Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Intention: That we may be a people of life, speaking for the dignity and needs of all people, especially the poor, the oppressed, the exploited, the misunderstood, and the forgotten.
Today’s Gospel | John 6:30-35
The crowd said to Jesus: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
So they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
From the First Meditation for the Time of Retreat | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
God is so good that, having created us, he wills that all of us come to the knowledge of the truth. This truth is God himself and what he has desired to reveal to us through Jesus Christ, through the holy apostles, and through his Church. This is why God wills all people to be instructed, so that their minds may be enlightened by the light of faith.
By reason of your state, you are responsible for the instruction of children. Profit by the words and the wise conduct of this saint, because all your care must be to procure for them the Christian spirit. You must consider the obligation you have to win their hearts to be a principal means to lead them to live in a Christian manner. Often reflect that if you fail to use this means, you will drive them away from God instead of drawing them to him.
Prayer
Eternal Father, your Son brings to us the good news that in him we always will know the fullness of life. Through your grace, we are able to find your presence dwelling deep inside of us, filling and nourishing us like food and drink. Help us all to celebrate your gift of eternal life through our own zeal for your word and for our care and vigilance for those entrusted to our care. Make of us a hungry and a grateful people. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.