When I want to get people’s attention—to invite them to an event or get a message across—I first give them a hook. The hook can be a song, an entertaining story, a skit, a joke, or anything that will grip them. Often, the most effective hook is to serve food. But if you want to get a quicker response? Give money.

But our key verse says there’s a problem with this hook. People will follow you, but only while you have the hook. Once it runs out, you’ll be frustrated when they leave you.

Nothing wrong with using creative strategies to prepare your audience for your bigger message. But don’t let the hook become the main thing. Don’t get addicted to the attention these hooks bring you, forgetting your higher purpose—to point others to Jesus or to do His will. 

Go, throw your “hooks!” 

Just be sure you know why you’re catching others and for Whom. 

Alvin Barcelona (apb_ayo@yahoo.com)

reflect

“(God is) not going to applaud us for becoming famous during our lifetimes; He’s going to ask us how we used our spotlight to bring Him glory.” (Tessa Emily Hall)

Father in heaven, thank You for catching me, through Your Son Jesus, my Lord. Grant me the grace to hook and catch others for You too. Amen.

St. Hilary of Arles, pray for us.

Chosen as one of the deacons, Stephen served in the nascent Christian community. Let us reflect on the interesting fact that deacons were chosen by the Apostles to relieve them of some of their duties so they, the bishops, could devote their time to preaching and prayers. However, the deacons were also reported to be preaching. Stephen got into trouble with the Jews because he was an effective preacher. As Christians, may we realize the imperative to proclaim the Gospel. 

⁸ Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, ¹⁰ but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. ¹¹ Then they instigated some men to say, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. ¹³ They presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him claim that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵ All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.  

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30

R: Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

²³ Though princes meet and talk against me, your servant meditates on your statutes. ²⁴ Yes, your decrees are my delight; they are my counselors. (R) ²⁶ I declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me your statutes. ²⁷ Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. (R) ²⁹ Remove from me the way of falsehood, and favor me with your law. ³⁰ The way of truth I have chosen; I have set your ordinances before me. (R) 

Gospel | John 6:22-29

What motivates us to seek Jesus? Do we have faith in our experiences or are we preparing for the long haul of true discipleship? The answer to this question shows our commitment to be in a relationship with Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us. We may be attracted to Jesus for what He offers us, but the fullness of life will only come if we are as committed to Jesus as He is to us. 

Gospel Acclamation

One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

²² [After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.] The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. ²³ Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. ²⁴ When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” ²⁸ So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

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

Since the pandemic, we have found it necessary to boost our immune system. We take vitamins, get the right amount of sleep, exercise regularly, and eat healthy food. To guarantee good health, we need more than just boosting our immune system. We must also strengthen our inner reserves, that is, to bolster our psycho-spiritual and mental state. Physically, we may not be ill, but we could be suffering from ailments of the heart, the mind, or the spirit.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus alludes to the fact that we have two lives to nourish: the physical and the spiritual. One requires physical food while the other requires spiritual food. Jesus says, “Work for food that lasts for eternal life.” He invites us to fix our gaze on the things that last. We recall the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Why spend money on what does not satisfy? Why spend your wages and still be hungry? Listen to me and do what I say, and you will enjoy the best food of all” (Isaiah 55:2). Similarly, in his Confessions, Saint Augustine said this: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You, O Lord.”

Through today’s Gospel reading, Jesus teaches us that the greatest priority we ought to pursue in life as His followers is the Kingdom of Heaven. This is what should preoccupy us—the ultimate goal of our lives. But we also know that it is never easy to pursue what is just and true in this life. It takes courage and perseverance to resist the superficial consolations of the world. It requires a good discernment to pursue the things that are above. It entails deep faith to hunger for the spiritual, for those that is the Lord’s, and what we need to be with Him. 

Fr. Ricky Montañez, AA

reflection question

Have you ever caught yourself trying to fill a spiritual emptiness with material things? 

Lord, help me to always strive to work for the things that will accord me space in Your Kingdom. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ____________________________________-