April 29, 2004 - Thursday, 3rd Week of Easter
Memorial of saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church

ENCOUNTERING CHRIST IN WORD AND SACRAMENT

Readings:
Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20; Jn 6:44-51

Introduction

Luke presents the conversion of the treasurer of the queen of Ethiopia very much in parallel with that of the disciples of Emmaus. The latter had listened to Christ's explanation of the scriptures about himself and then recognized and really encountered the living, risen Lord in the breaking of bread, in the eucharist. The Ethiopian had the scriptures explained to him about the lamb that was slain and the good news of the resurrection. Then he asked to be baptized so that he could encounter the risen Lord.

In the gospel Christ speaks again of himself as the bread of life to be accepted in faith and promises to give the bread of his own flesh in the eucharist for the life of the world, for eternal life.

Opening Prayer

Father,
you draw all people to you
who believe in your Son Jesus Christ.
Faith, Lord, faith it is that we need.
Give it to us, we pray you,
a living faith that we can encounter today
Jesus Christ, your Son,
in your word that you speak to us
in the bread that you offer us,
and in the food that we can give
and can be to one another,
in Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit
now and for ever.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Acts 8:26-40

The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
"Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route."
So he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
"Go and join up with that chariot."
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
He replied,
"How can I, unless someone instructs me?"
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading:

Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.

Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
"I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?"
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, "Look, there is water.
What is to prevent my being baptized?"
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing.
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20

R (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
R (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R Alleluia.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R Alleluia.

Gospel Reading: Jn 6:44-51

Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me.

"For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

"I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that you may eat of it and not die.

"I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world."

Commentary

A few days after I found the catechism that I mentioned yesterday, I met the man who had it republished. He had been present at a Mass where I made much the same complaint as yesterday. He approached me, holding a copy and smiling! I knew him, a good and forgiving man, and he was not at all aggrieved! He was disturbed, though (as I knew already) by the lack of knowledge of our religion among many people. And that is certainly grounds for being disturbed.

In other times it was believed that we could be pushed into faith-or at least pushed towards it. Strange to say, being pushed makes a person resist. I often thought that if good were forbidden, more people would do it! The best way to move a person is to attract rather than push: we are more easily drawn from in front than driven from behind. "No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father" (today's reading). St. Augustine commented on this verse, "Do not suppose here any rough and uneasy violence. It is gentle; it is sweet; it is the very sweetness that draws you."

Attraction is always less clear and less satisfactory than compulsion, but that's our life. Jesus rejected the way of compulsion and chose the way of love. It's messier than any other, sometimes almost chaotic. But the wisdom of the Gospel tells us it is the only one that has no trap built into it.

General Intercessions

- Lord, let your word and your person be so much alive in us that we want to let all those around us share in them, we pray:

- Lord, let the eucharist make our communities alive in a spirit of service and justice, we pray:

- Lord, let us become enthusiastic in love and sharing, like the early Christians, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, we want to live,
live to the full
and without limits or boundaries.
Give us the bread of life, we pray you,
that we may know and love and live,
that we may give ourselves
with him who gave himself
as flesh for the life of the world,
and be raised up with him on the last day
to live with you for ever and ever.

Prayer after Communion

God of the living,
you have given us the bread of life,
that we may eat it and not die,
All thanks be to you, Father,
but make our faith strong and deep
that your Son is with us,
that in him the world can live
a life worth living, a life of hope,
of justice and dignity and love,
a life that lasts for ever and ever.

Blessing

To live, to be alive, to be vibrant with life, that is how we and our communities should be if the Lord is really alive among us. Some early Christian communities called themselves "Hoi zõntes," "those who are alive." Shouldn't we all be? May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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