by L'équipe de publication | Apr 20, 2024 | Agenda Biblique
Psautier iv
LE BON PASTEUr
Blanc
Antienne d´ouverture Cf. Ps 32, 5-6
Criez au Seigneur votre joie : la terre est remplie de son amour par sa parole, les cieux ont été faits, alléluia.
Prière d’ouverture
Dieu éternel et tout-puissant, guide-nous jusqu’au bonheur du ciel ; que le troupeau parvienne, malgré sa faiblesse, là ou son pasteur est entré victorieux. Lui qui.
1ère lecture : Actes 4, 8-12
En ces jours-là, Pierre, rempli de l’Esprit Saint, déclara : « Chefs du peuple et anciens, nous sommes interrogés aujourd’hui pour avoir fait du bien à un infirme, et l’on nous demande comment cet homme a été sauvé. Sachez-le donc, vous tous, ainsi que tout le peuple d’Israël : c’est par le nom de Jésus le Nazaréen, lui que vous avez crucifié mais que Dieu a ressuscité d’entre les morts, c’est par lui que cet homme se trouve là, devant vous, bien portant. Ce Jésus est la pierre méprisée de vous, les bâtisseurs, mais devenue la pierre d’angle. En nul autre que lui, il n’y a de salut, car, sous le ciel, aucun autre nom n’est donné aux hommes, qui puisse nous sauver. »
Psaume : 117(118),1,8-9,21-23,26,28-29
R / La pierre que les bâtisseurs ont rejetée est devenue la pierre d’angle.
Rendez grâce au Seigneur car il est bon, car son amour n’a pas de fin. Il vaut mieux se réfugier dans le Seigneur que de se confier aux hommes ; il vaut mieux se réfugier dans le Seigneur que de se confier aux princes.
Je te remercierai d’avoir répondu et tu es mon sauveur. La pierre que les bâtisseurs ont rejetée est devenue la pierre angulaire. C’est l’œuvre du Seigneur, une merveille à nos yeux.
Béni au nom du Seigneur celui qui vient. Nous vous bénissons de la maison du Seigneur; Tu es mon Dieu, je te remercie. Mon Dieu, je te loue. Rendez grâce au Seigneur car il est bon ; car son amour n’a pas de fin.
2ème lecture : 1 Jean 3, 1-2
Bien-aimés, voyez quel grand amour nous a donné le Père pour que nous soyons appelés enfants de Dieu – et nous le sommes. Voici pourquoi le monde ne nous connaît pas : c’est qu’il n’a pas connu Dieu. Bien-aimés,
dès maintenant, nous sommes enfants de Dieu, mais ce que nous serons n’a pas encore été manifesté. Nous le savons : quand cela sera manifesté, nous lui serons semblables car nous le verrons tel qu’il est..
Acclamation : Jn10, 14
Alléluia. Alléluia. Je suis le bon pasteur, dit le Seigneur ; je connais mes brebis et mes brebis me connaissent. Alléluia. (Jn 10, 14)
Évangile : Jean 10, 11-18
En ce temps-là, Jésus déclara :
« Moi, je suis le bon pasteur, le vrai berger, qui donne sa vie pour ses brebis. Le berger mercenaire n’est pas le pasteur, les brebis ne sont pas à lui :
s’il voit venir le loup, il abandonne les brebis et s’enfuit ; le loup s’en empare et les disperse. Ce berger n’est qu’un mercenaire, et les brebis ne comptent pas vraiment pour lui. Moi, je suis le bon pasteur ; je connais mes brebis, et mes brebis me connaissent, comme le Père me connaît, et que je connais le Père; et je donne ma vie pour mes brebis. J’ai encore d’autres brebis, qui ne sont pas de cet enclos : celles-là aussi, il faut que je les conduise. Elles écouteront ma voix : il y aura un seul troupeau et un seul pasteur. Voici pourquoi le Père m’aime : parce que je donne ma vie, pour la recevoir de nouveau. Nul ne peut me l’enlever : je la donne de moi-même. J’ai le pouvoir de la donner, j’ai aussi le pouvoir de la recevoir de nouveau : voilà le commandement que j’ai reçu de mon Père. »
Prière sur les offrandes
Donne nous Seigneur, de te rendre grace toujours par ces mystères de paques ; ilscontinuent en nous ton oeuvre de rédemption, qu’ils nous soient une source intarissable de joie. Par Jésus.
