In our reading from the Gospel of John today, Jesus is explaining to Philip how he and God the Father are one. When Philip asks Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus responds: “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). Even though Philip had lived with Jesus, experienced the authority of his teachings, witnessed his works of healing and exorcism, witnessed to the inclusiveness of his ministry, he, as we, struggle with comprehending what Jesus was talking about regarding the unity between God and Jesus.

One of the reasons is that God is God and we are not. God is not one being among many, he is not even the Supreme Being, nor is God even in the genus of being. God so transcends our reality and sphere of understanding that any words we say about him are going to be limited. God is Infinite Act, God simply is. We are finite. At the same time, this does not mean that God is an impersonal force. God transcends all of his creation and is the source and foundation of all that exists, yet he is closer to us than we are to ourselves, each and every one of us.

God came closer still when, in the Person of his Son, he came to dwell among us. This is what Jesus meant when he said to Philip that when he saw him he saw God. Each person, Father and Son are distinct but because of their eternal nature they are also, as we say in the Nicene Creed each Sunday, consubstantial, they are of one and the same substance.

The Son came to be one with us while remaining fully divine and in full communion with his Father, so we can be one with him and experience the intimate relationship that they share. We participate in the life of Jesus because he became human, and as human beings, God created each of us as being interconnected with one another. So what happens to one of us, happens to all of us.

Through our Baptism and participation in the Sacraments, we participate and become conformed to the Body of Christ so to encounter Jesus in an even deeper intimacy and share in the divine Communion between God the Father and God the Son, the Love that is shared between them who is God the Holy Spirit.

This wonderful gift of relational communion with the Holy Trinity, is not just for us alone as some treasure to sit on, as some secret knowledge to be shared with only a few chosen ones. This is a universal message to be shared with all. As we grow in our relationship and participation with God, we are to make him known to others. We are able to do so through our participation in the life of Jesus. As Jesus said to Philip, “[W]hoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father” (Jn 14:12). Jesus seeks to work, love, and serve through us as the Father did through him.

That may sound intimidating, but each of us are given a particular charism, a ministry of service to build up the kingdom of God. The key is to believe in Jesus and seek his guidance so that he can help us to discern how best we can serve him and build up his Body. The key to those who were living saints, were that they came to know that one thing that God called them to do. They then surrendered all to their vocation. This is not just for clergy or religious, this is for each and every person on this planet. The only requirement is that we are willing to follow Jesus, say yes to the invitation to experience the love of the Holy Spirit he freely offers, and be willing to be sent to allow God to happen in our interactions with one another. In so doing, we find meaning and fulfillment in our lives.

Embrace today the reality that the God of all creation loves each and every one of us more than we can ever imagine. Embrace the unique relationship he calls us to participate in, which is his Trinitarian Communion. Embrace this unique blessing so we can open our hearts and minds to the service and ministry he calls us to through our participation in the life of Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God, through the Love of the Holy Spirit.

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Photo Credit: pexels.com

Link for the Mass reading for Saturday, May 18, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051819.cfm

Our days are so full of activities, conflicts, health issues, technological stimulation, 24/7 news cycles, social media interaction, that if we do not have the proper foundation and orientation, we can feel stretched, hollow, and/or fatigued. One day can seem to blend into another, and another, and another. The image of being on a hamster wheel or an unending treadmill hovers before our eyes, when we actually do take a minute to breath. Anxiety, worry, stress, fear, prescriptions, and addictions all appear to be on the rise and swirling out of control.

Is there an answer to this hyper pace or are we doomed to just keep going until the wheels fall off? The opening verse in today’s reading provides an antidote when we are feeling any or all of the above.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me” (Jn 14:1).

We are invited to place our trust in God and Jesus. By putting them first does not mean that the externals to our life will take an abrupt turn for the better, but what it does mean is that we will have support, and divine assistance. It means that we are not alone in our suffering. The disciples found this out, when they found themselves in the midst of a sudden sea squall, taking on water as the waves grew higher. They awoke Jesus, terrified. They turned to Jesus, who awoke and with a word, he calmed the sea (cf. Mk 4:35-41).

