What can you do this year to find more peace and strength in the Lord who offers you all these — for free? - Daily Reflections January 7,2014

THE GOOD SHEPHERD OFFERS REST AND

NOURISHMENT

 

Who was the Infant Jesus who was born in utter poverty in Bethlehem? Why did the Almighty God become a weak human being?

       Yesterday, we said that the liturgy of the Christmas season tries to answer these questions. Today, the evangelist Mark provides us with a beautiful answer. St. Mark begins by telling us how Jesus took pity on the large crowd that followed Him: “They were like sheep without a shepherd.”

       Many churches have adoration chapels — wonderful places of rest in the presence of the Good Shepherd. A good friend of mine, a very busy lawyer, makes it a point to attend the Holy Mass every day and spend some time in an adoration chapel. There he finds rest, peace and direction. What else can one expect in the presence of the Good Shepherd?

       Mark gives us another answer as to why Jesus came into this world. He nourished the crowd. The way Mark describes the scene makes us see that this event was a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. The words “took, blessed, broke, distributed,” used during the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, are the same words used today at the consecration.

       Mark also tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem to nourish us. During the Midnight Mass two years ago, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, “Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we are in Bethlehem.” Jesus, who came unknown to the world, born in a manger, would remain in the world, hidden under the species of bread and wine.

       The Eucharist would become the center of the early Christian communities. The recent popes remind us what the Second Vatican Council proclaimed: “The Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life.” For here, Christ remains present among us, enters our very being and strengthens us, and continues to lead us in our journey through life until we reach our goal: eternal life and happiness in the presence of His Father. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: What can you do this year to find more peace and strength in the Lord who offers you all these — for free?

 

Lord, in our hectic life, You offer us rest. Help me to use it. Lord, often I feel spiritually dry, empty and hungry. Help me to accept You more consciously every time I receive the Eucharist.