FAUSTI - The daily experience of the Eucharist transfers us to the eighth day, the today of the transfiguration, because it makes us present to Lord's gift of eternal Love. His bread is our life and it enables us, like Elijah, to make the long journey of forty days until the mountain of God's revelation (1 Kings 19:8). The place where Jesus is recognized is not the curiosity of Herod, who wants to control and hold Him in his hand, but the fragrance of bread and the astonished wonder of the disciple who enjoys of it. The breaking of bread is objective revelation of His love for me. I remember it, I bring it to my heart, to the center of myself and I let myself be asked by it, trying to respond. Faith is this dialogue that becomes common life, His love that becomes my bread and nourishes me. Luke's reading of this strictly Christological banquet marks the point of arrival of the mission: the apostolic activity leads to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus and has its "summit" and crowning in the Eucharist, which is also its "origin". It is the foundation and also fulfilment of the Church , her beginning and her aim! The story has as its background the expectation of the Messianic banquet in the desert, similar to that which God prepared for His people ( Is.25,6... Hos 11,4). In the end He reveals Himself completely, He makes us enter into His mystery of death and resurrection, and He takes us with Himself in His journey to Jerusalem. It is dance, which instead of mourning, now concludes human fatigue. All verbs are aorist (precise action, once and for all), "to take, to raise the eyes, to bless, to break, to give to the disciples, to offer, to eat and be full." giving is to the imperfect: it began then and continues again and again in the hands of the disciples, who succeeded to the Twelve, who always distribute the only Bread that satisfies the hunger of every living person. The whole Gospel is a commentary on these Words, a catechesis on the Eucharist, the arrival and the departure of the mission, the culmination and the source of Christian life. It introduces every man into the mysteries of God, making him familiar with Him and making him a participant in the Father/Son dialogue, until (with announcement and Eucharist) God will be everything in everyone and His Glory will be witnessed to the ends of the earth. It places those who celebrate it in the heart of the mystery of God, in the memory of His passion for us, in the anticipation of the Resurrection and in the expectation of His return. The apostles, the Twelve, called later disciples, like those who will continue His work, are the servants of this banquet. They summon, welcome, receive and distribute to all the bread broken and given by the Lord. The surplus is not put away (like the manna in Ex. 16,32) but it is what the disciples always have in reserve to give to all and forever. Unlike the manna that perishes, this never perishes. On the contrary, it has the power to preserve from death those who eat of it. In it the Lord wants and can finally reveal the mystery of love to the Father and to us. This Bread places us at the center of the Trinity, as children in the Son, and makes us like Him listeners of the Word of the Father that transfigures our faces. The centrepiece of this passage is the Word of the Last Supper. Now the presence of the God who satiates His people in the Exodus is replaced by Christ who breaks the Bread. The disciples' giving food to all, on the order of the Lord, echoes the "Do this in memory of me" (of every Eucharistic prayer in the unlimited gift of Consecration).
First Reading: Genesis 14: 18-20 But Melchisedech the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God, Blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram by the most high God, who created heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high God, by whose protection the enemies are in thy hands. And he gave him the tithes of all.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 110: 1, 2, 3, 4 1 The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand: Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.
2 The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.
3 With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength: in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot thee.
4 The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech. Second Reading: First Corinthians 11: 23-26 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread.
24 And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me.
25 In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me.
26 For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come. Gospel: Luke 9: 11b-17 11 Which when the people knew, they followed him; and he received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed them who had need of healing.
12 Now the day began to decline. And the twelve came and said to him: Send away the multitude, that going into the towns and villages round about, they may lodge and get victuals; for we are here in a desert place.
13 But he said to them: Give you them to eat. And they said: We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; unless perhaps we should go and buy food for all this multitude.
14 Now there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples: Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
15 And they did so; and made them all sit down.
16 And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed them; and he broke, and distributed to his disciples, to set before the multitude.
17 And they did all eat, and were filled. And there were taken up of fragments that remained to them, twelve baskets. WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER These gestures anticipate those of the Last Supper, which give to the bread of Jesus its truest meaning. The bread of God is Jesus Himself. By making Communion with Him, we receive His life in us and become children of our Heavenly Father and brothers among us. By making communion we meet with Jesus who is truly alive and Risen! To participate in the Eucharist means to enter into the logic of Jesus, the logic of gratuitousness, of sharing. And no matter how poor we are, we can all give something. "Making Communion" also means drawing from Christ the grace that enables us to share with others what we are and what we have. (Angelus, St. Peter's Square, Sunday, 26 July 2015)
FAUSTI - The daily experience of the Eucharist transfers us to the eighth day, the today of the transfiguration, because it makes us present to Lord's gift of eternal Love.