Antienne de communion
Il est ressuscité, Jésus, le vrai pasteur, lui qui a donné sa vie pour son troupeau, lui qui a choisi de mourir pour nous sauver, alléluia.
Prière après la communion
Père tout-puissant et pasteur plein de bonté, veille sur tes enfants avec tendresse ; tu nous as sauvés par le sang de ton Fils : ouvre- nous une demeure dans le Royaume des cieux. Par Jésus.
Méditation
Le sang dans la culture juive était intouchable. Jésus scandalise donc ses interlocuteurs quand il leur dit qu’il offrira son sang à boire. Nous ne comprendrons jamais ce mystère si nous restons scotchés au matériel. Le mystère de l’Eucharistie est l’aliment qui ravive notre être, renforce les énergies ou les forces des faibles et des pécheurs qui cherchent la transformation de leur vie. Sans l’aliment eucharistique, la faiblesse nous envahit et nous tombons malade. L’Eucharistie est la vie du chrétien
by L'équipe de publication | Apr 19, 2024 | Evangelium
Saints Marcellinus, Vincent
and Domninus
(- 374)
White
Marcellinus with two fellow missionaries, Vincent and Domninus, left their native Africa in order to bring the faith to Gaul (now France). Marcellinus was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Embrum on account of his missionary zeal and holiness.
Entrance Antiphon : Col 2: 12
You have been buried with Christ in Baptism, through which you also rose again by faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead, alleluia.
Collect
O God, who in the font of Baptism have made new those who believe in you, keep safe those reborn in Christ, that, defeating every onslaught of error, they may faithfully preserve the grace of your blessing. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Acts 9:31-42
The Churches throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up, living in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit. Peter visited one place after another and eventually came to the saints living down in Lydda. There he found a man called Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you: get up and fold up your sleeping mat.’ Aeneas got up immediately; everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they were all converted to the Lord. At Jaffa there was a woman disciple called Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek, who never tired of doing good or giving in charity. But the time came when she got ill and died, and they washed her and laid her out in a room upstairs. Lydda is not far from Jaffa, so when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men with an urgent message for him, ‘Come and visit us as soon as possible.’ Peter went back with them straightaway, and on his arrival they took him to the upstairs room, where all the widows stood round him in tears, showing him tunics and other clothes Dorcas had made when she was with them. Peter sent them all out of the room and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the dead woman and said, ‘Tabitha, stand up.’ She opened her eyes, looked at Peter and sat up. Peter helped her to her feet, then he called in the saints and widows and showed them she was alive. The whole of Jaffa heard about it and many believed in the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 115:12-17
R/ How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?
How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people. O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds. A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call on the Lord’s name.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Lk24:46,26
Alleluia, alleluia! We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead: have mercy on us, triumphant King. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 6:60-69
After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? ‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. ‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, ‘This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’ After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him. Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept in compassion, Lord, we pray, the offerings of your family, that under your protective care they may never lose what they have received, but attain the gifts that are eternal. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Jn 17: 20-21
Father, I pray for them, that they may be one in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me, says the Lord, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
Keep safe, O Lord, we pray, those whom you have saved by your kindness, that, redeemed by the Passion of your Son, they may rejoice in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
The Gospel outlines the marks of a true and a counterfeit disciple. To Christ’s question, “Do you want to go away too?” The true disciple answers, “You have the message of eternal life.” His happiness and peace in this life and the life after are wholly rooted in Jesus’ word of life. All other roads would lead to a dead end. Only Jesus had the words of eternal life. To the question of Jesus, the counterfeit disciple answers, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” For them, the words of Jesus are offensive and intolerable. In Acts, Peter heals Aeneas from a chronic illness and raises Tabitha to life from death. The true disciple’s works are fruitful, while the works of counterfeit disciples are sterile. The choice is ours.
by L'équipe de publication | Apr 18, 2024 | Agenda Biblique
Saint Léon IX, Pape
Blanc
Dans le gouvernement de l’Eglise, Léon IX (1002-1054) fut remarqué pour son souci de la vie chrétienne des fidèles et son abnégation. L’un de ses grands collaborateurs finira par devenir pape, Grégoire VII.