Jesus may or may not calm the sea of our trials and tribulations, but what he will do is be present with us through our storms in life and we can trust in him that he will guide us through. As we grow more confident in our trust in Jesus, knowing that no matter who or what comes at us, he will be there to assist us, there will be more peace, more calm within – no Prozac or Zoloft required. The ultimate assurance that Jesus provides is that when we surrender our life to him we belong to him, we are not alone or orphaned. He gave his life for us, to redeem and save us so that we can be assured that when we place our trust in him our home for eternity is assured.

If we are struggling on any level and are seeking to build our trust and faith in Jesus, we do need to realize that this takes time. We need to daily ask Jesus for help, seek his discernment about where we can make changes in our life, and make periodic efforts to stop in our day to be still. This time does not need to be long, three to five minutes periodically through the day can do wonders. On the surface level, by stopping for five minutes to pray and breath, we get off the wheel, we step out of survival and reaction mode, so we can then make more mindful decisions, and we can come to see that we truly have options, but more importantly, we begin to develop a relationship and intimacy with Jesus.

For me the Liturgy of the Hours has been my anchor. I stop to pray throughout the day, some days are better than others, some days are less rushed than others, but each day I make the time. It has helped me through some experiences when I have felt stretched, and wondered if taking the time to pray was really the most sensible choice, and time and again it has been!

The Rosary is also a great way to get into God’s word by meditating on the mysteries of the life of Jesus. If you are not able to pray the whole Rosary in one sitting, periodically pray a decade at key points throughout the day, first thing in the morning, mid-morning, mid-day, afternoon and evening.

Read for a few minutes from the Bible once in the morning and then return to meditate on the same verse or verses that touch or challenge you throughout the day. You can also read the daily Mass readings each day and place your self in the scene as if you were actually there.

Each of these practices helps to bring the Word of God alive in our lives. They are just a few of the many ways to stop the madness, and to connect with the power, the love, and the grace of Jesus. Jesus is present for us, he will guide us, when we have faith and trust in him today and each day going forward, for he is “the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6).

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Photo: Bible, Breviary, and Rosary, my anchors for helping me to trust Jesus and put God first in my life each day

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, May 17, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051719.cfm

Today’s Gospel from John begins as Jesus had just finished washing the feet of his disciples. Jesus then said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him” (Jn 13:16). Jesus not only taught the truth that God the Father sent his Son to serve and not be served, he modeled this practice consistently.

From his conception, gestation, and birth, the Son of God came to be human in the very simplest of conditions and endured the hardships of those on the margins early on. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were political refugees very soon after his birth. The young family was forced to flee from Bethlehem to Egypt. When Herod the Great died they returned to Nazareth, and other than the incident in the Temple, we hear nothing about the life of Jesus until he begins his public ministry. The most likely reason for this was that there was nothing to tell. Jesus most likely apprenticed with Joseph, in the trade of a simple tektōn, a woodworker, which was pretty low on the rung of the social ladder.

Through the short time of his ministry, Jesus modeled for his disciples what a follower of his entailed and what it meant to be one of his successors. To follow in his footsteps they would need to participate in servant leadership. There is no task too menial, that we can’t roll up our sleeves and dive in to help. There is no person too other that we can’t assist when they are in a need.

A good prayer and meditation for us today is to ask Jesus to reveal for us how we have resisted his urgings in the past regarding serving others in our realm of influence and interaction, as well as thinking or believing that what he was asking of us was beneath us. Have there been people we refused to reach out to for similar reasons? For those ways in which we have withdrawn within ourselves may we ask for his forgiveness. If we start to notice a habitual pattern of resistance we may want to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Being willing to allow Jesus to shed some light on our lack of embracing opportunities to serve is a good place to begin. Renewed with his forgiveness and healing touch, may we ask Jesus to guide us today to be bearers of the grace and mercy we have received from him. May we ask to be open to each of the people and/or tasks that God will place before us, the discernment to know his will, and the clarity and courage to act as his servant with humility and without hesitation.
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Photo: Grounds work during my novitiate year with the Franciscans in Brookline, MA.

