Turn yourself round like a piece of clay and say to the Lord I am clay,

and you, Lord, the Potter. Make of me what you will. 

                                                –  St. John Avila

 

St. John of Avila, priest and doctor

St. Damien Joseph de Veuster of Molokai, priest

1st Reading: Acts 9:31-42

Meanwhile, the Church had peace.

It was building up throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, with eyes turned to the Lord, and filled with comfort from the Holy Spirit.

As Peter traveled around, he went to visit the saints who lived in Lydda.

There he found a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!"

And the man got up at once. All the people living in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

 

There was a disciple in Joppa named Tabitha, which means Dorcas, or Gazelle.

She was always doing good works and helping the poor. At that time, she fell sick and died.

After having washed her body, they laid her in the upstairs room.

As Lydda is near Joppa, the disciples, on hearing that Peter was there,

sent two men to him with the request, "Please come to us without delay."

 

So Peter went with them. On his arrival, they took him upstairs to the room.

All the widows crowded around him in tears, showing him the clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them.

Peter made them all leave the room; and then, he knelt down and prayed. Turning to the dead body, he said, "Tabitha, stand up."

She opened her eyes, looked at Peter and sat up. Peter gave her his hand and helped her up.

Then he called in the saints and widows, and presented her to them alive.

This became known throughout all of Joppa; and many people believed in the Lord because of it.

 

Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?

 

Gospel: John 6:60-69

After hearing this, many of Jesus' followers said, "This language is very hard! Who can accept it?"

Jesus was aware that his disciples were murmuring about this, and so he said to them, "Does this offend you?

Then how will you react when you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life,

not the flesh. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. But among you there are some who do not believe."

 

From the beginning, Jesus knew who would betray him. So he added,

"As I have told you, no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."

After this many disciples withdrew and no longer followed him. Jesus asked the Twelve,

"Will you also go away?" Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life. We now believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

 

Reflection:

"To whom shall we go?"

Many disciples have followed Jesus up to the point of his preaching at Capernaum.

His words become harder to fathom, and for many of them, harder to accept, so they start to drift away.

This leads Jesus to ask his closest disciples if they want to leave too. Perhaps they were also struggling to understand what he means.

But Peter speaks for them all, saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

We now believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." We believe; we know you are the Holy One of God.

 

Deep faith changes everything. The realization that there is life in the Lord's words and in our relationship

with him gives us a foundation that is strong enough to withstand all the uncertainties and trials that might come our way.

The life of faith has its mysteries and its uncertainties, but with a strong trust in Christ, we will stay with him,

just like the apostles, even when we find something hard to understand.

As Saint John Henry Newman wrote in his Apologia, "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt."