From: Nivard ...
Sent: Mon, 3 January, 2011 17:11:27
Subject: Epiphany - Tues - Multiplication of loaves
"Jesus said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to the disciples."
"We cannot live without the Mass". In the year 304, the Emperor Diocletian forbade Christians, on pain of death, from possessing the Scriptures, from gathering on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist.
In Abitene, In Tunisia, 49 Christians were taken by surprise one Sunday. They were arrested and questioned. They replied to the charges. "We cannot live without joining together on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. We would lack the strength to face our daily problems and survive.”
In taking flesh, the Son of God could become Bread. He is our nourishment on our journey in this world towards Heaven. We need this Bread to face the fatigue and weariness of our journey.
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Tuesday after Epiphany :
Mc 6,34-44
Mc 6,34-44
Commentary of the day Pope Benedict XVI
Homily for the Italian Eucharistic Congress, 29/05/05 (cf DC 2339, p. 634 ©Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
Homily for the Italian Eucharistic Congress, 29/05/05 (cf DC 2339, p. 634 ©Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
"Jesus took the loaves... and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke them , and gave them to (his) disciples"
"Without Sunday we cannot live" - takes us back to the year 304, when the Emperor Diocletian forbade Christians, on pain of death, from possessing the Scriptures, from gathering on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist and from building places in which to hold their assemblies. In Abitene, a small village in present-day Tunisia, 49 Christians were taken by surprise one Sunday while they were celebrating the Eucharist... They were arrested and taken to be interrogated... There they replied to the charges: "Sine dominico non possumus": that is, we cannot live without joining together on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. We would lack the strength to face our daily problems and not to succumb.
In taking flesh, the Son of God could become Bread and thus be the nourishment of his people, of us, journeying on in this world towards the promised land of Heaven. We need this Bread to face the fatigue and weariness of our journey. Sunday, the Lord's Day, is a favourable opportunity to draw strength from him, the Lord of life. The Sunday precept is not, therefore, an externally imposed duty, a burden on our shoulders. On the contrary, taking part in the Celebration, being nourished by the Eucharistic Bread and experiencing the communion of their brothers and sisters in Christ is a need for Christians, it is a joy; Christians can thus replenish the energy they need to continue on the journey we must make every week.
In taking flesh, the Son of God could become Bread and thus be the nourishment of his people, of us, journeying on in this world towards the promised land of Heaven. We need this Bread to face the fatigue and weariness of our journey. Sunday, the Lord's Day, is a favourable opportunity to draw strength from him, the Lord of life. The Sunday precept is not, therefore, an externally imposed duty, a burden on our shoulders. On the contrary, taking part in the Celebration, being nourished by the Eucharistic Bread and experiencing the communion of their brothers and sisters in Christ is a need for Christians, it is a joy; Christians can thus replenish the energy they need to continue on the journey we must make every week.
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