Link for the Mass reading for Thursday, May 16, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051619.cfm

“I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness” (Jn 12:46).

What might be the darkness that Jesus refers to? It could be anything that turns us within ourselves, away from that which is True, Good and Beautiful. This can be prejudice, ignorance, cynicism, sin, violence, hatred, war, division, dehumanization, and the list can go on.

A major root that keeps us in this darkness is fear. Jesus offers us gently the light of his Father. He encourages us to leave our self imposed imprisonment by loving us as we are, more than we can imagine, and more than we can ever mess up. Christianity is not just a set of moral principles, a set of doctrines, a philosophy, or a theology. Christianity is about an encounter with a person, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.

The light of Jesus leads us, invites us to that which we have been created for and are restless for – an intimate relationship with God the Father and each other. Jesus reveals to us by his light of love those false substitutes and idols that distract us and keep us separated from deepening our relationship with God. We come to know God when we are willing to receive the love of the Holy Spirit and are moved to share that love with each other.

Jesus, today, help us to resist any selfish impulse or reaction based in fear and instead be willing to love as you have loved us. We can do so by simply smiling, offering to be of help, to be present to listen, and/or to be willing to be understanding, supportive and encouraging. In these small ways we allow the light of Jesus to shine in our lives and the darkness will not overcome it!

Photo: Storm clouds gathering in the western sky

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, May 15, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/john/12:44

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you” (Jn 15:12).

This is how God created us, to be loved and to love. The love that Jesus is talking about is unconditional and not just relegated to those closest to us, although, hopefully, in our families and friendships is where we first experienced being loved and learned to love in return.

The love that Jesus commands that we are to participate in as his followers, is a going out from, a giving of ourselves to others. We are not to seek in return, but to seek to empty ourselves and to give ourselves away. The return we get is from the infinite well spring and source of the Holy Spirit. The more we hold back, the less we receive, the more we give, the more we receive. We are to be tapped into the living stream, not separated and isolated, so as to become a stagnant pool.

The love Jesus commands cannot be done on the fly. To love is to be present to another. To love is to stop, to put our agendas and thoughts on the side and be willing to accompany another. Love is also not coercion and manipulation, it is accepting another as they are and where they are and sharing the journey of life together. Love, as I have also written before, is as St Thomas Aquinas has written, to will the good of the other as other. This means that we seek to will another’s good. This may mean saying things that others may not want to hear, or guiding them away from actions, relationships, and habits that are detrimental to their highest hope and good, but first and foremost meeting each person where they are and walking with them.

The reality of living in the love of Jesus is not exclusive but universal. We are to love those in our family, community, place of worship, tribe, political party and nation, while at the same time we are not to be limited to our common groups only. We must be willing to go out from our protected spaces to risk to love, to direct our thoughts, words, and actions toward those who are different, those who do not see the world as we see it, and even those we consider our enemies. This does not mean we have to agree or even like someone else, but we are commanded to love, to respect the dignity of the person as our starting point.

We can and ought to state clearly our beliefs, our thoughts and dreams, but also allow others to do the same. In this way, though we may differ in our points of view, we can see how we are much more alike than different. When we talk at and over one another, demean and belittle one another, we dehumanize each other. In an open dialogue, we encounter the person, and instead of keeping each other at arm’s length, we can embrace, learn and grow from one another as friends, as mutual brothers and sisters on this journey we call life.

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Photo: Wolf Den Pow Wow, with hunka father, Fire Hawk, in late 80’s.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, May 14, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051419.cfm

“…the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice” (Jn 10:4). This verse is one of the keys to growing in the spiritual life and becoming a disciple of Jesus. Amidst all the voices, distractions, and temptations clamoring for our attention, we want to develop an ear to hear and a mind to discern his voice. There are so many directions we can take and opportunities we can be enticed by, many that are detrimental, but more challenging, those that are good in and of themselves.

Jesus came to us so that we “might have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). To live life to the fullest, to actualize our potential, we need to be able to discern the distinction between apparent goods and the true Good. An apparent good is appealing, attractive, and desirable, though once experienced, we conclude that it was indeed not good for us at all. We can see this in the promotion of processed foods, with additives and an excess incentive of enticing the taste buds with salts and sugars. The experience of eating many of these products is that they taste good going down, especially if eaten quickly and not savored, such that we often eat them in excess. They not only have little, if any nutritional value, if this is the main source of our nutrition, in short order we will feel the ill affects of eating in this way.

When I sit down to eat pizza, there are two clear voices. One voice encourages an eating of the whole pie in one setting, while another urges a balanced two slice approach. I will let you decide which is the voice of the Shepherd 😉 The same is true regarding how we spend our time and treasure. We all have the same amount of time in the day. In what ways do we use our time, who is it that we are listening to regarding how we use the time we have been given? Do we listen to the Father of Lies or the Good Shepherd?

A good practice for developing an ear to hear and discern the voice of the Good Shepherd is to resist making decisions impulsively. When a decision comes to mind let us make time to pray with Jesus and seek his guidance, and resist making an impulsive decision, regarding food, purchases, jobs, relationships, and in all areas of our lives. We can ask ourselves each time, is what I am about to decide helping me to become a better disciple, or as the author and speaker, Matthew Kelly, says, is this helping me to be the best version of myself?

With time and experiences of the results of our decisions we will come to better hear more clearly the voice of Jesus. For the process of discernment, it is also a good practice to have a core group of people we can talk over decisions with to get their perspective, to help keep us accountable, and help us to stay on the path. In this way, we can also learn to hear the words of Jesus through others.

May we have ears to hear the Good Shepherd’s voice today, and the humility to follow his will that we may live our life more abundantly!

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Photo by Trinity Kubassek from Pexels

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, May 13, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051319.cfm

I am not sure how many people reading this reflection are shepherds, live on a farm, or raise sheep. Many of us are most likely removed from the daily life and commitment of a shepherd. With such ignorance as our starting point, we can fall prey to a false romanticism of the life of a shepherd as a reaction to the fast pace and hustle and bustle of modern urban and suburban life.

The commitment and demands of shepherds during Jesus’ time were all consuming, with little acknowledgment or recognition. In fact, many shepherds were looked down upon, considered the lowest of the low, at the bottom of the society of ancient Palestine. Yet Jesus compared himself to being a shepherd.

Just scratching the surface of the social context of shepherds could help to shed light on John’s Gospel today where Jesus paints an image of himself as the Good Shepherd as he says. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27).

A good shepherd lived among his sheep, watched over them, cared for them, helped to birth and raise them. He would smell like his sheep. The lamb would hear the voice of the shepherd in the womb, in the first days after its birth, and on through its life. A good shepherd protected his flock with his life from predators and thieves. If there was danger, he would call the sheep to himself. Though we may not be fond of being compared to sheep, Jesus does the same for us. He watches and cares for us, protects, nourishes us with his own Body and Blood, and has given his life for us. Jesus guides us, if we are willing to hear his voice in the silence of our hearts.

We get in trouble when we stray from his protective care and wander away. Yet, Jesus will come when we are in need, baying for help. Each one of us are precious and important to him. He will find us if we are willing to be found, if we just call out to him, for he knows our voice too. He will come to us and will carry us back home on his shoulders.

With the humility and simplicity of a lamb, allow yourself to be still today, rest your head on the lap of the Good Shepherd, surrender to him all your cares, doubts, anxieties and fears. Allow your self to be healed by confessing any sins that are weighing you down, let him impart some healing balm on past hurts left unforgiven, and let him bind up any recent wounds. At some point in your contemplation, also let soak in the ultimate gift the gift Jesus has given us: his very life, that we might have life in him, a life not merely to exist or survive, but a life of joy and fulfillment.

