Jesus makes it very clear in today's Gospel reading that He expects His disciples to continue to bear ever-increasing fruit. "This sort of talk is hard to endure!" (Jn 6:60) Do we, as His disciples, find this divine expectation of "much" and "more" (Lk 12:48) to be "too much" for us? (Mk 6:3) "Does it shake your faith?" (Jn 6:61) Or does Jesus' challenge prompt you to receive still more responsibilities and get stretched and enlarged (see Acts 20:32) to become a more significant vessel for Him? (2 Tm 2:21) If so, you are allowing Jesus to do His will in and through you.
Are you willing to pay the price to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world? Are you willing to be entrusted with much, more, and still more? Jesus trusts you. Will you trust Him? Fr. Al Lauer, founder and long-time author of One Bread, One Body, said near the end of his life, "The more I say ‘No' to myself, the more I say ‘Yes' to the Holy Spirit." Trust the Lord to keep pouring out the love and power of the Holy Spirit in your heart (Rm 5:5). Live in Jesus and bear abundant fruit (Jn 15:5, 8).
| PRAYER: | Father, give me the enthusiasm, zeal, and fruitfulness of St. John of Capistrano. |
| PROMISE: | "Now, therefore, through the church, God's manifold wisdom is made known." –Eph 3:10 |
| PRAISE: | St. John of Capistrano is said to have practiced penance by riding through his town wearing a paper hat with his sins written on it. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College