The world’s battle against COVID-19 was highly spiritual. Parishes and services temporarily closed. Our live celebration of the Holy Eucharist stopped. Priests and lay preachers were confined in their respective homes. Our usual Feast sessions ended.

Like Philip in our First Reading, our priests and lay preachers were like seeds scattered. They still carried out God’s mission. The Holy Eucharist was celebrated in different social media platforms. Our Feast services became online shows, discipleship penetrated the technology and became a virtual mission. People found creative ways to show love and compassion through online shows. Healing still happened. Restoration still happened. Evil was overcome.

COVID-19 didn’t stop our faith. It even deepened our roots and scattered us online to share hope to people worldwide. We are the Church but we are not confined to the four corners of a building. We spread God’s Kingdom wherever, whenever, and however we can. Love Cosio (lovelynmcosio@gmail.com)

reflect

What is God asking you to do to further in His Kingdom amidst crises and challenges?

Lord, may Your Living Word be my hope to proclaim Your love to the world. Amen.

Saint Venerius, pray for us.

A persecuted Church is a faithful Church. When faith endangers our life because the authorities persecute us, the decision to become a disciple of Jesus becomes more real. Let us choose to follow Jesus; the other option is to refuse to give Him a place in our lives.

¹ There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles. ² Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. ³ Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment. ⁴ Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. ⁵ Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. ⁶ With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. ⁷ For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. ⁸ There was great joy in that city.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7

R: Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

¹ Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, ² sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. ³ Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds! (R) ⁴ “Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you, sing praise to your name!” ⁵ Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam. (R) ⁶ He has changed the sea into dry land;through the river they passed on foot; therefore let us rejoice in him. ⁷ He rules by his might forever. (R)

Gospel | John 6:35-40

Everything that Jesus says and does is directed toward eternal life. His life is a beacon for those who wish to receive the gift of salvation, and His example is what disciples must imitate. In this life, we need to know Jesus because He is the only one who can help us attain eternal life.

Gospel Acclamation

Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day, says the Lord.

³⁵ Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. ³⁶ But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. ³⁷ Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, ³⁸ because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read 2 KINGS 19 - 22 today.

Last year, following the example of Ana Patricia Non, community pantries sprouted all over the country, all in a matter of days. I was one of those who picked it up with alacrity, busy though I was in procuring boats for fishermen who lost their source of livelihood in a town in Catanduanes.

Although I was not in the thick of things with regard to the logistics of any particular pantry, I knew by past experience that the task of making perishable food available for the poorest of the poor needed to be sustainable—for many reasons and in more senses than just one. Putting bread on the shelves, for one, was not like making tinned food available. Even then, in the hope of being also of help to vegetable farmers, I chose to help out by giving fresh farm produce and distributing them to at least half a dozen pantries.

This reminded me of the understandable request of the crowds who received bread from the Lord: “Sir, give us this bread always.” The word is easy to remember: pantote. It means always, again and again, all the time. In contemporary Filipino colloquialism, the crowds were looking for “forever.” Translated to Pinoy slang, the question would probably sound like: “May forever ba ito, Sir?”

The response of the Lord was stunning. It was as precise as it was on point. He knew the crowds misunderstood what He was saying. He spoke about the “Father [giving them] the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

But the crowds, understandably so, had other things in mind. They wanted more of what was easy to see and touch and benefit from. They were asking for bread—not just for once, but again and again. They saw the goods given by the Giver but missed the more important Gift.

It is time we got things straight. We, too, can also miss the Gift and the Giver par excellence. “I Am the Bread of life.”

Yes, brother, may forever! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

reflection question

Do you sometimes attach more value to the tangible gifts you receive than the Giver and His life-giving Gift?

You are My most precious Gift, O God! Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________