Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit;
you are just like your ancestors.
Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,
whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
You received the law as transmitted by angels,
but you did not observe it.”

When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul. 
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”;
and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul was consenting to his execution. Acts 7:51-8:1

Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, dies as a witness to Jesus.  We hear about martyr’s in the early Church, but we must remember there are martyr’s in our faith right here right now today.  We are baptized in the same waters and have the same Holy Spirit as the early Church martyrs.  As we went to Adoration yesterday as a school, we were closer to Jesus than many who lived during His time.  We too are called to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and if called to die for Him as He died for us.  We must continue to get to know Jesus, speak to Him daily like we are texting a friend, learn about what He did, so that we may receive Him in the Eucharist and go out into the world and be Christ for others.  Last, we see Saul who will later be Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, the writer of more books than anyone in the New Testament, persecuting Christians.  God calls many to conversion to help spread the faith even those who were non-believers.  We must continue to strive to bring the Good News to non-believers, especially those who are baptized and have fallen away from the Church.

The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”

So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.” 
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
 JN 6:30-35

Today, Jesus begins the most difficult teaching to believe.  Many followers of Christ leave after this teaching.  Jesus even asks the Apostles if they want to leave Him too after this teaching.  It is the teaching that Jesus is the bread of life.  The consecrated host is not a symbol, but the Real Presence.  ”I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” JN 6:35
About this time last year, the Eucharistic Miracle exhibit was travelling through Wichita.  Take time to read about a Eucharistic Miracle at http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/a3.html​

Today’s challenge: Find a good book on the Eucharist at the Catholic book store.  Jesus, Our Eucharistic Love is $5.  Read it before you go to Mass or once a week.  Never stop reading it so you know how important it is to receive Jesus.  Put Eucharistic Miracles webpage on your favorites.  Pope Francis has a Eucharistic Miracle from his diocese under investigation before he became pope.  Check it out.

Christian YOLO

Be a servant, Become a saint!

No Bible no breakfast, No Bible no bed. -Fr. Larry Richards