Antienne d’ouverture : Ap 5, 12
Il est digne, l’Agneau immolé, de recevoir puissance, divinité, sagesse, force et honneur, alléluia.
Prière d’ouverture
Nous t’en prions, Dieu tout-puissant, nous qui avons reçu la grâce de savoir que le Christ est ressuscité : que ton Esprit d’amour nous fasse vivre une vie nouvelle. Par Jésus.
1ère lecture : Act 9, 1-20
En ces jours-là, Saul était toujours animé d’une rage meurtrière contre les disciples du Seigneur. Il alla trouver le grand prêtre et lui demanda des lettres pour les synagogues de Damas, afin que, s’il trouvait des hommes et des femmes qui suivaient le Chemin du Seigneur, il les amène enchaînés à Jérusalem. Comme il était en route et approchait de Damas, soudain une lumière venant du ciel l’enveloppa de sa clarté. Il fut précipité à terre; il entendit une voix qui lui disait : «Saul, Saul, pourquoi me persécuter?» Il demanda : « Qui es-tu, Seigneur?» La voix répondit : « Je suis Jésus, celui que tu persécutes. Relève-toi et entre dans la ville : on te dira ce que tu dois faire. » Ses compagnons de route s’étaient arrêtés, muets de stupeur : ils entendaient la voix, mais ils ne voyaient personne. Saul se releva de terre et, bien qu’il eût les yeux ouverts, il ne voyait rien. Ils le prirent par la main pour le faire entrer à Damas. Pendant trois jours, il fut privé de la vue et il resta sans manger ni boire. Or, il y avait à Damas un disciple nommé Ananie. Dans une vision, le Seigneur lui dit : « Ananie ! » Il répondit : « Me voici, Seigneur. » Le Seigneur reprit : « Lève-toi, va dans la rue appelée rue Droite, chez Jude : tu demanderas un homme de Tarse nommé Saul. Il est en prière, et il a eu cette vision : un homme, du nom d’Ananie, entrait et lui imposait les mains pour lui rendre la vue. » Ananie répondit : « Seigneur, j’ai beaucoup entendu parler de cet homme, et de tout le mal qu’il a fait subir à tes fidèles à Jérusalem. Il est ici, après avoir reçu de la part des grands prêtres le pouvoir d’enchaîner tous ceux qui invoquent ton nom.» Mais le Seigneur lui dit : « Va! car cet homme est l’instrument que j’ai choisi pour faire parvenir mon nom auprès des nations, des rois et des fils d’Israël. Et moi, je lui montrerai tout ce qu’il lui faudra souffrir pour mon nom.» Ananie partit donc et entra dans la maison. Il imposa les mains à Saul, en disant : « Saul, mon frère, celui qui m’a envoyé, c’est le Seigneur, c’est Jésus qui t’est apparu sur le chemin par lequel tu venais. Ainsi, tu vas retrouver la vue, et tu seras rempli d’Esprit Saint.» Aussitôt tombèrent de ses yeux comme des écailles, et il retrouva la vue. Il se leva, puis il fut baptisé. Alors il prit de la nourriture et les forces lui revinrent. Il passa quelques jours à Damas avec les disciples et, sans plus attendre, il proclamait Jésus dans les synagogues, affirmant que celui-ci est le Fils de Dieu.
Psaume 116 (117), 1, 2, Mc 16, 15
R/ Allez dans le monde entier. Mc 16,15 Proclamez l’Évangile.
Ou : Alléluia
Louez le Seigneur, tous les peuples; fêtez-le, tous les pays!
Son amour envers nous s’est montré le plus fort ; éternelle est la fidélité du Seigneur !
