We understand the Sacrament of Confirmation as the moment when we confirm our baptism. Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. The coming of the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost wasnt sufficient for the early church. Saint Paul says in his letter to the Romans that we do not know how to pray as we ought. A little later in that same chapter of Johns gospel it is said of Jesus that he gives the Spirit without measure. The image of Jesus as the gate emphasizes more what we must do in response to all that Jesus has done and is doing for us. When it comes to our faith, there is a great deal to understand. He can offer himself to them as the Bread of Life who responds to the deepest yearnings of their heart, for truth, for a love that endures, for a life over which death has no power. He never ceases to come to us, and in coming he says to us what he said to his disciples on that first Easter morning, Peace be with you. He is an open gate, not a closed gate. The Lord comes to us all in our moments of struggle, when we sense our vulnerability, our frailty, when a darkness of spirit threatens to engulf us. We traditionally use the term holy communion to refer to the Eucharist. In other words, it is in giving that we receive; it is in giving life to others that we receive life and become fully alive ourselves. They are looking for more of the bread that Jesus had given them the day before. The gospel reading suggests that when we ourselves feel at our weakest, our most vulnerable, our lowest, when our own resources seem meagre, the Lord can work powerfully in us and through us. As Peter puts it in todays second reading, You did not see him, yet you love him. He wants to lead us towards that other horizon; he wants us to be where he now is, so that we can see his glory. Over the centuries the Carmelites adopted the Lectio Divina to develop their understanding and knowledge about Jesus. When you reflect on that saying of Jesus, it is indeed very reassuring. On January 6 last, the Pope went to a parish on the outskirts of Rome and he visited a live nativity scene, which had various animals including sheep and lambs. The Lord wishes to enter into communion with us in a very profound way so that, in the words of the gospel reading, we can draw life from him. We cannot ignore our physical hunger; when we are hungry, we eat. In the language of this fourth gospel, it is Jesus, who is close to the Fathers heart, who has made him known. Parents are called upon by their children and then, as parents get older, it is the children who often get called upon by their parents.
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