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. (John 6:63)
Let us contemplate for a moment the significance of the above quotation, spoken to us by the Word of God Incarnate, Jesus of Nazareth. 'The flesh has nothing to offer' - so we are told by the Holy One who assumed human nature; who 'took on flesh', so that we might have life, and life in abundance. Jesus, the Son of God, the Word Incarnate, who came into the world to be with us and to save us - Jesus Emmanuel, is telling us quite clearly that it is not our bodies that are important, but our life in the Holy Spirit. 'It is the spirit that gives life'.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Thus says the Lord. Let us then approach the Lord, the Word made flesh, at every opportunity, in Holy Scripture. And let us contemplate with awe, the great sacrifice of the Lord, so that we may have life in abundance.
Something which has existed since the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have watched and touched with our own hands, the Word of life - this is our theme. That life was made visible; we saw it and are giving our testimony, declaring to you the eternal life, which was present to the Father and has been revealed to us. We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard, so that you too may share our life. Our life is shared with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing this to you so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1-4)
'We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard, so that you too may share our life'. St. John makes this very significant statement, which underlines the importance of sharing the gifts of the spirit. This is one way to keep the spirit alive in our lives. Sharing. In reading the Word of God, in contemplating the Word, in living the Word, we receive the grace of increased faith. In sharing the Word of God, we receive grace upon grace. Freely, freely, you have received, freely, freely give.
This concept is illustrated well by two bodies of water. Think of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and flows back out again. The sea is alive, teeming with fish, teeming with life. It receives the water of the Jordan and gives out the water of the Jordan. Teeming with life the river makes its way to the asphalt or Dead Sea, where its journey and its life come to an end. The water flows into the Dead Sea and nothing flows back out. Could this also be true of our spiritual lives?
We are nourished in the spirit by the sacraments of Holy Church and the Word of God. At Holy Mass we have a banquet. We are firstly nourished by the liturgy of the Word and then by the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. The mission of the Church is to go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News. Do we do that? Can others tell that we are Christians by the way we lead our lives? By our concern for others? By our love? By the way we declare what we have seen and heard of the Word of God?
Every time we receive the Sacraments or hear the Word of God we have a true meeting with Christ. We hear the Word with our own ears. We see him in the written Word with our own eyes. We see him in others, who live life in the Spirit. We touch him with our own hands each time we receive Holy Communion. Jesus truly lives in us. We are truly temples of the Holy Spirit. And it is the Spirit that gives life to our flesh. It is the Spirit that gives meaning to our lives. It is the Spirit that unites us and makes us one Body in Christ to the glory of God the Father.
'…From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in it and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.
The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. 'Sacramental grace' is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Saviour.' (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1128, 1129)
'The liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist together form 'one single act of worship'; the Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord.
Is this not the same movement as the Paschal meal of the risen Jesus with his disciples? Walking with them he explained the scriptures to them; sitting with them at table 'he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.' (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1346; 1347)
'And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other 'Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us. They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem…..then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of the bread.' (Luke 24:31-35)
Notice how, as soon as the disciples recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, he disappeared. They then had to live by faith and give witness to his resurrection and the Word which had been entrusted to them. We too are asked to recognise the Lord Jesus Christ in the liturgy of the Word and in the liturgy of the Eucharist, and living in the Spirit of faith, to go forth and witness in spirit and in truth.
'…Jesus is the Incarnate Word - a single and indivisible person…Christ is none other than Jesus of Nazareth; he is the Word of God made man for the salvation of all…In the process of discovering and appreciating the manifold gifts - especially the spiritual treasures - that God has bestowed on every people, we cannot separate these gifts from Jesus Christ, who is at the centre of God's plan of salvation…
Furthermore, the salvific action of Jesus Christ, with and through his Spirit, extends beyond the visible boundaries of the Church to all humanity………all this holds true not only for Christians but also for all men of good will in whose hearts grace is active invisibly. For since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the Paschal mystery.
Hence, the connection is clear between the salvific mystery of the Incarnate Word and that of the Spirit, who actualises the salvific efficacy of the Son made man in the lives of all people, called by God to a single goal….' (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "Dominus Iesus". Declaration on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church. 2000)
'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.'
