Tuesday after Epiphany 2020 - The bread of self-donation

Throughout the Christmas season, our daily Gospel readings expound upon the identity and mission of the Christ-Child born at Bethlehem. Yesterday’s Gospel told of the beginning of the Lord’s Galilean ministry. Jesus is revealed as the one who calls us to repentance, who is able to bring healing for all our physical diseases, but also our deepest spiritual disease. Jesus reveals to us the face of God who loves us, who desires our healing, our reconciliation with him.

What does today’s Gospel reveal to us about Jesus, about God? In the story of the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus is attentive to the physical hunger of the people who have come to listen to him preach. They have come to listen to Him preach because of their deep spiritual hunger. So he attends to both physical and spiritual hunger. Here Jesus reveals the face of God who desires to give us what truly nourishes—both materially and spiritually—our “daily bread” for which he teaches us to pray.

And yet, what is the nature of the spiritual nourishment Jesus provides? Well, the Gospel passage hints at what is later fulfilled at the Last Supper. Notice, when his disciples speak to him about the hunger of the people, the Lord tells them to feed the crowd. You, do something, you work to satisfy their hunger. You give them some food yourselves. There is something spiritually nourishing when we feed others. When we engage in the works of mercy we receive something greater than the physical, material thing that is given away. The great paradox at the heart of this reading is that giving bread to others is bread to us. The babe born in Bethlehem, Hebrew for “house of bread” has become the the bread of self-donation, and teaches us to become like Him.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus explains, “my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish his work.”

In the first reading this morning, when St. John says, “let us love one another because God is love” he is not talking about love as emotion. Love—Agape—in the Greek—means giving yourself to others, giving of yourself for the good of others. So we are to “give of our selves because God is self-giving love”. 

Especially in the Eucharist we see that God is the spiritual food for our spiritual hunger. When Jesus says, “do this in memory of me”, yes he is speaking of the need for us to celebrate ritually the Eucharist, but also the need for us to give of our body and blood, to give our lives away as a sacrifice to God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.

That the Church may be attentive to the physical and spiritual needs of all.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of January: that Christians, followers of other religions, and all people of goodwill may promote peace and justice in the world.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

5th Week of Lent 2019 - Tuesday - Jesus reveals God's love

"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM”

Like the bronze serpent which was salvation for those who looked on it in that first reading, Jesus lifted up on the cross becomes salvation for all who look on him in faith.

What a strange utterance by Jesus, though. Upon the cross, we will realize that Jesus is God. To the ancient sentimentality and to ours, the cross was a sign of defeat. To the worldly minded, what better sign to prove that Jesus is not God. Look at his blood. Look at his suffering. Look at his death. How is that Godlike? How is a man, bloodied, beaten, and crucified, a sign of God, and not just a sign, but the sign par excellence.

Why does the cross, more than any of Jesus’ miracles, more than any of his teachings, show us God? Because it is upon the cross that Jesus shows us that God is radical self-giving love. He is not simply a God of strength who has the power to crush his enemies with brute strength.  He is not simply a God of wisdom who can outsmart his opponents. He’s not like the Gods of the Romans and the Greeks are essentially unconcerned with the affairs of mortals. God is Love, St. John says. And not love in the human erotic sense, or even the strong emotional bonds of family or country.

God is self-giving love. And it is upon the cross where that is most evident in the life of Jesus. “There is no greater love than one who lays down his life for his friends”.

And this is what Lent has been preparing us for: All the Lenten practices of helping us to be attentive to the needs of others, willingly undergoing penances so that we are not so afraid of suffering. So that we, like Him, can give away our lives in self-giving. The measure of holiness is our willingness to give of ourselves. Meaning in life is discovered, God is discovered, not in gaining possessions, having control over our peers, but in giving of ourselves in self-sacrifice for the good of others. This is a fundamental dimension of human salvation: being saved from selfishness by embracing self-donation.

May we look to Jesus, and so the merciful self-giving face of God, may we see him and believe in him and follow him unto the cross, unto death, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That the Church will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent.  That we may grow in our eagerness in spreading the Gospel of Christ.

That all Christian families will recommit themselves to putting Christ at the center of their family life, so as to grow in faith, hope, and love.  We pray to the Lord.

For an end to abortion and for the reverence and protection of human life.  We pray to the Lord.
For the young people of our Church. May they be strengthened to be witnesses to the Gospel of mercy and work for a future that embodies a genuine culture of life.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

2nd Week of Lent 2019 - Monday - Be Merciful as God is Merciful

During Lent, Our Lord calls us to pray, to fast, and to give alms, that is, to practice mercy. “Be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful,” as the Lord instructs us in the Gospel today. Notice, Jesus didn't say, “be merciful....once in while.” “Be merciful, only to the people whom you like.”  “Be merciful, only to people who will be able to pay you back.”  No, he says, “be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful” and his mercy is available to all people at all times.

The call to be merciful is a perennial commandment in Holy Scripture. The covenant people of Israel were to be known for their mercy to widows, orphans, and resident aliens. Israel was often warned about oppressing the poor; the psalms and prophets reminded Israel to show mercy to the poor as they were shown mercy by God who saved them from slavery and captivity.

Because we have such a difficult job imitating God's mercy, God showed us exactly what mercy looks like.  Pope Benedict said, “Mercy has a name, mercy has a face, mercy has a heart...Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person: Encountering Christ means encountering the mercy of God.”

In Christ we realize that God does not stay at a distance judging us, nor is He is not indifferent to our trials.  He enters into our life to show us what it means to be fully human and what it means to be like God. He shows us how to love. So much of our Christian pilgrimage here on earth, is learning to imitate Christ who gives of himself on the cross for our freedom from the slavery and captivity of sin.  He shows us and teaches us how to empty ourselves of our selfishness and self-concern. Sometimes we are not as generous as we should be because we are overly self-concerned—overly concerned about our own security.

Lent helps us, rather, to identify more and more with the Lord in his own self-giving, and to be free from all that keeps us from giving with His spirit and His heart. Are we indifferent to the needs of others? If we want God to be lavish in his gifts and mercy toward us, may we be lavish in sharing our gifts, in our mercy toward our neighbor, toward our brother.

In Christ may we discover ever more deeply the rich mercy of God and thereby come to discover who we are meant to be, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That those despairing of God’s mercy may come to see the face of God’s love in the charity of the Christian people.

That those preparing for baptism and full Christian initiation at Easter may be strengthened in Faith, Hope, and Love.

For an end to all violence in the name of religion, race, nationality, and all oppression of the weak, and for the protection of the unborn.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence, and natural disaster.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.