Acclamation
Alléluia. Alléluia. Qui mange ma chair et boit mon sang demeure en moi, et moi en lui, dit le Seigneur. Alléluia. (Jn 6, 56)
Évangile : Jean 6, 52-59
En ce temps-là, les Juifs se querellaient entre eux : « Comment celui-là peut-il nous donner sa chair à manger ? » Jésus leur dit alors : « Amen, amen, je vous le dis :si vous ne mangez pas la chair du Fils de l’homme, et si vous ne buvez pas son sang, vous n’avez pas la vie en vous. Celui qui mange ma chair et boit mon sang la vie éternelle; et moi, je le ressusciterai au dernier jour. En effet, ma chair est la vraie nourriture, et mon sang est la vraie boisson. Celui qui mange ma chair et boit mon sang demeure en moi, et moi, je demeure en lui. De même que le Père, qui est vivant, m’a envoyé, et que moi je vis par le Père, de même celui qui me mange, lui aussi vivra par moi. Tel est le pain qui est descendu du ciel : il n’est pas comme celui que les pères ont mangé. Eux, ils sont morts; celui qui mange ce pain vivra éternellement. Voilà ce que Jésus a dit alors qu’il enseignait à la synagogue de Capharnaüm.
Prière sur les offrandes
Dans ta bonté, Seigneur, sanctifie ces dons ; accepte le sacrifice spirituel de cette Eucharistie, et fais de nous- mêmes une éternelle offrande à ta gloire. Par Jésus.
Antienne de communion
Celui que l’on avait crucifié, il est vivant pour toujours, et il nous a rachetés, alléluia.
Prière après la communion
Nous venons de communier, Seigneur, au don sacré du corps et du sang de ton Fils, et nous te prions humblement: que cette Eucharistie, offerte en mémoire de Lui, comme il nous a dit de le faire, augmente en nous la charité. Par Jésus.
Méditation
Jésus continue à se révéler avec insistance à ses disciples. Ce matin, il se présente comme unique chemin pour aller au Père. La foi en Jésus conduit inévitablement à la vie éternelle. Jésus en sa personne cache deux besoins essentiel de la vie de l’homme : manger et boire. Sans ces deux choses l’homme ne subsiste pas. Alors Jésus est la plénitude de la vie. Il nous invite à venir et croire en Lui, mais tout en nous convertissant, car la conversion de tous est la volonté de Celui qui l’a envoyé : le Père. A quand date ta dernière confession ? Fréquentes-constamment la table de l’Eucharistie
by L'équipe de publication | Apr 18, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Alphege
(954 – 1012)
White
He was bishop of Winchester and then Archbishop of Canterbury. At the sack of Canterbury by the Danes in 1011, Alphege was captured, imprisoned and later killed in 1012.
Entrance Antiphon : Rv 5: 12
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and divinity, and wisdom and strength and honour, alleluia.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who have come to know the grace of the Lord’s Resurrection, may, through the love of the Spirit, ourselves rise to newness of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Acts 9:1-20
Saul was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord’s disciples. He had gone to the high priest and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorise him to arrest and take to Jerusalem any followers of the Way, men or women, that he could find. Suddenly, while he was travelling to Damascus and just before he reached the city, there came a light from heaven all round him. He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ he asked, and the voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me. Get up now and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do.’ The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but even with his eyes wide open he could see nothing at all, and they had to lead him into Damascus by the hand. For three days he was without his sight, and took neither food nor drink. A disciple called Ananias who lived in Damascus had a vision in which he heard the Lord say to him, ‘Ananias!’ When he replied, ‘Here I am, Lord’, the Lord said, ‘You must go to Straight Street and ask the house of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying, having had a vision of a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight.’ When he heard that, Ananias said, ‘Lord, several people have told me about this man and all the harm he has been doing to your saints in Jerusalem. He has only come here because he holds a warrant from the chief priests to arrest everybody who invokes your name.’ The Lord replied, ‘You must go all the same, because this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name.’ Then Ananias went. He entered the house, and at once laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way here so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately it was as though scales fell away from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. So he was baptised there and then, and after taking some food he regained his strength. He began preaching in the synagogues, ‘Jesus is the Son of God.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:1-2
R/ Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
O praise the Lord, all you nations, acclaim him all you peoples!
