Friends of Faith:
I want to be fed. I want satisfaction. We all want the satisfaction of feeling full—fully happy, fully successful & fully fed. But these are human desires, human needs & human wants. There is only one thing that will truly satisfy us, truly fill us & truly feed us – and that is to be ONE with God—to be spiritually full--to be spiritually fed.
The nature of sin experienced by Adam and Eve is still present in all humans as we continue to be tempted to search for worldly happiness, worldly success & worldly satisfaction. But in both the New and Old Testament readings this weekend: Deuteronomy 8 & John 6, in the Lord’s Prayer, and in many other places in the Bible, we are reminded and promised by God that He is always here for us and He will always provide us what we need to live. Whether it is the manna of the Old Testament or Christ’s body and blood of the New he gives us the food to fill us spiritually and physically.
In Dt. 8 ‘Moses reminds the people in the desert to "remember their story.”’From the beginning of creation, God had always taken care to feed the people He created. They failed to appreciate the delicious fruit in the Garden of Eden, so they lost it! But later He gave them that mysterious "manna" in the desert. They got tired of that, too.
Then Jesus promised His listeners something much better than manna. He told them, "Your fathers ate manna in the desert, and they're all dead!" However, they couldn't trust Jesus and all His talk about "flesh and blood." So, they ran, except Peter and the apostles who did a double-take, thought a little about the alternative of leaving Him, and decided to stay it out.” Usccb.org meditation June 26, 2011
“Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." Jn 6:51-58
”How good it was, for the Church and for themselves, that they did stay! Even though the Last Supper was still shrouded in mystery, they got the idea of how He would give them His own Body and Blood at the Last Supper, but it took the power and light of Pentecost for their firm understanding.” Usccb.org meditation June 26, 2011
Do we fail to appreciate and understand that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist? Have we lost true fulfillment because we are searching for something more, by accepting something actually less; something more pleasing, more palpable than His true presence in the Eucharist.
Jesus let many listeners leave him who did not understand. Had Jesus said this metaphorically or meant the Eucharist to be a symbol, he then would have called them back. But because he meant this was His true flesh and blood he let them go. What is being lost by those who don’t understand? What are we losing because we are choosing to be fed by the world instead of God?
We too have the free choice to believe and to receive His body and blood in the Eucharist, fully following Him and being fed; or to turn away from the completeness of the Eucharist, leaving ourselves empty or wanting, searching for more.
God promises us fulfillment. Are we trying to understand the truth so that we can be fully fed? Not by this world, but to be fed by God’s true presence renewed each time we receive the Eucharist—to be truly FED, with the TRUE presence.
Heavenly Father: May the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved. Thank You for the sacrifice given to us in His Body and Blood at each Eucharistic sacrifice. Help me to allow myself to be fed and to take the time to be fed by You and not the world. Amen.”
Be fed in Christ, by Christ, through Christ,
Blessings,
Charlotte
Showing posts with label fed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fed. Show all posts
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Growing Cycle
Friends in Faith:
As I grow in faith, as we each grow in faith, I realize how closely Jesus’ life and our lives with Him follow the natural growth cycle.
Jesus’ life cycle follows an ageless growing cycle: the “preparation” for His birth, the “planting” of the Nativity, the “nurturing cultivation” of His life and teachings, and the “abundance of the harvest” in His dying and Resurrection.
With the Ascension this week the Apostles briefly felt “empty” as Jesus left them alone and went to be with His father in heaven.
“He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons …But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, … When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,… two men in white garments … said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return ….” Acts 1:7-11
This is the same emptiness we feel when we are hungry or have not eaten properly; when we choose a starvation diet or to be nourished by food which is either “sweet” or “rotten.”
Yet we know God never leaves us empty, alone or unfed, if we live for Him and through Him.
Do we believe Jesus when He said “eat my flesh” or are we the Jews who quarreled among themselves and then left Jesus (John 6:66)?
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." Jn 6:51-58
In receiving the Eucharist our growing cycle is always fulfilled. He promised the Apostles the guidance to “new life” in the abundant gift of the Spirit of Pentecost (next Sunday.) And in his flesh and blood given us in the Eucharist at the Last Supper when He said, “Do this in memory of me.” (In old Greek, memory means “make present today.”)