Listen for the voice of Jesus calling us to himself today, to receive, rest in, and renew in the Shepherd’s love. This is the Lord’s Day, the day he rose again, conquering death for ever and always for himself and for us, the sheep of his flock.

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Charcoal print, “The Good Shepherd” – Prints by Shawn, Shawn Costello

Link for the Mass readings for the fourth Sunday of Easter, May 12, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051219.cfm

Even though Jesus had fed the five thousand and they were satisfied and there was plenty more where this gift of grace came from, even though they traveled by boat and followed him to Capernaum seeking a sign, the discourse regarding eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood was just too far of a stretch for most of the disciples to take. In fact: Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it” (Jn 6:60)?

Many of his disciples walked away from Jesus at that point. They returned to their former ways of life because they could not believe what Jesus was saying. They could not believe because they did not fully appreciate who Jesus was, the One from above, who was sent by the Father. They had not developed a deep enough relationship with him such that they could trust him and what he said was true, they could not believe in the One whom God had sent.

Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:67-69). Peter’s response is one of belief and trust. I am sure they reacted in the same way as the other disciples gathered there, but they trusted Jesus enough that even though this teaching was hard, even inconceivable, he would make sense of it for them, just as he had done so when he helped to share with them the deeper meaning of his parables.

This is to be our response as well. When we find some of his teachings are hard to digest, we need to resist the temptation to walk away. Instead, may we follow Mary’s model of pondering, as she did when Gabriel shared she would bear the Savior of the world. She did not fully comprehend what the message meant, but she trusted God and said yes. May we follow Peter, who may have also been dealing with mixed emotions and doubts, remained firm in his belief in Jesus because he trusted that Jesus was the “Holy One of God”. Peter had experienced that Jesus had known what he was saying and doing before, he would continue to trust him this time as well.

Jesus is a model to follow, yes, but he is so much more! Jesus does not give us more burdens to bear, but graces that build on our nature that we are invited to receive. He did not want to die, but he was willing to say yes, to submit his human will to his Father because he trusted him and knew he would bring about a greater good. Jesus gave his life so that he died and in so doing conquered death, transcending the time and space of our present dimension so to be present to us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus lives, he is the firstborn of the new creation, and he wants to not only lead us to eternal life, but impart his life in us, in such an intimate way that we may consume him, that we may be one with him in this life and for all eternity! May we with Peter come to believe and be convinced, that Jesus is the Holy One of God!

Amen. Amen.
I’m alive, I’m alive,
Because he lives.
Amen. Amen.
Let my song join the One that never ends.
Because he lives.
The verse from Matt Maher’s song, “Because He Lives (Amen)”.

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Photo: Sharing Jesus at my first Mass as a deacon

Because He Lives (Amen), Matt Maher, from cd: Saints and Sinners, 2015
Link to the music video: Music video by Matt Maher performing Because He Lives (Amen) [Official Lyric Video]. (C) 2014 Provident Label Group LLC, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBvU7arNhQs

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, May 11, 2019:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051119.cfm

All that Jesus has been building up to is now coming to a climax. Any silent shock of disbelief or quiet murmuring has now escalated. The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat” (Jn 6:52)? Jesus hears the growing concern and disbelief. If he was speaking in a figurative or symbolic way, this would be the moment to clarify his point.

Jesus does speak, but he does not walk back or qualify his comments. Jesus doubles down: “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” (Jn 6:53). Jesus does not only repeat that his disciples are to eat his Flesh but he also insists that they are to drink his Blood. Drinking or even eating meat with the blood of an animal was inconceivable for devout Jews. Also, the Greek used here in John’s Gospel for eat is trogein, which is used to describe how an animal eats, by gnawing and tearing at the flesh. The imagery that Jesus is using here is more graphic than the customary use of phagein, which would be used for chewing, as a human would chew their food.