Strong is his love for us; he is faithful for ever.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Lk24:46,26
Alleluia, alleluia! It was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 6:52-59
The Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me. This is the bread come down from heaven; not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’ He taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue.
Prayer over the Offerings
Graciously sanctify these gifts, O Lord, we pray, and, accepting the oblation of this spiritual sacrifice, make of us an eternal offering to you. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon
The Crucified is risen from the dead and has redeemed us, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
We have partaken of the gifts of this sacred mystery, humbly imploring, O Lord, that what your Son commanded us to do in memory of him may bring us growth in charity. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Right from the days of Jesus, the doctrine about the Eucharist hardly made sense to people. It is paradoxical to note that when Jesus taught about himself being bread, the people could not believe. Today’s Gospel text shows the Jews arguing: how can this man give us his body to eat? In reality, they were arguing, how can this man be bread? But today, the argument changes to how this bread can be a man. The great paradox is that while the Jews refused that Jesus could not be bread, today, some refuse that the bread at mass cannot be Jesus. Until we can go beyond the physical accidents, we can never truly believe in the Eucharist. Let us pray for the grace to believe, especially when we do not understand.
by L'équipe de publication | Apr 17, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Laserian or Molaise
(- 639)
White
He was born in Ireland, became a monk on Iona, and was ordained priest in Rome by St Gregory the Great. He was active in promoting harmony between the Celtic and Roman churches on the date on which Easter should be celebrated.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ex 15: 1-2
Let us sing to the Lord, for he has gloriously triumphed. The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation, alleluia.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, let us feel your compassion more readily during these days when, by your gift, we have known it more fully, so that those you have freed from the darkness of error may cling more firmly to the teachings of your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Acts 8:26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Be ready to set out at noon along the road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.’ So he set off on his journey. Now it happened that an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or Queen of Ethiopia, and was in fact her chief treasurer. He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and meet that chariot.’ When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ ‘How can I’ he replied ‘unless I have someone to guide me?’ So he invited Philip to get in and sit by his side. Now the passage of Scripture he was reading was this: Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter-house, like a lamb that is dumb in front of its shearers, like these he never opens his mouth. He has been humiliated and has no one to defend him. Who will ever talk about his descendants, since his life on earth has been cut short! The eunuch turned to Philip and said, ‘Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?’ Starting, therefore, with this text of Scripture Philip proceeded to explain the Good News of Jesus to him. Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptised?’ He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and Philip baptised him. But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found that he had reached Azotus and continued his journey proclaiming the Good News in every town as far as Caesarea.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 65:8-9,16-17,20
R/ Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
O peoples, bless our God, let the voice of his praise resound, of the God who gave life to our souls and kept our feet from stumbling.
Come and hear, all who fear God. I will tell what he did for my soul: to him I cried aloud, with high praise ready on my tongue.
Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer nor withhold his love from me.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord, who hung for us upon the tree, has risen from the tomb. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowd: ‘No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father. I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life. ‘I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who by the wonderful exchange effected in this sacrifice have made us partakers of the one supreme Godhead, grant, we pray, that, as we have come to know your truth, we may make it ours by a worthy way of life. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : 2 Cor 5: 15
Christ died for all, that those who live may live no longer for themselves, but for him, who died for them and is risen, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
Graciously be present to your people, we pray, O Lord, and lead those you have imbued with heavenly mysteries to pass from former ways to newness of life. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
One of the glaring realities of life is that death comes to us all regardless of our status. But Jesus states vehemently that you will never die if you eat his body and drink his blood. We must understand here that in the first case, we are talking about physical death, and in the case of Jesus, he is speaking about spiritual death. Spiritual death refers to permanent separation from God. Since Jesus is God, when we eat his body which is food for our souls, we are united with him and so receive the life of God from him. In that case, we remain alive even after physical death. In scripture, separation from God is constantly referred to as death. This is the case with sin that separates us from God. Thus we all have the opportunity to make our choices for life or death. Let us pray for the grace to receive Holy Communion worthily.
