The Mass of St Gilles, Master of Saint Gilles [Web Gallery of Art]
Readings
(New American Bible:
Philippines, USA)
Readings
(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
Gospel Mark 6:41-51 (New Revised Standard
Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)
Then
the Jews began to complain about Jesus because he said, ‘I am the bread that
came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of
Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down
from heaven”?’ Jesus
answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who
sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be
taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who
is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and
they died. This is
the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give
for the life of the world is my flesh.’
The Prophet Elijah in the Desert, Dieric Bouts the Elder
Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you' (1 Kings 19:7 - from First Reading).
Sto Niño Church, Lianga, Surigao del Sur [Photo:Benjie Otagan]
Nearly twenty-five years ago when I was
parish priest in Lianga in the Diocese of Tandag, which covers the province of
Surigao del Sur on the east coast of Mindanao, one of our volunteer catechists
came to me on a Saturday afternoon and told me that her father, who was gravely
ill, had asked to receive 'the Bread of Life'. I discovered that Mario, as I'll
call him, had been married three times, having been widowed twice.
When I arrived at the house there
were children from his three marriages there, many of them with their own
children. There was a palpable sense of joy in the home and Mario was
fully alert. After hearing his confession I invited his family to join us as we
celebrated the Sacrament of the Sick before giving him Holy Communion.
After a period of silence and the
closing prayers of the rite I asked those closest to their father/grandfather
to place their hands on him. My idea was that we would have some spontaneous
prayer. However, Mario changed this into something far more beautiful. He took
one of his grandchildren, only a few months old, into his arms, embraced and
kissed the child. Then he embraced each of his children and grandchildren and
kissed them. Almost everyone, particularly Mario himself, was aware that he had
not long to live. He was making a joyful farewell to his family, full of hope
because he had received God's forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation
followed by the nourishment of God himself in the Bread of Life.
In the First Reading an angel wakes
up the weary prophet Elijah twice with the command 'Get up and eat'. On this
occasion Mario's family in effect said the same to me, even though I wasn't
weary like Elijah, as they had prepared a snack for me, which is not usual when
the priest makes a sick call. However, on this occasion I thought it 'truly
right and just' as the joy of the Lord was clearly evident in Mario and his
family. He knew that 'the journey' would not 'be too much for' him.
The bread that I will give, says the
Lord, is my flesh for the life of the world (Cf John 6:51, Communion Antiphon).
Schola Gregoriana Abba Caelum, Seoul, Korea
Antiphona ad Communionem Communion Antiphon
Panis, quem dedero, caro mea est pro saeculi vita, dicit Dominus.
The bread that I will give, says the Lord, is my flesh for the life of the world.
I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die (John 6:48-50 - from today's Gospel).
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