AD SENSE

Easter 3rd Week,Wednesday, Apr 29

Acts 8:1-8 / John 6:35-40 
Jesus speaks about eternal life: “Whoever believes in me will have eternal life.”

When Wernher von Braun died, Time magazine called him the 20th-century Columbus. Before he died, von Braun gave this testimony concerning life after death: “I think science has a real surprise for the skeptics....Nothing in nature, not even the tiniest particle, can disappear without a trace. Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation....“Everything science has taught me— and continues to teach me— strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death.”
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How firmly do we believe in Jesus’ promise of eternal life? “If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might the heart of man become in its long journey to the stars?” Gilbert Keith Chesterton
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If we can remember the beginning lines of the novel "A tale of two cities" (Charles Dickens), it goes like this: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…

That passage makes marked use of anaphora, the repetition of a phrase at the beginning of consecutive clauses—for example, “it was the age . . . it was the age” and “it was the epoch . . . it was the epoch. . . .” This technique, along with the passage’s steady rhythm, suggests that good and evil, wisdom and folly, and light and darkness stand equally matched in their struggle.

And that is also a reflection of life and its cycles of good and evil, wisdom and folly, light and darkness, etc.

We have just celebrated the Resurrection. It was a time of light and joy. But following that, as we heard in the 1st reading, was a time of evil and darkness that began with the martyrdom of Stephen and then a bitter persecution started against the Church.

But even in the midst of that time of evil and darkness, there were little lights that flickered and showed that the darkness cannot overcome the light. Also it is interesting to note that there is a unit of measurement for light (lux or lumen) but none for darkness.

One of those lights was Philip who went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Good News of Christ to them, and there was great rejoicing in that town.

The light that we have received at our Baptism needs to be nourished by Jesus, the Bread of Life so that just like a candle whose light is fuelled by the wax, the light of our faith can continue to burn when we are nourished by the Bread of life.

Then even in the best of times or worst of times, whether in wisdom or foolishness, whether in belief or incredulity, whether in hope or despair, our light will continue to shine through the darkness.
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Easter 3 wk- Wednesday - LITURGY

Introduction
The fervor of the young Church is so contagious, that even in persecution Christians use the occasion of the persecution itself to preach the risen Christ. Indeed, God does not abandon the Church, even in moments of trial. The reading from Acts says that there was even great joy over the signs of the Lord’s presence. There is also a great joy in the Gospel where we hear Jesus says that he is our bread of life: not only will he later give himself as bread to eat, but his word and message are for us real bread of life, something to live by and to live for.

Penitential Rite:
-whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
-I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
-I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me

Opening Prayer
God, our Father, you are our faithful God, even in days of trial for the Church and for each of us personally; you stay by our side, even if we are not aware of your presence. Give us an unlimited trust in you and make us ever more aware that your Son Jesus is the meaning of our lives and that he nourishes us with himself, today and every day, forever.

General Intercessions
–    That by the way they live their faith, Christians may show the beauty and joy of the message of Christ to those who seek, we pray:
–    That the Church may accept people the way they are and not drive them away because of mistakes, we pray:
–    That we may all be open-handed to many who are hungry today for food and love, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts
Our faithful God, you are our God of the covenant. Make us understand the covenant more deeply as your lasting commitment to us at your own initiative. In these signs of bread and wine, allow us to express that we too, want to be faithful to you not only in moments of happiness and joy but also when we are groping in the dark. We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion
Our faithful God, we rejoice that in your Son, Jesus, and his message of life, you have given us something and someone to live for. Thank you very much for making him our bread of life, who will never drive us away but will keep accepting us and making us grow in his life until it blossoms forth in eternal life. All thanks through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing
“I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me to drink,” says Jesus. May you always keep recognizing Jesus in the needy, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.