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carmelite daily reflection

    carmelite daily reflection

    As our faith seeks understanding, we are assured of the guidance of the Spirit, without whom true understanding is not possible. Yet, the light of Jesus is not primarily a condemnatory light whose primary purpose is to expose evil. Student Daily Reflection. We need to keep trying to go where the Spirit is leading us. People began to see that this movement wasnt just a particular branch of Judaism. He can be speaking to us through new and unforeseen situations, such as the one in which we find ourselves at the moment. He wants to lead us towards that other horizon; he wants us to be where he now is, so that we can see his glory. The Carmelites of Australia and Timor-Leste are committed to the protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults from all forms of abuse and mistreatment. They had forgotten that Jesus had told them that, having been crucified by his enemies, God would raise him from the dead. Saul sought to destroy all who responded to the welcoming invitation of Jesus. However, the womens subsequent report of what they had seen and heard made no impression on the two disciples. The gospel was not experienced as good news by some and they made every effort to silence those who were preaching it. The leaders of the Jerusalem church, the Twelve, realized that this problem would not be resolved unless they drew other members of the church into this ministry of providing for all the widows and the other vulnerable people in the church. When someone precious has been taken from us, when we have experienced some bitter loss, when we see bad things happening to good people, when we have struggled with some experience of death, it can be difficult to believe in the emergence of new life, the possibility of a new beginning. In this mornings gospel reading, Jesus tells the Jews that the works he does in his Fathers name are his witness; what he does bears witness to his identity as the one sent from God. and I lay down my life for my sheep. The Lord who welcomes us when we come to him also seeks us out when we walk away from him. Jesus knew that something could be done and he involved his disciples in doing what could be done, calling on them to make the people sit down and then asking them to collect the pieces that were left over when everyone had eaten. He continues to speak to us in and through the Scriptures, inviting us to see our own personal journey in the light of Gods loving journey towards us. That is why he equates working for the food that endures to eternal life with believing in him. I tell you most solemnly, Eternal life, this sharing in the life of God, begins now and will extend beyond the barrier of physical death into the undying life of God. Nowadays we can harness the wind to generate electricity, but there is so much about the wind which is beyond our control and understanding. In the estate where I lived as a child in Cabra, built in the early 1930s, all the houses had gates. When the Lord speaks about life to the full there, we might be inclined to think only in terms of eternal life, life beyond death. Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. He looks to us not to stand in his way but to allow him to work with us and through us to bring about this great gathering of people from north, south, east and west, around the risen Lord, the good shepherd who laid down his life for all of humanity. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, How long are you going to keep us in suspense? This Easter season, we ask the Holy Spirit to shape our longing, our desires, so that they correspond more to the Lords desire for us. He feeds a multitude with five loaves and two fish. Therein lies our confidence, especially in times of struggle and failure. This realization can keep us hopeful and energized in difficult times. May 2, 2023 Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint Athanasius, Bishop and DoctorMemorial, Monday, May 1, 2023 Optional Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker, April 30, 2023 Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A)Good Shepherd Sunday, April 29, 2023 Saturday of the Third Week of Easter Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, April 28, 2023 Friday of the Third Week of Easter Saint Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort, Priest, April 27, 2023 Thursday of the Third Week of Easter, April 26, 2023 Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter, Tuesday, April 25, 2023 Feast of Saint Mark, April 24, 2023 Monday of the Third Week of Easter, April 23, 2023 Third Sunday of Easter (Year A). Many believers can be troubled by their sense that the light of Easter does not seem to have penetrated their lives sufficiently. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. the usability. The gospel reading calls on us rather to have an expectant faith, a faith in the Lords power to work wonders with even the little that we give him. As a result of the success of this mission, Barnabas came from Jerusalem to Antioch to give encouragement to this new development, and, in his wisdom, he went to Tarsus and brought Saul to Antioch, recognizing that this was a church where someone like Saul or Paul could flourish. The role of the shepherd was to give life to his flock, to protect them from harm by taking them to the sheepfold for the night, and then to lead them out of the sheepfold to pasture in the morning. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal. So they said to him, What can we do to accomplish the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.. Jesus identifies himself as the gate in this sense. We then received the Eucharist at a relatively early age. All we can do is to surrender to the breath of the Spirit within us and around us, to allow the Spirit to direct us and to lead us. Listen. As Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, now we see as in a mirror, dimly. It is a statement worth reflecting upon. In that Eucharistic moment, their eyes were finally opened to the full meaning of what had happened in Jerusalem. Because we do not yet see him face to face, our faith is always a faith that hopes. He immediately went off to Tarsus to look for Saul, or Paul, who had recently come to faith in Christ and Barnabas encouraged him to go to Antioch and support this new development there. He calls us into a personal relationship with himself. The Father loves me, That is why, as the two disciples told the stranger, when the women went to the tomb in the early morning, they did not find the body of Jesus but, instead, had seen a vision of angels who announced that Jesus was alive. If we are to experience him as the bread of life, as the one who can satisfy our deepest hungers, we must believe in him, give ourselves to him in trust and faith. They looked for him as the giver of bread; Jesus wanted them to look for him as the giver of food that endures to eternal life. he has seen the Father. She exemplifies our own calling to be contemplatives in action, to bring the light of the Lord into the darkness of our world. It was while Jesus was at prayer after his baptism that the Holy Spirit come down upon him. One thing we can be sure of is that, whatever the Lords personal call to each one of us is, it will always be a call towards life. That reflects the other image of Jesus that we find in the gospel reading today, the image of the shepherd who calls his own sheep, one by one, by name, and leads them out. In referring to the wind, Jesus was really speaking of the Holy Spirit. The bread that we break, is it not a communion in the body of Christ? This was the faith of the early church and of the church ever since. It is difficult to know exactly what happened that day in the wilderness when Jesus and his disciples found themselves before a large hungry crowd. It is an image that speaks to us of the Lords determination to hold onto us and prevent us from becoming separated from him. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The relationship between the shepherd and his sheep was more immediate than it is today. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name. On one occasion, Jesus says of himself: I am the light of the world. His first tentative step was to come to Jesus by night. When we do than, like Paul, we too can become the Lords chosen instruments to bring his presence into the lives of others. He was succeeded by Pope Urban VI who turned out to be a disastrous Pope. Then their eyes were opened, and the sad journey away from Jerusalem became a joyful journey back to the city. Yet, Marks portrayal of the failure of the disciples serves as a foil for his portrayal of Jesus faithfulness to them, in spite of all their weaknesses. This is what we find stated very clearly in this mornings gospel reading, which declares that Jesus comes from above or from heaven. Like Thomas, we can struggle to identify fully with those faith seems so much more assured than ours. The Lords contribution to the relationship between us and him is much more significant than ours. They saw the Lord; they now knew that the crucified one had been raised from the dead, as he promised. No one who believes in him will be condemned; Joseph had a marketable skill. are attesting the truthfulness of God, She also wrote her great work, the Dialogues, describing the contents of her mystical conversations with Christ. My hosanna has come forth from the crucible of doubt. Where could food be found to feed such a crowd? Jesus said to Nicodemus that he had to be born from above; he had to be born of water and the Spirit. Yet the gospel ends (the shorter ending) with the young man calling on the faithful women to tell the other disciples that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee where they will see him. The stranger who joined the two disciples on their sad journey was the very person whose death they were grieving. The first reading shows us one way in which the Spirit of God took flesh in the life of the early church. It was grief and disappointment and disillusionment that caused them to head in the wrong direction. In that respect, he may be like many other disciples today. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. Carmelites Our Lady of Mount Carmel Mary Mother of God. God will stop at nothing to ensure that the world of humanity hears the gospel of Gods saving love for all. In that sense, each of us is called to be a shepherd to others. Accept cookies within the '%CC%' category to view this content. He is coming from Jerusalem and is reading from the text of the prophet Isaiah, without really understanding what he is reading. How can that be possible? asked Nicodemus. Perhaps we can all be a little bit like those disciples, especially in these times. We must take what we read in the Word of God into our daily lives. We all need something of the vision of Barnabas to see how the Lord is working in such unexpected and unplanned developments. God draws us towards his Son as the one who can satisfy the deepest spiritual hunger of our heart. In this mornings first reading people ask, Is this not the carpenters son? The term translated carpenter might better be translated craftsman or artisan. One by one, according to the gospel reading, the shepherd calls his own and leads them out. Far from rebuking Thomas for his refusal to believe, the Lord accommodated himself to Thomas demands and, as a result, out of the mouth of the sceptic came one of the greatest confessions of faith in the gospels, My Lord and my God. Before sending them, he breathed the Holy Spirit upon them, the Spirit of Gods enduring love. Very ancient tradition suggests that Marks gospel was written in Rome and that Mark was a disciple of Peter. He had just fed the people in the wilderness with bread and fish; he was very aware that peoples physical hunger needed to be satisfied. Pauls story reminds us that the Lords plans for us may be a great deal bolder than what we might have in mind for ourselves. Yet this mornings gospel assures us that the Lords hold on us is stronger than the forces which seek to remove us from him. After a powerful, ecstatic experience of Christ in 1374, she commenced her public role, mediating in an armed conflict between the city of Florence and the Avignon-based papacy. One by one, the Lord calls his own. The Twelve could not do everything; they had to prioritize. Having allowed God to work through him to bring the Ethiopian to Jesus, Philip moved on from him, and the Ethiopian continued on his way rejoicing. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? We are all invited to turn towards the Lord as the Bread of Life in trusting faith. In the case of infants, it is the faith of the parents and family and the faith of the believing community that is presupposed. Everyones journey towards faith is unique to them. This content is blocked. A little later in that same gospel of John, Jesus declares that, after his death and resurrection, he will send us the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, who will guide us into all the truth. In the gospel reading Jesus offers himself to us as the one who offers us the food that endures to eternal life. Communion with the Lord is the gateway to eternal life here and now and beyond this life. My Catholic Life! He is the full revelation of God. In todays gospel reading, Jesus speaks of two kinds of food, food that cannot last and food that endures to eternal life. Clearly the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd that we find in todays gospel reading spoke to Christians from the earliest days of the church. and has entrusted everything to him. To believe is at the same time to wait in joyful hope. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. That is because Jesus does not ask us to live his teaching out our own strength alone. It is a time when, in the power of that Spirit, we rise above our fear and step out with a new courage to witness to the Lord by what we say and do. Before he began his missionary career the Lord gave Paul this profound experience of his dependence on others, and, ultimately, on the Lord. In doing so he was stating that her life and writings have something important to say to the church of every generation. Today we might call such a person a facilitator or an enabler of others. He insisted not just on seeing the risen Lord for himself, like the other disciples, but on physically touching his wounds. Reflections on Daily Readings 2023 Introduction We have compiled a comprehensive set of reflections on the readings, covering the entire year. One of the loving services we can render each other is listening to each others heartfelt and painful stories, especially in these times of Coronavirus. and there will be only one flock, we speak only about what we know Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Click here to read today's Lectio Divina from the website of Carmelite Order. In this mornings gospel we are given words spoken by John the Baptist. Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, Our spirits can droop for all kinds of reasons. It was this same Saul who went on to become the greatest missionary in the early church, bringing the gospel to major cities in modern day Turkey and Greece. what is born of the Spirit is spirit. It is said of Barnabas in that reading that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. It seems that in the course of Jesus public ministry he gradually grew in his relationship with Jesus; he allowed himself to be drawn to Jesus more fully. He is both the gate and the shepherd. Below are links to various resources to inspire you on a daily basis. We probably have more to protect than we used to and we are also aware that the threats to our possessions are greater than they used to be. It has been the language of the church since its very earliest days. In his doubting, Thomas may be like many other disciples today. However, the Lord recognizes that only a small group of disciples will see and believe, and, so, he speaks a beatitude over the many future disciples who believe without seeing. When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. In the gospel reading this morning Jesus speaks of the shepherd who calls his own sheep one by one and leads them out. The Acts of the Apostles suggests that as soon as the gospel began to be preached after Pentecost efforts were made by people in authority to suppress it. At some deep level, we are unhappy with the direction our lives are taking. In this fourth gospel, the words I am on the lips of Jesus suggest the name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. The Lord meets us where we are, in all our fears and doubts, and he does so to draw us into a sharing in his risen life. The way the risen Lord related to tthem is how he relates to us all. The Lord needs what we have, even if it seems slight to us, and he can accomplish far more than we could imagine with the little we have if we make ourselves available to him. If we were walking along with a friend, we would tend to be suspicious of any stranger who joined us and asked us what we were discussing as we walked along. He wants people to go in and out through him. The Lord calls us to a fullness of life now, and hereafter. Someone from the nationalist community would tell the story in one way; someone from the unionist community would tell the story in a very different way. We are not in the dark about God, wondering who God is and what God is like. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.. He walks with us, even when we are walking in the wrong direction. Our website uses analytical cookies to make it possible to analyze our website and optimize for the purpose of a.o. for those whose sins you retain, We live out the call to be the Lords disciple in a way that is unique to each one of us. We can make the mistake of thinking that how we talk about something is all that there is to it. As Christians, we are all searching for Jesus in some sense. They began to see that there was more to what had happened than they realized; this stranger was giving them a whole new understanding of what they had come to see as an awful tragedy. are thieves and brigands; In receiving the Lord in the Eucharist we give him the opportunity to shape us in the way he wants to. Barnabas introduced Saul to the church in Antioch and Saul went on to become a leading member of that church, and the church became an important spiritual home for Saul. There is indeed much to ponder here and much to give thanks for. Jesus is saying that the relationship that he has with each one of us is as intimate as the relationship that he has with his heavenly Father. Carmelite Spirituality, Gospel Reflection / By Ritche Salgado, O.Carm. for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal., Then they said to him, What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants? Jesus gave them this answer, This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.. Todays gospel reading suggests that the Lord walks with us through life and listens when we share deeply with him. These cookies may track your personal data. Do not be afraid. They were for taking him into the boat, but in no time it reached the shore at the place they were making for. However, he also wants to bring us life here and now. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. His first approach to Jesus is tentative, coming to Jesus under cover of darkness. The experience of Thomas shows us that religious doubt need not keep us from the Lord or the church; Thomas story suggests also that great doubt can be the prelude to great faith. In the gospel reading this morning, the people come to Jesus looking for more of the bread they ate when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish. Even though the Pope had been seriously ill for several months, the news of his death yesterday evening came as a great shock and has caused great sadness both within the church and beyond it. The Lords faithfulness to us prompts us to keep faith with each other, especially with those who are close to us. Difficult times for the church can often be moments of renewal, of new and unexpected growth. The gospel reading suggests that just as a shepherd holds his flock together, it is the Lord who holds the church together, the community of his followers. In group prayer, much will depend on the type of group. In the words of todays gospel reading, one by one, the Lord calls his own. We can be distressed at the degree of doubt that we experience within ourselves, troubled that such doubts may even become more pronounced as we get older. We encounter something of the mystery of God in and through every human birth. With the rapid expansion of new means of communication in recent decades we can be made much more aware of these various calls on us. As the search for God leads to the hearing of the word and as the hearing of the word leads to baptism, so baptism leads us to the Eucharist. It was in response to that initiative of theirs that he joined them at table. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. We can make that same discovery. There is no other city that is such a significant a pilgrim destination for three major world religions. For God sent his Son into the world To see ourselves in the light of Jesus is to recognize how far we fall short of the person God has created us to be. Jesus was saying to Nicodemus that we need the Spirit at our back to enter the kingdom of God; we cant enter it in our own strength. She insisted that she was betrothed to Christ. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. If you would like to receive the Daily Reflection via email, please visit our sign up page. This gospel emphasizes their failure. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. As the good shepherd, for example, Jesus lays down his life for us. Jesus will go on to speak about the need to eat his flesh and drink his blood, which has even clearer Eucharistic overtones. Yet, it is language which expresses the depth of communion which Jesus wants to create between himself and his disciples. When we invite the Lord to stay with us, he will draw us to the Eucharist, as he drew the two disciples, and there, like them, we too will come to recognize him in the breaking of bread. That in turn led on to our receiving the Eucharist. Irish Province of Carmelites | All Rights Reserved | Site by Marketing Inputs. In todays gospel reading, Jesus compares the Spirit to the wind. Then there is the reaction of Jesus himself. They too will listen to my voice, The Bible is the Word of God which is always alive and active, always new. They will all be taught by God, The first reading suggests that Barnabas knew how to listen to the voice of the shepherd. Yet, the gospel reading this morning assures us that in trying to answer the question, What must we do?, we are not thrown back on our own resources alone. The words of Jesus to Nicodemus in this mornings gospel reading are one of the strongest and most positive statements in the New Testament about God. The light of Jesus is a light of love, the light of God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son. Early on in this period, she was tormented by doubt, but this gave way to mystical encounters with Christ. Lectio Divina is a reflection based on the daily Gospel. In todays gospel reading, the Lord came to his disciples as they were struggling with a strong wind and a rough sea and brought them to a safe haven. Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. The first reading puts before us a troubling moment in the life of the church, conflict between Greek speaking and Aramaic speaking Jewish Christian widows regarding the distribution of food. This is how the Spirit continues to shape the life of the church. God sent his Son that the world might be saved through him. Today is Vocations Sunday. It is a day when we remind ourselves that we are called. He invites us, as he invited the two disciples, to share with him the story of our lives in all its various hues. This is surely one of the most striking statements of Jesus in all of the gospels. She worked to persuade Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome from Avignon. When we are faced with a challenge or a problem the way we speak about it can be very important. Because it is a time of communion with the Lord, the church has always understood the Eucharist as the anticipation of eternal life. Here was a philosopher Pope, a questioning Pope, whose whole life proclaimed My Lord and my God. In the gospel reading this morning, he describes a scene that would have been familiar to his contemporaries in Galilee. In the second scene of todays gospel reading, the focus is on one disciple, Thomas. That is very evident from that reading we have heard this morning. In this mornings gospel reading, Jesus declares, I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full. We meet every Friday at 10am (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) [You are welcome to join from other time zones, eg. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. I like the Popes reference to a communal journey. so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them. Having listened to the Lords story from the Scriptures, they pressed him to stay with them, because he appeared to be going on, It is nearly evening they said and the day is almost over. We are called to listen attentively to the word of God, especially as proclaimed and lived by Jesus who is Gods Word in human form. The gospel teaches us that if we give generously from our resources to others, the Lord will work powerfully through those resources, small as they may seem to us.

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