Let us contemplate for a moment the significance of the above quotation, spoken to us by the Word of God Incarnate, Jesus of Nazareth. 'The flesh has nothing to offer' - so we are told by the Holy One who assumed human nature; who 'took on flesh', so that we might have life, and life in abundance. Jesus, the Son of God, the Word Incarnate, who came into the world to be with us and to save us - Jesus Emmanuel, is telling us quite clearly that it is not our bodies that are important, but our life in the Holy Spirit. 'It is the spirit that gives life'.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Thus says the Lord. Let us then approach the Lord, the Word made flesh, at every opportunity, in Holy Scripture. And let us contemplate with awe, the great sacrifice of the Lord, so that we may have life in abundance.
Something which has existed since the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have watched and touched with our own hands, the Word of life - this is our theme. That life was made visible; we saw it and are giving our testimony, declaring to you the eternal life, which was present to the Father and has been revealed to us. We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard, so that you too may share our life. Our life is shared with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing this to you so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1-4)
'We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard, so that you too may share our life'. St. John makes this very significant statement, which underlines the importance of sharing the gifts of the spirit. This is one way to keep the spirit alive in our lives. Sharing. In reading the Word of God, in contemplating the Word, in living the Word, we receive the grace of increased faith. In sharing the Word of God, we receive grace upon grace. Freely, freely, you have received, freely, freely give.
This concept is illustrated well by two bodies of water. Think of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and flows back out again. The sea is alive, teeming with fish, teeming with life. It receives the water of the Jordan and gives out the water of the Jordan. Teeming with life the river makes its way to the asphalt or Dead Sea, where its journey and its life come to an end. The water flows into the Dead Sea and nothing flows back out. Could this also be true of our spiritual lives?
We are nourished in the spirit by the sacraments of Holy Church and the Word of God. At Holy Mass we have a banquet. We are firstly nourished by the liturgy of the Word and then by the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. The mission of the Church is to go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News. Do we do that? Can others tell that we are Christians by the way we lead our lives? By our concern for others? By our love? By the way we declare what we have seen and heard of the Word of God?
Every time we receive the Sacraments or hear the Word of God we have a true meeting with Christ. We hear the Word with our own ears. We see him in the written Word with our own eyes. We see him in others, who live life in the Spirit. We touch him with our own hands each time we receive Holy Communion. Jesus truly lives in us. We are truly temples of the Holy Spirit. And it is the Spirit that gives life to our flesh. It is the Spirit that gives meaning to our lives. It is the Spirit that unites us and makes us one Body in Christ to the glory of God the Father.
'…From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in it and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.
The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. 'Sacramental grace' is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Saviour.' (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1128, 1129)
'The liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist together form 'one single act of worship'; the Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord.
Is this not the same movement as the Paschal meal of the risen Jesus with his disciples? Walking with them he explained the scriptures to them; sitting with them at table 'he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.' (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1346; 1347)
'And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other 'Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us. They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem…..then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of the bread.' (Luke 24:31-35)
Notice how, as soon as the disciples recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, he disappeared. They then had to live by faith and give witness to his resurrection and the Word which had been entrusted to them. We too are asked to recognise the Lord Jesus Christ in the liturgy of the Word and in the liturgy of the Eucharist, and living in the Spirit of faith, to go forth and witness in spirit and in truth.
'…Jesus is the Incarnate Word - a single and indivisible person…Christ is none other than Jesus of Nazareth; he is the Word of God made man for the salvation of all…In the process of discovering and appreciating the manifold gifts - especially the spiritual treasures - that God has bestowed on every people, we cannot separate these gifts from Jesus Christ, who is at the centre of God's plan of salvation…
Furthermore, the salvific action of Jesus Christ, with and through his Spirit, extends beyond the visible boundaries of the Church to all humanity………all this holds true not only for Christians but also for all men of good will in whose hearts grace is active invisibly. For since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the Paschal mystery.
Hence, the connection is clear between the salvific mystery of the Incarnate Word and that of the Spirit, who actualises the salvific efficacy of the Son made man in the lives of all people, called by God to a single goal….' (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "Dominus Iesus". Declaration on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church. 2000)
'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.'
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