TGIMMJune7

April 7

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Monday, April 7, Lent V

JOHN 8:12-20

I am the light.

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus is the light of life. Have I totally accepted that fact as I live my life right now?

b. The Pharisees do not want to believe Jesus. Have I accepted what the Lord says to me in the Scriptures?

c. The Lord knows where he came from, namely God the Father. As I study my own background, who have been the most influential in my life and why? A prayer of thanksgiving is in order.

d. The Lord mentions judging others. No doubt, this is one of my principal problems. I should spend some time praying for those I judge in a negative way.

e. Jesus assures his listeners that he and the Father are one, and therefore he is God. I should not let this block my imitation of Jesus as human. Is Jesus the guide he should be in my life?

f. Jesus doesn’t answer their question concerning his origin. What is important is that he is doing the divine will, and it will become available to them. We know that God’s will will happen. Do we believe that God is totally in charge of our lives?

g. My prayerthoughts...

Today I will write a prayer of thanksgiving for the LORD’s involvement in my life.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

KNOWING JESUS

+ Today’s Gospel reading is from John’s Gospel

- in his Gospel, there are many discourses, long sermon-type sayings

- some that are difficult to understand

- here, Jesus is speaking about his relationship with his Father and uses a phrase that is good to dwell on as we try to improve our spiritual lives

If you knew me, you would know my Father

+ As we think about what the phrase means and the readings of the Liturgy today, perhaps four things to think about:

1 – knowing Jesus is the way to know God in our world

- the secret to understanding who God is is to understand Jesus:

- so when we talk about how God works, we see how Jesus works, thinks, what his words are—and we know who God is

2 – also from the Gospel—knowing Jesus means to know that Jesus is light of the world

- if we follow him, that is, figure out the meaning of his words, actions and thoughts

- then we will have what we call in English the light of life

- that is, life that is fulfilled, life that makes sense, life that begins eternal life right here, and lasts until eternity

3 – from the interesting first reading, knowing Jesus means understanding and living the truth

- the two men committed perjury and were condemned by Daniel

- there is not much occasion for us to commit perjury in our lives

- but there is occasion to think seriously of the truth

- we must hold the truth to be sacred

- and spend some time on how well we tell the truth and whether telling the truth is a priority in our lives

4 – finally, knowing Jesus implies that our judgments of others will be true

- Jesus points out that the judgment of the Pharisees with regard to him was not good

- we must look at the judgments of others that we make in our minds, and question whether they are true or not

+ As we look at Jesus’s statement it means for us that if we know Jesus, our lives would be different.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Stitches" -- Shawn Mendes

IF I MOVE ON

The Gospel

LUKE 22:39-44

LUKE 22:39-44

Jesus went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not undergo the test.” After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.

Gospelthink: I suffered in a very human way as I realized that I would be killed, but I still prayed. Do I pray during the most difficult times?

"I thought that I'd been hurt before, but no one's ever left me quite this sore. Your words cut deeper than a knife. Now I need someone to breathe me back to life, got a feeling that I'm going under. But I know that I'll make it out alive if I quit calling you my lover, (and) move on. You watch me bleed until I can't breathe. Shaking, falling onto my knees, and now that I'm without your kisses, I'll be needing stitches. Tripping over myself, aching, begging you to come help. Just like a moth drawn to a flame, you lured me in, I couldn't sense the pain, your bitter heart cold to the touch. Now I'm gonna reap what I sow; I'm left seeing red on my own."

One of the most encouraging facts for a Christian is that Jesus knew about the same kind of pain that we have in life. For Jesus, mental and physical pain was part of human existence, as can be seen especially at the end of his life. Studying his life from a merely human point of view, his mental suffering at the Garden of Gethsemane was so intense that he actually sweat blood as he thought of the pain that was to come. But he could move on because God his Father sent an angel as comfort to him.

Mental pain is common enough in our human existence. It comes in the form of worry or concern about some future plan or care about someone who is hurting for some reason. It is felt especially when people break up from a romantic relationship. As often noted in these meditations because breakups are so often sung about, we do not usually marry the first person with whom we fall in love. Therefore there will be a breakup, and it will almost always be painful. As Shawn Mendes sings in his song "Stitches," the person who is breaking up is bleeding until he can't breathe.

It would lead to complete despair unless there were something that could help us in some way. Jesus felt the comfort of an angel with his mental pain. The mental pain felt in a breakup or in truth any mental pain in life is a matter of accepting the reality of the moment. We must accept the fact that for whatever reason the pain is present, and then react in a truly human way by "moving on" in life. Looked at from a spiritual point of view, we believe that God is directing us toward another end. Such end could be described as looking at the new opportunities that we have as a result of the pain.

Mental health is paramount in our human lives, whether we are dealing with failed love relationships or the common worries of daily living. We must deal with the pain by moving on in a different direction.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, there is always pain in life because we are human beings. May we study the example of Your Son especially at His death, realizing that You will always help us with any pain that we have. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Romantic breakups may be one of the worst pains in people's lives, but there is always a solution.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Analysis: In the Gospel, when Jesus tells his disciples to pray that they do not undergo the test, what test do you think he is speaking of?
2. Jesus makes it clear that the Father's Will is most important in what will happen. What is the best way to determine God's Will for us?
3. Note Jesus' mental pain here, the subject of this meditation. In your opinion, what is the worst mental pain you can think of at the present time?
4. Why is it so difficult to "move on" to another romantic relationship?
5. Text analysis: "I'm gonna reap what I sow." What is the meaning of the sentence?
6. What is the best way to help someone who is suffering great mental pain?
7. What do most people worry about? What should they worry about?
8. Project: Ask someone who is happily married about their first love, determining whether they married their first love or not.
9. In today's world, what is the best way to bring about good mental health?
10. What does the song "Stitches" teach young people today?