Unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies it remains a single seed. But if it dies in produces many seeds.
If we say we have died to ourselves and have taken up our cross to follow Jesus then where are the many seeds we have produced? How many have we led to RCIA? How many have we touched and ministered to? How many have we led out of bondage and have set free through Christ our Lord? How many no longer hunger and thirst for they have experienced the living bread, the Bread of Life?
It is not about being thick skinned enough but rather how filled are You with the love of God our Heavenly Father? Have you not partaken of the Bread of Life yourself? Are you not nourished daily through His living Word? For if you were truly living as a child of God so loved by Your Heavenly Father and are a disciple of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; then you will not allow criticism, persecution or anything for that matter, get in the way of sharing His truth, way and life!
It is my Father’s will, says the Lord, that whoever believes in the Son shall have eternal life, and that I shall raise him up on the last day. Amen
Alleluia!
First reading
Acts 8:1-8
They went from place to place, preaching the Good News
That day a bitter persecution started against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled to the country districts of Judaea and Samaria.
There were some devout people, however, who buried Stephen and made great mourning for him.
Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison.
Those who had escaped went from place to place preaching the Good News. One of them was Philip who went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town.
Gospel
John 6:35-40
It is my Father’s will that whoever sees the Son should have eternal life
Jesus said to the crowd:
‘I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.
But, as I have told you,
you can see me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away;
because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will,
but to do the will of the one who sent me.
Now the will of him who sent me
is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last day.
Yes, it is my Father’s will
that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and that I shall raise him up on the last day.’
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