April 8, 2016

April 8

April 8, 2016:  Friday, 2nd week, Easter



  • 'Wheat' pin:  5 loaves (gospel) [I don't have a 'barley' pin.]

  • 'Fish' tie for gospel

  • 'Abacus' tie pin:  5 loaves, 2 fish, 5,000 men, 12 baskets:  do the math (gospel)

  • 'Eyeball' pin:  I seek to gaze on the Lord's loveliness; I'll see his bounty (psalm)
  • 'Clock' tie bar:  Wait for the Lord with courage (psalm)
  • Red and white shirt:  red for apostles/others who suffer/die for Christ, white for Easter season
Listen

For the psalm (more info)
    Pope Francis 
    Apostolic Exhortation:  Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love)
    Intro
    Not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium. For some questions, each region can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs.  Every general principle needs to be inculturated to be respected and applied.  This applies to how problems are formulated and addressed and, apart from well-defined dogmatic issues, none of the approach can be “globalized.”  What seems normal for a bishop on one continent is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop from another...  We need to avoid sterile juxtaposition of demands for change and general application of abstract norms.
    1.  In the light of the Word
    The Bible is full of families, births, love stories, and family crises.  The family is not an abstract ideal but rather like a practical “trade” carried out with tenderness, but confronted with sin.  God's Word is not a series of abstract ideas but rather a source of comfort and companionship for every family that experiences difficulties; it shows them their journey's goal.
    2.  The experiences and challenges of families
    Families face challenges of migration, denial of differences between the sexes, anti-birth mentality, impact of biotechnology on procreation, lack of housing and work, pornography, abuse of minors, inattention to persons with disabilities, lack of respect for the elderly, legal dismantling of the family, violence against women, etc..  Concreteness, realism, and daily life distinguish acceptable “theories” of interpretation from arbitrary “ideologies.”
    Focus on realities, since the Spirit's call and demands resound in history and guide the Church to more profound understanding of marriage and family.  If we don't, we can't understand today's needs or or the Spirit's movement.  Individualism makes it hard people to give themselves generously.  Fear of loneliness and desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with fear of entrapment in a relationship that could hamper one’s personal goals.  The humility of realism helps us avoid presenting an abstract ideal of marriage removed from concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families.  Idealism doesn't allow marriage to be understood as the dynamic path to personal development and fulfilment that it is.  Families can't sustain themselves by stressing issues without encouraging openness to grace.  Make room for the formation of the conscience of the faithful.  Jesus proposed a demanding ideal but always showed compassion and closeness to frail individuals.  (Summary to be continued; complete text here)
    Read
      I don't think it was like this
    • Acts 5:34-42  Gamaliel to Sanhedrin:  “Be careful.  If their endeavor is of human origin, it'll destroy itself, but if divine, you won't be able to destroy them.”  He persuaded them.  They flogged the Apostles, ordered them to stop speaking in Jesus' name, and dismissed them.  The Apostles left, rejoicing that they suffered for the Name's sake; they kept teaching and proclaiming Jesus.
    • Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14  "One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord."  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?
    • Jn 6:1-15  Jesus, seeing a crowd coming to him, asked, “Where can we buy food for them?” / “A boy has five loaves and two fish, but what good are those?”  Jesus distributed the loaves.  They had their fill, filled twelve baskets of leftovers, and said, “This is the Prophet.”  Jesus knew they were going to make him king, so he withdrew.
      Reflect
        • Creighton:  John’s and Mark's feeding-miracle stories have many similarities:  large, hungry crowd, discussion about where to get the food, not enough money, review of what little they have, Jesus having the people sit down, then blessing and giving out the food, everyone eating their fill, gathering up the abundant leftovers.  We may find ourselves in a similar situation:  more people, needs, and tasks than resources, Jesus asking what we have....  If I give the little I have to Jesus, he'll bless and multiply it and return it to me, and miracles happen.  May we offer to Jesus what we have, trust him, and be prepared for miracles.
          Miracle of the Bread and Fish/ Lanfranco
        • One Bread, One Body:  "Testing out":  Jesus' "tests" of his apostles prepared them for future tests.  The Sanhedrin tested them too, severely, and they passed.  Jesus' ministry grew after he died; it didn't fizzle as with Theudas and Judas the Galilean.  Jesus tests us to enable us to grow, as a drill sergeant tests his soldiers to prepare them to overcome the enemy.  The Spirit can infuse us with grace to overcome the most severe tests.  "God won't let you be tested beyond your strength; he'll give you a way for you to endure it."
        • Passionist:  The multiplication of the loaves is mentioned six times in the Bible.  Dining was considered a special, intimate time with loved ones.  About a third of John takes place during a meal!  The Church associates these wonderful times of closeness of Christ with the Eucharist.  Jesus cherished this Last Supper:  “I've passionately desired (Ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἐπεθύμησα) to eat this Passover with you.”  “The Eucharist, as Christ’s saving presence in the community and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession the Church can have....  [It] contains our spiritual wealth:  Christ, our Passover and living bread.  Through his flesh, made living and life-giving by the Spirit, he offers us life....  So our gaze is on our Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which we discover the full manifestation of his boundless love.” (John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, paraphrased)
        • DailyScripture.net:  "The miraculous sign of Jesus":  Jesus' disciples complained it would cost at least six months' wages to feed the crowd, but Jesus used the little they had to satisfy everyone.  Jesus' signs, including this one, signified that God had sent him as the Messiah.  The miracle pointed to God's provision of manna and foreshadowed the true heavenly bread Jesus would offer.  Jesus claims, as only God can, that he is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy our deepest hunger.  When we receive the Eucharist, we unite ourselves to Christ and share his body and blood.  It "provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Christ" (Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Eph. 20:2); it heals body and soul and strengthens us for our journey.  What do I expect to receive in the Eucharist?  The Lord has more for us than we can ask or imagine:  intimate union with Christ, charity, strength to break with disordered attachments and to be more firmly rooted in Christ....  Today's miracle shows God's great generosity and kindness.  He gives more than we need for ourselves so we may share with those in need.  God takes what we have and multiplies it for others' good.
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