Jesus Salazar, LC
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Christ, our King.
Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Lord, come to be the nourishment of my soul for You alone are my strength.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 6, 24-35
At that time, when the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were on that side of the lake, they embarked and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, «Teacher, when did you come here?» Jesus answered, «Truly I tell you, you are not looking for me because you have seen signs, but because you have eaten your fill of those loaves. Do not work for the food that is running out, but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you; for him God the Father has marked with his seal. They said to him, »What must we do to accomplish the works of God?« Jesus answered, »The work of God is that you believe in him whom he has sent.« Then the people asked Jesus, »What signs will you do, that we may see it and believe you? What are your works? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written, «He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus answered them, »Amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.« Then they said to him, »Lord, give us of this bread always«. Jesus answered them, »I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.
Word of the Lord
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
On this Sunday Jesus becomes our companion, «cum panis» - the one who shares the bread. The Gospel we are meditating on is placed after the multiplication of the loaves. Many people followed Jesus, not because they saw in him the messiah, the son of the living God, but because they ate for free without realizing the sign behind it.
Our journey through life is a continuous journey, like the people of Israel in the desert after leaving slavery. God accompanies us, feeds us with the living bread that has come down from heaven which is the Eucharist as new and true manna; but we, like the Israelites, get used to this food and begin to complain about the scorching heat of our problems, we complain about the guides that God has chosen and we become so enclosed in our own life that we lose the perspective of the real and close company of God.
In short, it is easier to say God does not exist, what good is a distant God to me? When this happens we start looking for other rotten food, other false gods created in our image and likeness that, filling our belly with the banality of passing joys, leave us more empty inside, in our true being.
What kind of bread do we want to eat this day? If we choose the living bread that has come down from heaven, our joy will be complete and our strength will be renewed to face this week.
.«Moreover, the “Daily Bread”, let us not forget, is Jesus. Without him we can do nothing. He is the primordial food for living well. However, sometimes we reduce him to a garnish. But if he is not the nourishment of our life, the center of our days, the breath of our daily life, nothing is worth, everything is a garnish. Asking for bread, we pray to the Father and we say to ourselves every day: simplicity of life, care for those around us, Jesus above all and before anything else.
(Homily of H.H. Francis, June 21, 2018).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
Today I will receive Christ in the Eucharist with the awareness that He is the one who gives us new life. If I cannot do it sacramentally, I will ask Him to come spiritually into my heart.
Farewell
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