Jesus continues to make his point that whoever does eat his Flesh and drink his Blood, will not only remain in him, but also Jesus will remain in them, and they will have eternal life. A wonderful end goal, but would any be able to make the leap of faith to get there? In tomorrow’s Gospel reading we will be able to see the response to Jesus’ claims.
Almost two thousand years later, we continue have the opportunity to celebrate daily the person of Jesus in our midst. This happens through participating in the source and summit of our faith, the Mass. Our hearts have the opportunity to be set on fire as we hear the word proclaimed during the Liturgy of the Word, and then Jesus is made known to us in the breaking of the bread in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We are invited to experience an intimate encounter with the Son of God, as we consume him, Body, Soul, and Divinity.

That we are to eat the Flesh and Blood of Jesus may sound just as bizarre as it did to Jesus’ followers. The term we have for this miraculous transformation of bread and wine is transubstantiation. What happens at the calling down of the Holy Spirit and the words of institution are invoked by the priest is that the substance, the reality, of the bread and wine is transfigured into the Body and Blood of Jesus, while the accidental form or appearance remains the same. So we consume Jesus’ unbloody, acceptable sacrifice.

Jesus is giving all of who he is of himself corporally, fully, holding nothing back of himself so we can receive all of him. We become what we eat. In consuming Jesus, we become “bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh” (cf. Genesis 2:23), we become divine as he permeates or whole being. We are then dismissed at the end of the Mass to go, like Mary, to bear Jesus Christ, to love others as Jesus loved us, by giving of ourselves to others as he has given himself to us. This is the Good News we are called to proclaim. Jesus is risen, he has risen indeed, and he has not left us orphans but remains with us now and for all ages! We are alive, because the Bread of Life lives within us! Amen. Alleluia!

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Photo: Our tabernacle which is in the chapel at Cardinal Newman High School. Jesus is present to us in the consecrated hosts within. I begin each day looking at Jesus as he looks back at me!

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, April 10, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051019.cfm

As we have been reading through chapter six of the Gospel of John we have been reflecting upon the conversation and teaching of Jesus with those who have experienced his multiplication of the loaves and fish. Step by systematic and deliberate step, Jesus is setting the stage for today’s insertion into his presentation.

Each step of the way Jesus is not willing to be tamed. He, as the One from above, the One who has seen and has been sent by the Father, is fully divine, as well as fully human speaking among those who have come to him. He has responded to the people’s request regarding how they were to “accomplish the works of God” and his response is that they are to believe in him, he who had been sent by God. They were to “work for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give”. Jesus himself, as he did with the multiplication, will provide the food that will endure for eternal life. Jesus shared that he is this food, bread from heaven, that will give life to the world.

What Jesus has shared thus far and what he shares in today’s Gospel message has been given to him to say from his Father and is for everyone who is willing to accept his invitation: “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.” We have an advantage, that those listening to Jesus, did not have. We just experienced Lent and we can certainly draw a line to how Jesus certainly does give his very life, his Flesh, that is sacrificed and hung on the cross. We believe too that Jesus died and experienced utter God forsakenness by giving his very life for the life the world.

But for those in the crowd who only the day before sought to unanimously make him their Messiah by popular acclamation are growing a bit uncomfortable. This discourse is now starting to move away from a more figurative discussion to a more dramatic and concrete presentation with horrific implications. After an initial gasp or two, some murmuring would have begun, centering around such questions as:

“Did Jesus really just say he would give his flesh?”

“Jesus is equating himself with the bread from heaven, and the bread he is offering is his flesh?”

“Is Jesus saying what I think he is saying?”

Yes! The Son is because the Father has given all that he is, holding nothing back, emptying himself into the Son. The Son has received all that the Father is and returns himself, giving all that he is, holding nothing back to the Father. This eternal giving and receiving, this eternal communion of Love shared between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. Jesus is offering participation in this divine communion as he offers all that he is to his disciples and to us, to be consumed. He is holding nothing back in his offer. We are invited to receive all that Jesus is. We are to receive all that Jesus is and give ourselves away in return.
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Photo: Artistic rendition of the face of Jesus based on the Shroud of Turin.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, May 9, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050919.cfm