Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Jude Thaddeus, Naga City | v.3, n.33 | issn 2599-5030 | 12 to 18 August 2018
giya sa prayer meeting
EAT, LIVE, AND BE ONE!
I
t is constantly mentioned in scriptures that God’s presence, action, and/or His saving plan in history are spoken of as a mystery. God’s mystery can be perceived by the senses through sensible signs. In the early Church, God’s unfolding comes slowly through the celebrations of religious rituals which have come to be coined from the Greek mysterion which denotes mystery. Sundays now. The meaning of bread vary in Most often, this perception of God different time and culture. Bread is the remains imperceptible to those who universal symbol for food which have not yet been baptized since SUNDAY can be taken by itself or with “the expression mysterion in biblical REFLECTION other kinds of food for terms refers to a hidden thing, a nourishment. For some, bread is money. secret or a mystery (Haffner, The Bread is daily sustenance. People during the Sacramental Mystery, 6).” There was constantly a certain degree of secrecy applied time of Jesus’ heared him say: “I am the bread that came down from heaven (Jn in the matter of recognizing who God is. 6:42)” could not but go back in history to Understanding the essence of mysterion has think of the “manna” during the Exodusgradually been made clearer only in the 7th experience of their ancestors in the desert. century a.d. when people performed rituals It was the manna which sustained their directed towards God. These rituals became people who wandered in the desert to the avenues for people to perceive God who is invisible. “Hence, what was ‘secret’ became figure out their identity as a people. It was ‘revealed’”(De Mesa, Bakas, 42) through these the manna which made God visible in their midst. As Jesus talked to them, and told rituals which eventually came to be them that He is the bread from heaven, understood as sacraments today. they cannot but question His credibility, Many Catholics would confine the His credibility of being one coming from understanding of sacraments only to the heaven—of being God. seven ritual sacraments. Our Catechism In the religious life of Catholics today, today teaches that Christ is the Primordial or the First Sacrament of God (see cfc, 1517-31). bread should always signify the Eucharist, the Eucharist which is the centerpiece of It is through Jesus that humans for the first sacramental life in the Church. For us time ever have seen God who is invisible to Filipino Catholics the Eucharist is our bread be present in humanity. This is a realism as we wander into the desert of which is pointed out by Jesus when He said uncertainties . . . the Eucharist should define “No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father our identity . . . the Eucharist should be the cause of our unity . . . the Eucharist who is (Jn 6:47), and He would refer to Himself as Jesus Himself should be the living bread the “Bread from Heaven” (cf Jn 6:42). which should nourish us every day. 4 Bread has been the main talk in the ramon l. almoneda, ph.d.-th. Gospel readings at least in the past three
juan 6:51-58 Domingo 20 (Taon b)
“N
agpairiwal-iwal an mga Hudiyo...” Bako gabos mayong pagtubod. Igwang nagkapira na bukas an isip sa pagsabot kan tataramon ni Jesus. Ini an dahilan kan iriwal kan mga Hudiyo. Kun gabos mayong pagtubod, mayo kuta LECTIO nang iriwal sinda. Kaya, DIVINA mayong maraot sa iriwal sa ngaran nin pagtubod sa Kagurangnan. Kaipuhan an diskurso tanganing makasabot. Kun bukas an isip, madali syang makakasabot bunga kan diskurso. Pàno ko naaaraman an totoo sa bako?
“Kun dai nindo kakanon an laman kan Aki kan tawo asin inumon an saiyang dugo, mayo kamong buhay sa saindo...” An laman asin dugo ni Jesus nagpapasabot na sya tunay na tawo na namundag sa kinàban, may laman asin dugo. Iyo ining gayo an saiyang idinusay sa krus. Nagsapò nin lanit an saiyang laman, nagbulos an saiyang dugo tanganing magdara nin kaligtasan sa kadaklan. Iyo man ini an mensahe kan Banal na Eukaristiya: si Jesus namundag na tawo, nagadan na tawo, may totoong laman asin dugo. Pirang beses ako magsimba sa laog kan sarong bulan? Tàno?
“An nagkakakan kan tinapay na ini mabubuhay sagkod pa man.” An sinasabi digdi nagkakakan, bako sanáng sarong karakanan; bako sanáng KBL—may kasal, bunyag asin lubong. Kundi ini dapat parating ginigibo, arualdaw o surusemana. Sa pagsimba, bako sanang paradalan kundi biyong nagpapartisipar sa Santa Misa asin nag-aakò kan komunyon. Siring kaini kahalaga an debosyon sa Eukaristiya. Siring man kaini kahalaga an pagtaong panahon sa pagsamba sa Banal na Sakramento. Masasabi ko daw na igwa akong debosyon sa Eukaristiya? 4