regardless because they understood that this was their calling in life, the mission they had received from the risen Lord. The Ethiopian was not reading silently to himself; he was reading aloud. The Lord is always doing something new among us, and we all need to discern the ways the Lord is leading the church, especially in these times. This mornings gospel reading shows us the difference that Easter made in the lives of the first disciples. We are anxious lest someone might steal from us. The word nourishes our faith, and it is out of that nourished faith that we come to the Eucharist. The human experience of birth can speak to us of another kind of birth, a being born of the Spirit. The Jewish Sanhedrin were worried about the growing popularity of the disciples of Jesus. Thomas story assures us that no matter where we are on our faith journey, even if we are full of doubt and scepticism, the Lord stands beside us, gently calling out to us, doubt no longer, but believe. that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, If Jesus is the gate that leads to abundant life, we have to pass through that gate. In other words, the wind does not blow in accordance with our wishes. We have compiled a comprehensive set of reflections on the readings, covering the entire year. In his doubting, Thomas may be like many other disciples today. The story they told ended in death, but the full story ended in life. In this mornings gospel reading, the risen Lord keeps faith with them, sending them out to proclaim the gospel to the whole world. He was drawn to Jesus in some way. Jesus, who gave his life for us on the cross, gives himself to us as our food and our drink in the Eucharist. When Jesus says in this mornings gospel reading, I am the gate or I am the door, he was thinking of the gate or the door as an opening through which people could pass rather than as a barrier which prevented people from passing. We can also think of prayer as the opening up of our minds and hearts to the Lord, the sharing of our life story with him in all its diversity. The reflections are ordered by day and the reflection is available by clicking the writer's name. What is it that makes us more alive? In the gospel reading this morning Jesus speaks of the shepherd who calls his own sheep one by one and leads them out. The prayer of one of the more minor gospel characters, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief, may find a ready place our heart. He can only enter the kingdom of God if he is born of water and the Spirit, born from above. We are very security conscious in these times. In this mornings gospel reading we find Nicodemus struggling to understand when Jesus tells him that he must be born from above, born of the Spirit. This is what we find Barnabas doing in todays first reading. In the gospel reading, Jesus declares that he comes to us in the Eucharist so that we can draw life from him. When those who look for Jesus eventually find him, they often discover that they get more than they had bargained for. but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. The light which shone from the risen Lord and from the preaching of the Easter gospel could not be extinguished by the powers of darkness. There is always another step that the Lord is calling us to take. There is an interesting sequence across the two readings this morning. He had been devastated once by the crucifixion of Jesus; he wasnt going to have his hopes dashed again by wishful thinking. Yet, todays gospel reading suggests that this is not what the risen Lord wants from his followers. The general call of baptism to be the Lords disciple, which is addressed to us all, is then lived out in particular ways in response to the Lords very personal, daily call. The wind is a mysterious force which we cannot simply manage to suit ourselves. Our website places 3rd party cookies from other 3rd party services which aren't Analytical, Social media or Advertising. One by one, according to the gospel reading, the shepherd calls his own and leads them out. The circumstances of our own lives can make it very difficult for us to sing the Easter Alleluia with any conviction. In fact, Jesus wants our relationship with him to be as close as his relationship with God the Father. hates the light and avoids it, The way the Lord related to those two disciples is how he relates to all of us. The Sacrament of Baptism, like the Sacrament of the Eucharist, also presupposes faith. Jesus often used images drawn from the life of the people to talk about himself and his message. An Ethiopian officer at the court of the Queen of Ethiopia was on his way from Jerusalem to Gaza. He understands of what we are made, why we do what we do and fail to do what we fail to do. His investment in us will always be greater than our investment in him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. As Christians, we are all searching for Jesus in some sense. Can he go back into his mothers womb and be born again? Jesus replied: I tell you most solemnly, In the language in which the gospels were written, and the language Jesus spoke, the same word could refer to both the physical wind and the Spirit of God. He goes ahead of them and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice and they trust him. So much of what we took for granted in the recent past is rapidly disappearing. Yet, the Father draws us to his Son in and through each other, just as God drew the Ethiopian to Jesus in and through Philip. Jesus identified himself, body and blood, flesh and blood, with the elements of bread and wine. In different ways we too can abandon the Lord; we may deny and even betray him by something we say or do. Mark wrote the first of the four gospels. The portrayal of the Ethiopian in todays gospel reading suggests that he was engaged in a spiritual search. The Lords contribution to the relationship between us and him is much more significant than ours. Jesus takes seriously the horizon of this world in which we live and work, but he also shows us another horizon, a horizon that is not of this world. The power of the Lords faithful love to recreate people, to transform them with new life, is at the heart of the Easter message. It is also a very important place of pilgrimage for Muslims. Please join us in praying these daily Lenten Reflections with Fr. As such times, we need people like Barnabas who recognize that the Lord is behind this new direction