OUR LIVES ARE IN YOUR HANDS
Peace has come to our hearts because "'You are my God.' My life is in Your Hands."
In our Responsorial Psalm we acclaim today, "Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit" (Ps 31:6a), and "Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; for Your name's sake lead me and guide me" (Ps 31: 3-4). These words bring us much joy. "'You are my God.' My fate is in Your hands" (Ps. 31:15b-16a). We receive a sense of relief that comes over us, a feeling of satisfaction and safety in times of trouble. Whatever life brings to us, we come to know that it is all in God's loving hands.
We pray that our faith will grow and that there will be an end to the worry in our lives so that we will continue to work for what is good. By emanating a happy face and a light heart we want to bring God's goodness to the world, which is what the true treasure is - Jesus Christ!
In John's Gospel, Jesus makes the claim that comes from the Father, "I am the Bread of Life" (Jn. 6:35). The bread which Jesus Christ offers is none other than the very life of God. This is the true bread which can truly satisfy the hunger in our hearts. And when we eat this bread it sustains us not only on our journey toward a heavenly paradise, but it also gives us the abundant supernatural life of God Himself, both for the now and for all eternity. At God's table we unite ourselves with Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who makes us sharers in His Body and Blood. The Church recalls the story of St. Stephen as the first Christian to give his life for his faith in Jesus Christ, beginning a chain of Christian martyrs that continues through our generation today and into the future. To proclaim the Bread of Life as they faced their physical death was all for the love of God!