Gospel Reading: John 6:51-58

⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”

⁵² This started an angry argument among them. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. 

⁵⁴ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. 

⁵⁵ For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. 

⁵⁶ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. 

⁵⁷ The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me. 

⁵⁸ This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

Reflection:

“If you eat this bread, you will live forever.”

The Bread of life is Jesus Christ. The host that we take every time we take communion is the Corpus Christi or the body of Christ. The Body that He offered for our salvation. The presence of the love of God is in the bread. When you take or eat it you have the promise to live forever with God. Once you eat the bread, the Holy Spirit will come and fill you with the love of God. Have a time talking to God. Repent for all the sins you have done whether intentional or not. Give thanks for all the blessings and gifts that God gave you, even those you did not expect. Thank God for all of your wishes that He granted and even those that were not. Not everything you wish will be granted because God will do what is the best for you, something that is better than what you think. God knows what is best for you. If you have done all of these things with gratitude, the love of God is truly in your heart. Serve God, live life by following His ways, and live with Him in the eternal life forever.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 6:1-6

1 “Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 

3 But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it. 

4 Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 

6 But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

Reflection:

“So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it.”

Help someone because the Holy Spirit is in you, not just because you want to receive praise from other people. Do not use others for you to be honored. If you pity someone and wants to give him some help, make it a secret. Do not tell it to anybody or make it a big thing as a praise for yourself. Remember how God gives his blessings to us, He gives it through someone or something. It is hidden that some cannot recognize it and forget that all the blessings come from the Father.

They did not recognize it at first but they will surely do sometime in their life. If you are willing to help someone and it really comes from your heart, you should not expect a reward or even thanksgiving. Help someone or do something not just because of what you are going to receive, but do it for the glory of the Father. God will be the one to give you reward for everything you have done for His glory and when that time comes you will realize that everything you have done is not enough for you to receive his reward (the eternal life).

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:20-26

               

20 I tell you, then, that you will be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires.

21 “You have heard that people were told in the past, ‘Do not commit murder; anyone who does will be brought to trial.’

22 But now I tell you: if you are angry with your brother you will be brought to trial, if you call your brother ‘You good-for-nothing!’ you will be brought before the Council, and if you call your brother a worthless fool you will be in danger of going to the fire of hell. 

23 So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 

24 leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.

25 “If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time, before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. 

26 There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.

Reflection:

“So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.”

The verse simply says that when we are offering to God, we are to make sure that we have peace of mind. Peace of mind and heart. Make sure that there is no anger. Make sure that we have already forgiven that someone who have sinned against us. Be sure that our conscience is clean and have repented.

Someone who has anger in her heart does not have a peaceful mind and a clean conscience.  

He thinks of something he can do for revenge. 

Offering something to God usually is a sign of thanksgiving. Giving thanks for the blessings coming from God. If someone is giving thanks to God, it must be full of sincerity. That is why we need to have a clean conscience while offering to God.

Gospel Reflection: John 21:15-19

15 After they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Take care of my lambs.”

16 A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 A third time Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter became sad because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” and so he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!”

Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.

18 I am telling you the truth: when you were young, you used to get ready and go anywhere you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you up and take you where you don't want to go.”

19 (In saying this, Jesus was indicating the way in which Peter would die and bring glory to God.) Then Jesus said to him, “Follow me!”

Reflection:

Jesus asked Simon Peter three times if he loves Him even if He already knows the answer. On the third time, Peter became sad. Maybe he thinks that God doesn’t trust him.

We, the people of the Lord should deal with Him that way. If we ask something from God, we should do it as many as we can to prove to God that we really trust and believe that He will grant our wish. It is also a sign that there’s no one that can help us except Him.

Just like in praying the Holy Rosary, we are making 53 Hail Mary’s and 6 Our Fathers. It is a little bit tiring but if you really trust God, tiring is not an option to cease on praying. Not all prayers are heard or granted. It’s just that maybe we don’t really need it. Not everything we want is what we need. Often times, what we want is extravagance. God gives priority on things we need most. You may not recognize His blessings easily. Stop for a moment, take a deep breath and think of all the blessings God is giving you even if you did not ask for it.

Gospel Reading: John 17:20-26

20 “I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message.

21 I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.

22 I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one:

23 I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.

24 “Father! You have given them to me, and I want them to be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, the glory you gave me; for you loved me before the world was made.

25 Righteous Father! The world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you sent me. 26 I made you known to them, and I will continue to do so, in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and so that I also may be in them.”

Reflection:

“I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message.“

God prays for everybody. He prays for our unity. Jesus Christ wants the whole world to know love. And if love reigns, world peace will come after. Share the love of the Lord to everyone. In giving love, you must first know how to respect. Respecting is understanding the limits of someone. If you know how to respect, you will also know how to appreciate. Appreciation comes after respecting. Appreciating is recognizing the full worth of someone. When you already respect and appreciate someone, there comes the trust. If you learn those three, you can share the love of God to everybody.

Love everyone, even those who argue or are against you because God did not choose on who will He love.