Reading 1: 1 John 4:11-18
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us,
that we have confidence on the day of judgment
because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment,
and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 10, 12-13
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Gospel: Mark 6:45-52
After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.
REFLECTIONS
by
One Bread, One Body - Reflection for January 8, 2014
LOVING THE INVISIBLE
"We have seen for ourselves, and can testify, that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world." –1 John 4:14
It is very important for us as human beings to see people if we are to love them. We find it hard to love the invisible because we usually receive and give love through our senses. That is why God became a human being – so that we could see Him and love Him.
Therefore, when Jesus ascended bodily into heaven, this presented a problem for us. We no longer had a see-able and more lovable God. Accordingly, Jesus and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to extend the Incarnation by creating the body of Christ, the Church. Now through the Church and especially in the Eucharist, we can do much more than see God. We can even receive into our bodies the body and blood of God.
We accept this special, miraculous relationship with God by believing in Him and loving Him. "No one has ever seen God. Yet if we love one another God dwells in us, and His love is brought to perfection in us" (1 John 4:12). "God is Love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16). We can be in the invisible God and He in us if we are in love with Him, especially in the Eucharist. "Although you have never seen Him, you love Him, and without seeing you now believe in Him, and rejoice with inexpressible joy touched with glory because you are achieving faith's goal, your salvation" (1 Peter 1:8-9).
PRAYER: Father, no one has ever seen You (John 1:18), but I love You with all my heart because I have seen Your Image, Jesus (Colossians 1:15).
PROMISE: "It is I. Do not be afraid!" – Mark 6:50
PRAISE: Once a drug dealer and abuser, by God's grace George became a preacher of His Word
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