Rooted in faith; Living in Franciscan Joy!

Not registered to receive daily?   Signup  A component of FaithND, an initiative of the Notre Dame Alumni Association. 5/5/2014   Gospel - May 5, 2014 Monday of the Third Week of Easter JN 6:22-29 After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea. The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.      Reflection - May 5, 2014 For all the great insights of a Dostoevsky or a Shakespeare into the follies of our human nature, I hope that one day someone will write more of refrigerators and pantries. We all know that moment of idly scanning an open fridge, curious and lethargic, searching between the condiments and cold pizza for something to amuse our stomachs, if not our boredom. John 6, containing the “Bread of Life” discourse begun by our Gospel passage today, is a challenging and beautiful meditation on our hunger for the Lord. Jesus, finally discovered in Capernaum by the crowd, does not greet his followers warmly but openly reprimands their spiritual complacency. Have they followed him just to be entertained with miracles and to eat their fill of bread? Then again, when we come to Mass, do we intentionally nourish our trust in God? Or do we try to fill an empty faith with divine amusements, looking for Christ the spectacle? I often wonder whether I am one of the crowd in today’s Gospel. How easy it is to turn the altar into an open fridge door. This coming Sunday, again we have the opportunity to seek after Christ, and crowd around him in the liturgy to be fed the Bread of Heaven. What an amazing gift to join Pope Francis and delight in the “Joy of the Gospel,” the Word of God that ignites every love of our lives! Therefore, let us trust in God’s love and hope in the resurrection. Let us feed off of eternity like Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, and seek our faith that is the “food that endures for eternal life”—faith in Christ whom God has sent us like a shepherd to lost and hungry sheep. Thomas Graff ‘14     Prayer - May 5, 2014 Lord, we are often tempted to work for “food that perishes.” Too often we take the easy road and the sure thing. We come to you today with open hands, that we may be filled with the food that endures for eternal life. Father Thomas Jones, C.S.C.