"WOE TO ME IF I SHOULD PROVE MYSELF BUT A HALF-HEARTED SOLDIER

  IN THE SERVICE OF MY THORN-CROWNED CAPTAIN.

                                                            - Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Acts 9:1-20*

 Meanwhile,

Saul considered nothing but violence and death for the disciples of the Lord.

He went to the High Priest and asked him for letters

to the synagogues of Damascus that would authorize him to arrest

and bring to Jerusalem anyone he might find, man or woman, belonging to the Way.

 

 As he traveled along and approached Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?”

He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you persecute.

Now get up and go into the city; you will be told what you are to do there.”

The men traveling with him stood there speechless: they had heard the sound

but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground and, opening his eyes, could not see.

 

They took him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. He was blind,

and he did not eat or drink for three days.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, to whom the Lord called in a vision,

“Ananias!” He answered, “Here I am, Lord!” Then the Lord said to him,

“Go at once to Straight Street and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul.

You will find him praying, for he has just seen in a vision

that a man named Ananias has placed his hands upon him to restore his sight.”

 

 Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,

and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;  

and now he is here with authority from the High Priest, to arrest all who call upon your name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to bring my name to the pagan nations

and their kings and the people of Israel as well. I myself will show him how much he will have to suffer for my name.

 

”So Ananias left and went to the house. He laid his hands upon Saul and said, “

Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way here,

has sent me to you so that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see;

he got up and was baptized. Then he took food and was strengthened.

For several days, Saul stayed with the disciples at Damascus,

and he soon began to proclaim in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God.

 

Ps 117:1bc, 2

Go out to all the world and tell Good News.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

 John 6:52-59

The Jews were arguing among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

So Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,

you have no life in you. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives eternal life,

and I will raise him up on the last day.

My flesh is really food, and my blood is truly drink.

 

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

Just as the Father, who is life, sent me, and I have life from the Father,

so whoever eats me will have life from me. This is the bread from heaven;

not like that of your ancestors who ate and later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever."

Jesus spoke in this way in Capernaum when he taught them in the synagogue,

 

Gospel Reflection ：

To embody Christ's self-giving love.

Jesus boldly proclaims, "Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man

and drink his blood, you have no life in you. The one who eats my flesh and drinks

my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day." This teaching,

though challenging for many to accept, underscores the profound truth of Christ's sacrificial love.

 

Jesus becomes the source of eternal life by offering his body and blood,

inviting us into a deep, life-giving union with him.

This passage emphasizes the significance of the Eucharist,

where we partake in Christ's body and blood as a tangible

expression of our faith and communion with Him.

 

It challenges us to view the Eucharist not merely as a ritual

but as a transformative encounter with the living Christ who sustains and nourishes us.

Furthermore, we are called to embody Christ's self-giving love –

witnessing his presence and sharing his sacrificial love

with a world yearning for hope and renewal.