and who encourage us to trust that the Lord is present in what is happening. The Eucharist, like all the sacraments, presupposes faith. Catherine was a great mystic or contemplative, but her mysticism did not withdraw her from the world. In the gospel reading this morning, Jesus calls on the crowd to hear the teaching of the Father, and to learn from it. When the crowds ask Jesus, What must we do to do the works God wants? Jesus replies that this is only one work God wants, to believe in the one God has sent. One of the disciples in the gospel reading is mentioned by name, Thomas. Catherines mysticism did not withdraw her from the world; she was deeply involved in what was happening in Europe and in the church in her time. and no one can steal from the Father. The bread that we break, is it not a communion with the body of Christ? It was the Lords wish that in the Eucharist we would enter into communion with his body and his blood. In this mornings gospel reading Jesus speaks to Nicodemus of a different kind of birth. These cookies are necessary to let our website work. Jesus is the en-fleshed Word, God in human form. When Jesus says of himself, I am the gate, he is claiming to be the gateway to life for all of us. He had a sense of the Lord coming to him in the sound of a gentle breeze. The story of Pauls transformation is one of the founding stories of our Christian faith. The proclamation of the word leads to baptism and then in the gospel reading Jesus speaks in language that is clearly Eucharistic, the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world. There is a need for different groups of people to take responsibility for different ministries. The gate was intended to keep us in. He wants us to go freely in and out through him. December 26-31, 2022. He had been violently persecuting the first followers of Jesus, and in persecuting them he was persecuting Gods Son, Jesus, now risen Lord. The conclusion of the letter, which is the conclusion of todays first reading, sends greetings from your sister in Babylon. We try to open our hearts to the gift that the risen Lord is offering us, the gift of his peace, of his reconciling love. Our Healing Mass enrolment card expresses to an enrolled person the knowledge that they are included in daily prayers and Mass. In this mornings gospel reading, Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night. The Lord always meets us where we are; he comes to us, as we are. These cookies may track your personal data. The other evangelists took their lead from Mark. Occasionally when myself and my brothers were children, my parents would tie a cloth around the gate to keep it from being opened, so that we wouldnt run out on the road. The Lord will be calling us to give of ourselves to those we are responsible for, and, thereby, to experience something of that fullness of life the Lord wants for us. If we face our questions honestly, as Thomas did, and bring them to each other and to the Lord, we too can find ourselves exclaiming, My Lord and my God. Mark was the first to write a gospel. Even though we may turn from the Lord at times, he never turns from us. The gospel reading suggests that the Lord can work powerfully through meagre resources. In todays first reading, the Lord came to Saint Paul in a very striking way. When the Lord speaks about life to the full there, we might be inclined to think only in terms of eternal life, life beyond death. In the gospel reading, Jesus calls on Nicodemus to allow himself to be born of water and the Spirit, to surrender to the movement of the Spirit. As a result, many of the Jewish Christians there had to flee from the city. because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, Being a member of the community of those who believe in Jesus can be a source of bemusement to many, or even derision. However, the Spirit can enter a human life and we know what a Spirit-filled life looks life. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. The people in todays gospel reading heard Jesus say to them that they were looking for him for the wrong reasons. There will always be forces in our world that are hostile to our coming to Jesus. He speaks to him of the need to be born from above or born of the Spirit. As people of faith, we are always on a journey, on a pilgrimage. When Jesus declares in todays gospel reading, my yoke is easy and my burden light, he is saying that his teaching, his understanding of Gods will, is not something burdensome. This is surely one of the most striking statements of Jesus in all of the gospels. We struggle to empty ourselves sufficiently to receive all the Lord wants to give us. The sheepfold mentioned in the gospel reading was an enclosed area. When a loved one dies, we try to come to terms with it by talking about it. There is a striking statement in todays first reading, Saul then worked for the total destruction of the church. The Easter proclamation cannot be imprisoned, just as the guards at the tomb of Easter could not prevent Jesus bursting forth into new life. Another member of the church there, Ananias had a vision of the Lord in which the Lord asked him to go to Saul and to heal Sauls blindness. The works I do in my Fathers name testify to me. Resistance, even hostility, to the churchs message can allow the Lord to work in new ways. you will not have life in you. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. Indeed, Jesus said that unless we become like little children we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. When Peter preached the gospel there, the Holy Spirit immediately came down upon this pagan household, just as it had come down on Peter and the other disciples at Pentecost. He is clearly speaking about himself. She travelled to Avignon to Pope Gregory XI insisting that he return to Rome. That is closer, perhaps, to how Jesus uses the image of the wind in this mornings gospel reading. They want more of the bread that he multiplied in the wilderness. The Lord took Paul by surprise, and he can take any of us by surprise. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. It was while he was at table with the two disciples and broke bread with them that they finally came to recognize fully the stranger who had shared their journey. News reached the church in Jerusalem that something unexpected was happening. We recognize that in and through the Eucharist we enter into communion with the Lord, and with each other, in a special way. Sometimes I think she should have been [] Read More Friday, April 28th in Easter Time Robert " Bob " Burford This was a moment of new creation. Here and now they already share in the life of God which Jesus brings us. The small amount of food that the boy had was not enough to feed the crowd in itself, and, yet, Jesus could not have fed the crowd without it. There are different ways of telling the story of the troubles in the North of Ireland over the past thirty five years or more. This particular gate is also the good shepherd who has laid down his life for us so that we might have life and have it to the full. An Infant Rejoices in the Presence of the Lord! He says, the wind blows where it pleases. Most days in this part of the world we have a damp wind from the west. Yet, we can put a damper on the Lords work, a bit like Philip and Andrew, or we can create a space for the Lord to work, like the small boy. AnalyticalOur website uses analytical cookies to make it possible to analyze our website and optimize for the purpose of a.o. Then they said to each other, Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?. What do we expect from him? The Lord wants to do the same for us. Yet, Jesus suggests to the crowd that they are searching for him for the wrong reasons. Gates have become more of a feature of our urban landscape than they used to be. Free Resources The Free Resources section provides information about the Carmelite Order, Spirituality and Catholicism. Yet, when the Lord came to them, he offered them his peace, the gift of reconciliation. God gave us his Son so that we might have life and have it to the full, what this mornings gospel reading calls eternal life. He was a pioneer, someone who blazed a trail, soon to be followed by the evangelists we know as Matthew, Luke and John. He wants us to recognize him not as a stranger but as leader who knows us through and through, who can see more clearly and more deeply than we can. The passage reminds us that we need the Holy Spirit to come to Christ and to grow in our relationship with him, but the Spirit, in turn, needs our contribution, our own good desires and our willingness to respond to the call of others. There are a whole variety of gates opening up to us, beckoning us to pass through. If we are open to his coming and receptive to his presence we will move on through the storms that come our way and reach our destination. In the gospel of John, Nicodemus went looking for Jesus at night. Saturday. When Philip, one of the deacons of the church joins him, he invites Philip to join him in his search and to throw light on what he is reading. She insisted that the Popes place was beside the bones of the martyrs. you hear its sound, It is a very human response to get as far away as possible from places that have unhappy memories for us. The risen Lord helps us to see that those places in our lives we associate with loss and suffering can also places where God has been powerfully at work in life-giving ways. Now the risen Lord, through Philip, preaches the gospel to the Samaritans and this time they welcome the gospel. He has done and is doing everything he can to make possible this intimate relationship between him and ourselves. As part of their discerning, they sent one of their member, Barnabas, to check out what was happening in Antioch. We traditionally use the term holy communion to refer to the Eucharist. The basis physical needs of people were very important for him. Life after such a loss can be very difficult. The Lord will be calling us to give of ourselves in love to others, so as to experience something of that fullness of life he wants for us. This faithfulness of the Lord is well expressed in todays gospel reading, the Lord working with them confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it. Doubt no longer but believe. Thomas replied, My Lord and my God! Jesus said to him: You believe because you can see me. She worked to persuade Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome from Avignon. Saint Paul says in his letter to the Romans that we do not know how to pray as we ought. (v) Monday, Fourth Week of Easter (Year A). After saying this he breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus comes to his disciples as God in human form. On his way home from the pilgrimage, he continued to engage in his spiritual quest, reading from the prophet Isaiah. These reflections are the fruit of prayer, spiritual reading and Lectio Divina of these Nuns, and are a wonderful way to become acquainted with the vitality and freshness of Carmelite spirituality. Jesus is not calculating about his giving of the Spirit. Catherine remained faithful to Urban, in spite of his faults, because he had been duly elected. Jesus struggles to open their eyes. To believe is at the same time to wait in joyful hope. These basic human physical needs had to be met first. He comes from above, from heaven, and bears witness to what he has seen and heard there. He then travelled all the way to Tarsus to encourage Paul to come to Antioch and to work among the believers there. we speak only about what we know The story of the stranger can have a lot to say to us. Barnabas was what we would call today, an enabler. Jesus knew that something could be done and he involved his disciples in doing what could be done, calling on them to make the people sit down and then asking them to collect the pieces that were left over when everyone had eaten. After a profound mystical experience she had a sense of Christ calling her to serve the wider world and universal church. God the Father draws him to his Son firstly through the Scriptures, the Word of God. The Lord points to that relationship to express something of his own relationship to us. However, that doesnt seem to have been true of the conversation the two disciples were having on the road to Emmaus. The Lord relates to us in a personal way and he invites us to relate to him in a personal way. In todays gospel reading we find two disciples heading away from Jerusalem having shared a very significant experience. It was that full story that Jesus went on to tell them, Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory? Having heard Jesus version of the story, they changed direction; they went back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven assembled together.

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