Let us pray,
O God, who have prepared for those who love You
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of Your love,
so that loving You in all things and above all things,
we may attain Your promises, which surpass every human desire.
Through our lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
In making this prayer tangible for this coming week the following reflection questions emerged:
- What does it mean to me to love God?
- What does God's love mean to me?
- What areas in my life lack God's love and what steps will I take to change these areas?
- What does it mean to me to keep the first commandment of God?
- What are the promises of God for those who love Him?
- In this Year of Grace, what resolution do I have to carry out this week to grow in the love of God?
In today's Gospel, Jesus makes it very clear to the Jews who He is. He does not back away when they complain about what they hear. They cannot understand, (and at times neither do we), what He means in giving Himself as real food and drink, and so the scripture describes their reaction- they complain.
From a psychological perspective, complaining is a very common reaction to lack of understanding. It is a version of the ''blame game'' that is, when I do not understand, therefore I complain, which then has the desired result of taking the focus from me and blame someone else. Whilst I am blaming someone else for my lack of understanding, I am using up my energy in a less positive manner, but whilst I am blaming someone else, the pressure is projected onto someone else- in this case Jesus in today's gospel.
From a psychological perspective, complaining is a very common reaction to lack of understanding. It is a version of the ''blame game'' that is, when I do not understand, therefore I complain, which then has the desired result of taking the focus from me and blame someone else. Whilst I am blaming someone else for my lack of understanding, I am using up my energy in a less positive manner, but whilst I am blaming someone else, the pressure is projected onto someone else- in this case Jesus in today's gospel.
Jesus is patient and explains further. He does not back away from the truth of His message. They have the opportunity (like us) to reject or accept it and more importantly to reject and accept Him despite our lack of understanding. We too can choose to accept or reject Jesus despite our lack of understanding. In many of the Catholic truths, there are mysteries. We can try and understand in our limited way through study and prayer, but those truths that are mysteries, we need to accept or reject without full understanding. For all the truths of our Catholic faith, we can ask the Holy Spirit in prayer to help us to understand more fully.
We have the advantage of 2000 years. It must have sounded shocking to the Jews to hear Jesus speak in this way of giving Himself as real food and real drink. However Jesus gives them (an us too) the reasons/benefits for believing in Him. However, like the Jews, we must still make a choice.
During this coming week, we may wish to think about how much we really value the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist. Do we visit Him in the tabernacle at Church or when there is exposition available? What is our communion thanksgiving like? What changes will we make to understand this teaching of Jesus and for it to be central to our lives?
During this coming week, we may wish to think about how much we really value the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist. Do we visit Him in the tabernacle at Church or when there is exposition available? What is our communion thanksgiving like? What changes will we make to understand this teaching of Jesus and for it to be central to our lives?
What will we do to accept Jesus wholeheartedly this week?
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