RispondiEliminaHis bread is our life and it enables us, like Elijah, to make the long journey of forty days until the mountain of God's revelation (1 Kings 19:8). The place where Jesus is recognized is not the curiosity of Herod, who wants to control and hold Him in his hand, but the fragrance of bread and the astonished wonder of the disciple who enjoys of it.
The breaking of bread is objective revelation of His love for me.
I remember it, I bring it to my heart, to the center of myself and I let myself be asked by it, trying to respond.
Faith is this dialogue that becomes common life, His love that becomes my bread and nourishes me.
Luke's reading of this strictly Christological banquet marks the point of arrival of the mission: the apostolic activity leads to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus and has its "summit" and crowning in the Eucharist, which is also its "origin".
It is the foundation and also fulfilment of the Church , her beginning and her aim!
The story has as its background the expectation of the Messianic banquet in the desert, similar to that which God prepared for His people ( Is.25,6... Hos 11,4).
In the end He reveals Himself completely, He makes us enter into His mystery of death and resurrection, and He takes us with Himself in His journey to Jerusalem.
It is dance, which instead of mourning, now concludes human fatigue.
All verbs are aorist (precise action, once and for all),
"to take,
to raise the eyes,
to bless,
to break,
to give to the disciples,
to offer,
to eat and be full."
giving is to the imperfect: it began then and continues again and again in the hands of the disciples, who succeeded to the Twelve, who always distribute the only Bread that satisfies the hunger of every living person.
The whole Gospel is a commentary on these Words, a catechesis on the Eucharist, the arrival and the departure of the mission, the culmination and the source of Christian life.
It introduces every man into the mysteries of God, making him familiar with Him and making him a participant in the Father/Son dialogue, until (with announcement and Eucharist) God will be everything in everyone and His Glory will be witnessed to the ends of the earth.
It places those who celebrate it in the heart of the mystery of God, in the memory of His passion for us, in the anticipation of the Resurrection and in the expectation of His return.
The apostles, the Twelve, called later disciples, like those who will continue His work, are the servants of this banquet. They summon, welcome, receive and distribute to all the bread broken and given by the Lord.
The surplus is not put away (like the manna in Ex. 16,32) but it is what the disciples always have in reserve to give to all and forever.
Unlike the manna that perishes, this never perishes. On the contrary, it has the power to preserve from death those who eat of it. In it the Lord wants and can finally reveal the mystery of love to the Father and to us.
This Bread places us at the center of the Trinity, as children in the Son, and makes us like Him listeners of the Word of the Father that transfigures our faces.
The centrepiece of this passage is the Word of the Last Supper.
Now the presence of the God who satiates His people in the Exodus is replaced by Christ who breaks the Bread.
The disciples' giving food to all, on the order of the Lord, echoes the "Do this in memory of me" (of every Eucharistic prayer in the unlimited gift of Consecration).
First Reading: Genesis 14: 18-20
RispondiEliminaBut Melchisedech the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God,
Blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram by the most high God, who created heaven and earth.
And blessed be the most high God, by whose protection the enemies are in thy hands. And he gave him the tithes of all.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 110: 1, 2, 3, 4
1 The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand: Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.
2 The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.
3 With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength: in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot thee.
4 The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.
Second Reading: First Corinthians 11: 23-26
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread.
24 And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me.
25 In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me.
26 For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come.
Gospel: Luke 9: 11b-17
11 Which when the people knew, they followed him; and he received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed them who had need of healing.
12 Now the day began to decline. And the twelve came and said to him: Send away the multitude, that going into the towns and villages round about, they may lodge and get victuals; for we are here in a desert place.
13 But he said to them: Give you them to eat. And they said: We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; unless perhaps we should go and buy food for all this multitude.
14 Now there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples: Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
15 And they did so; and made them all sit down.
16 And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed them; and he broke, and distributed to his disciples, to set before the multitude.
17 And they did all eat, and were filled. And there were taken up of fragments that remained to them, twelve baskets.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
These gestures anticipate those of the Last Supper, which give to the bread of Jesus its truest meaning. The bread of God is Jesus Himself. By making Communion with Him, we receive His life in us and become children of our Heavenly Father and brothers among us. By making communion we meet with Jesus who is truly alive and Risen! To participate in the Eucharist means to enter into the logic of Jesus, the logic of gratuitousness, of sharing. And no matter how poor we are, we can all give something. "Making Communion" also means drawing from Christ the grace that enables us to share with others what we are and what we have. (Angelus, St. Peter's Square, Sunday, 26 July 2015)