"unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit."

When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all to myself.

Instead of a triumphant revolutionary political leader, they heard a suffering Son of Man whose death will bring life to all.

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Jeremiah 31:31-34

The time is coming-it is

Water was a symbol of God’s saving grace.

We’ve seen the brokenness continue, we’ve seen sin and exile and longing.

Flowing out from under the Temple,

It is to be understood as a healing, life-giving water.

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Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12*

The man brought me

 They wonder where did Jesus get His authority to speak.

But when Jesus spoke, people were animated and enlightened for He spoke of God’s love for us.

“Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father.

He who has ears, let him hear.”

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Jeremiah 11:18-20

Yahweh made it known to me

 We pray constantly, ‘Lord, I believe, strengthen my belief’

He went back with nothing but the assurance of Jesus that his son lives. That is why,

when Jesus’ words are confirmed, he became a believer together with his family.

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Isaiah 65:17-21

I now create new heavens

 Even though there was a threat to His life, Jesus still secretly went to Judea to attend the Feast of the Tabernacle.

He has come to obey a vocation, like any prophet,

”I have not come of My own accord but He who sent Me is true, and you do not know Him.

But I know Him, because I have My being from Him and it was He who sent Me”.

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Wisdom of Solomon 2:1a, 12-22

Led by mistaken reasons they think,

 God’s love is what sent Jesus to the cross so that we could be reconciled.

This is why God can call us out of darkness, not so that we’d be punished

but so that we could be saved from our sin. 

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2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

Furthermore, 

"If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is not true;

there is another who bears witness to me,

and I know that the testimony which he bears to me is true."

In today's Gospel, Jesus' words reveal such an intimacy with God

that both the Father and the Son are eager to bear witness to each other.

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Exodus 32:7-14

Then Yahweh said to Moses,

" The Church is alive not because we are able to keep it alive. Rather, 

the Church is alive because God is merciful and faithful to us,

accompanying us, healing us, and renewing us. By God's grace,

the Church is not merely surviving but growing and ever-renewing. "

                          Cardinal Jose F.Advincula
                                      Archbishop of Manila Philippines

 St. Frances of Rome, religious

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1st Reading: Hosea 6:1-6

Come, let us return to Yahweh.

Jesus is eager to share with us his sonship so that his Father will be our Father as well.

He spoke of God as a loving father with whom he related closely, Such was the unity of the Father and Jesus.

His Father's will, seen in sending him for the salvation of the world, was the priority of his life.

Truly, truly, I say you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

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1st Reading: Isaiah 49:8-15*

This is what Yahweh says:

God created us for love. He made sure that everything in us and our whole being is oriented in love.

The only way to grow in love is to let ourselves be loved by God, to remember

and reflect on his goodness every day and to allow his love and mercy to move us to love.

If we love God, we love those whom God loves.

St. John of God, religious Day of abstinence from meat

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Hosea 14:2-10

Return to your God,