DAILY GOSPEL: 21/04/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Wednesday of the Third week of Easter
Acts of the Apostles 8:1-8.
There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.
Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to (the) city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.
Psalms 66(65):1-3.4-5.6-7.
For the leader. A song; a psalm.
Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth; sing of his glorious name; give him glorious praise.
Say to God: "How awesome your deeds! Before your great strength your enemies cringe.
All on earth fall in worship before you; they sing of you, sing of your name!" Selah
Come and see the works of God, awesome in the deeds done for us.
He changed the sea to dry land; through the river they passed on foot. Therefore let us rejoice in him,
who rules by might forever, Whose eyes are fixed upon the nations. Let no rebel rise to challenge! Selah
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:35-40.
Jesus said to the crowds, «I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen (me), you do not believe.
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.
And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it (on) the last day.
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him (on) the last day."
There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.
Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to (the) city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.
Psalms 66(65):1-3.4-5.6-7.
For the leader. A song; a psalm.
Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth; sing of his glorious name; give him glorious praise.
Say to God: "How awesome your deeds! Before your great strength your enemies cringe.
All on earth fall in worship before you; they sing of you, sing of your name!" Selah
Come and see the works of God, awesome in the deeds done for us.
He changed the sea to dry land; through the river they passed on foot. Therefore let us rejoice in him,
who rules by might forever, Whose eyes are fixed upon the nations. Let no rebel rise to challenge! Selah
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:35-40.
Jesus said to the crowds, «I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen (me), you do not believe.
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.
And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it (on) the last day.
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him (on) the last day."
Jn 6,35-40
Baldwin of Ford (?-c.1190), Cistercian abbot
The Sacrament of the altar, II, 3 (SC 93, p.255f.)
«I am the bread of life"
Christ says: «Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst»... And the psalmist says: «bread fortifies the hearts of men» and «wine gladdens men's hearts» (Ps 104[103],15). Christ is food and drink, bread and wine to those who believe in him: bread that strengthens and fortifies..., drink and wine that gladdens... All that is strong and firm in us, that is joyful and glad to carry out God's commands, bear suffering, put obedience into effect and stand up for justice: all these things consist in the strength of this bread and joy of this wine. How blessed are they who act boldly and joyfully! And since no one is able to do this unaided, blessed are they who longingly desire to put into practice what is just and right and to be strengthened and gladdened in everything by him who said: «Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness» (Mt 5,6). If Christ is the food and drink that ensures the strength and joy of the righteous even now, how much more will he be so in heaven when he gives himself to the righteous without measure?
Note how, in the words of Christ..., the food that remains for eternal life is called bread from heaven, true bread, the bread of God, the bread of life... It is bread of God to distinguish it from bread made and prepared by the baker...; it is bread of life to distinguish it from the perishable bread that neither is, nor gives life but barely keeps it going with difficulty and for a time. This bread, however, is life, gives life, preserves in being the life that has nothing to do with death.
Note how, in the words of Christ..., the food that remains for eternal life is called bread from heaven, true bread, the bread of God, the bread of life... It is bread of God to distinguish it from bread made and prepared by the baker...; it is bread of life to distinguish it from the perishable bread that neither is, nor gives life but barely keeps it going with difficulty and for a time. This bread, however, is life, gives life, preserves in being the life that has nothing to do with death.
St. Anselm, Archishop an Doctor of the Church (1033-1109)
SAINT ANSELM
Archbishop and Doctor of the Church
(1033-1109)
Archbishop and Doctor of the Church
(1033-1109)
Anselm was a native of Piedmont. When a boy of fifteen, being forbidden to enter religion, he for a while lost his fervor, left his home, and went to various schools in France. At length his vocation revived, and he became a monk at Bec in Normandy.
The fame of his sanctity in this cloister led William Rufus, when dangerously ill, to take him for his confessor, and to name him to the vacant see of Canterbury. Now began the strife of Anselm's life. With new health the king relapsed into his former sins, plundered the Church lands, scorned the archbishop's rebukes, and forbade him to go to Rome for the pallium.
Anselm went, and returned only to enter into a more bitter strife with William's successor, Henry I. This sovereign claimed the right of investing prelates with the ring and crozier, symbols of the spiritual jurisdiction which belongs to the Church alone. The worldly prelates did not scruple to call St. Anselm a traitor for his defence of the Pope's supremacy; on which the Saint rose, and with calm dignity exclaimed, "If any man pretends that I violate my faith to my king because I will not reject the authority of the Holy See of Rome, let him stand forth, and in the name of God I will answer him as I ought" No one took up the challenge; and to the disappointment of the king, the barons sided with the Saint, for they respected his courage, and saw that his cause was their own. Sooner than yield, the archbishop went again into exile, till at last the king was obliged to submit to the feeble but inflexible old man.
In the midst of his harassing cares, St. Anselm found time for writings which have made him celebrated as the father of scholastic theology; while in metaphysics and in science he had few equals.
He is yet more famous for his devotion to our blessed Lady, whose Feast of the Immaculate Conception he was the first to establish in the West.
He died in 1109.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
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