We may each be in a different place in different parts of the life cycle. However, just as the growth of a plant must be nurtured by God thru Mother Nature, so must our own lives be nurtured by receiving the Eucharist regularly and following God’s plan in Holy Scripture. For instance, in our marriages, Ephesians 5:21-33 www.usccb.org/nab/bible/ephesians/ephesians5.htm
If we are to live spiritually our life cycle must follow Jesus’ life so that we will wisely “process” the food that He has prepared, planted, cultivated and harvested. We will then be “sustained” by the harvest, and enriched with a new and more abundant life, the richness of heaven.
So where am I in the growing cycle?
Am I in preparation, seeking what is right?
Am I planted firmly in my faith, following the truth?
Am I being cultivated properly, growing in faith by adding spiritual food (regular church attendance, daily prayer, friends, books, music, etc.) which will lead to an abundant harvest?
Am I harvesting, spreading the good news, gathering and mentoring those who are seeking a role model in Christ and spreading new seed to continue the growth cycle?
And regardless of which part of the cycle, am I always feeding myself with His abundant Spirit and the Eucharist—leaving aside the “sweetness” that society tempts us with (materialism); or setting aside the “rotten” untruths of the culture (sexual impurities, gossip, etc)?
Heavenly Father, Praise be your nurturing fulfillment in Your Spirit. Help me to always seek the fulfillment of Your true food (the Eucharist) and to avoid the temptations of the sweet and rotten. Thank you for enriching me with great friends and role models. Thank you for the many blessings You give me and for the richness of faith You have implanted in me. Amen.
Prepare, plant, grow, harvest and be fed abundantly.
Blessings,
Charlotte
As I grow in faith, as we each grow in faith, I realize how closely Jesus’ life and our lives with Him follow the natural growth cycle.
Jesus’ life cycle follows an ageless growing cycle: the “preparation” for His birth, the “planting” of the Nativity, the “nurturing cultivation” of His life and teachings, and the “abundance of the harvest” in His dying and Resurrection.
With the Ascension this week the Apostles briefly felt “empty” as Jesus left them alone and went to be with His father in heaven.
“He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons …But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, … When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,… two men in white garments … said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return ….” Acts 1:7-11
This is the same emptiness we feel when we are hungry or have not eaten properly; when we choose a starvation diet or to be nourished by food which is either “sweet” or “rotten.”
Yet we know God never leaves us empty, alone or unfed, if we live for Him and through Him.
Do we believe Jesus when He said “eat my flesh” or are we the Jews who quarreled among themselves and then left Jesus (John 6:66)?
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." Jn 6:51-58
In receiving the Eucharist our growing cycle is always fulfilled. He promised the Apostles the guidance to “new life” in the abundant gift of the Spirit of Pentecost (next Sunday.) And in his flesh and blood given us in the Eucharist at the Last Supper when He said, “Do this in memory of me.” (In old Greek, memory means “make present today.”)
We may each be in a different place in different parts of the life cycle. However, just as the growth of a plant must be nurtured by God thru Mother Nature, so must our own lives be nurtured by receiving the Eucharist regularly and following God’s plan in Holy Scripture. For instance, in our marriages, Ephesians 5:21-33 www.usccb.org/nab/bible/ephesians/ephesians5.htm
If we are to live spiritually our life cycle must follow Jesus’ life so that we will wisely “process” the food that He has prepared, planted, cultivated and harvested. We will then be “sustained” by the harvest, and enriched with a new and more abundant life, the richness of heaven.
So where am I in the growing cycle?
Am I in preparation, seeking what is right?
Am I planted firmly in my faith, following the truth?
Am I being cultivated properly, growing in faith by adding spiritual food (regular church attendance, daily prayer, friends, books, music, etc.) which will lead to an abundant harvest?
Am I harvesting, spreading the good news, gathering and mentoring those who are seeking a role model in Christ and spreading new seed to continue the growth cycle?
And regardless of which part of the cycle, am I always feeding myself with His abundant Spirit and the Eucharist—leaving aside the “sweetness” that society tempts us with (materialism); or setting aside the “rotten” untruths of the culture (sexual impurities, gossip, etc)?
Heavenly Father, Praise be your nurturing fulfillment in Your Spirit. Help me to always seek the fulfillment of Your true food (the Eucharist) and to avoid the temptations of the sweet and rotten. Thank you for enriching me with great friends and role models. Thank you for the many blessings You give me and for the richness of faith You have implanted in me. Amen.
Prepare, plant, grow, harvest and be fed abundantly.
Blessings,
Charlotte
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