April 23, 2026 Thursday of the Third Week of Easter Or Optional Memorial of Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr Or Optional Memorial of Saint George, Martyr Gospel: John 6:44-51
Today is Thursday of the Third Week of Easter. The Church commemorates two martyr saints—Saint Adalbert of Prague and Saint George. The Gospel according to Saint John continues to present Jesus’ teaching on the Bread of Life.
The life of a Christian is often marked by opportunities to come to church to participate in Holy Mass and to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fullness of the Eucharistic celebration. But what draws us to the church? Is it the sacred images that attract us? Or the hymns resounding in praise of the Lord? If so, then we are not among those whom “the Father draws” (cf. John 6:35). Yet when we come to church with the desire to hear the Word of God, to deepen our relationship with Him through the sacraments, and to be reconciled with God—resolutely approaching to receive the Body and Blood of Christ under the forms of bread and wine—then we are truly those drawn by the Father. When we receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are enabled to see the face of God the Father as He truly is, and we receive eternal life. For Jesus says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. (cf. John 6:51)
Almighty ever-living God, let us feel your compassion more readily during these days when, by your gift, we have known it more fully, so that those you have freed from the darkness of error may cling more firmly to the teachings of your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
April 22, 2026 Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter Gospel: John 6:35-40
Today is Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter. We continue to listen to Jesus’ discourse on the Bread of Life.
We are often anxious about our daily food. At times, we must expend much sweat to earn enough to support ourselves and our families. This is because we are concerned with our earthly life and with perishable food—the sustenance that allows us to subsist in this fleeting world—rather than with that Bread which comes down from heaven and endures unto eternal life, as Jesus teaches us (cf. John 6:26–27).
We frequently regard what we receive from the hands of the priest during the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as merely ordinary barley bread and common wine. This is because we view the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ—consecrated by the priest in obedience to the Savior’s command and in continuity with His teaching—through merely human eyes. Thus, our thinking mirrors that of the crowd who approached Jesus in today’s Gospel: our knowledge of God remains superficial, not supernatural. Consequently, we perceive only ordinary bread and wine in the Eucharist, failing to see beyond them to the reality that grants deliverance from death.
In truth, when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, the God who creates and governs all things comes to dwell in our hearts. He desires to converse with us in the depths of our soul. The Christ who comes down from heaven into our hearts does not seek His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him (cf. John 6:37). He enables us to live within the fullness of His grace, to renounce sin courageously, to reject the devil—the source of all evil—and all his works, and to clothe ourselves in humility, following Christ completely, so that through faith in Him we may attain eternal life.
Be present to your family, O Lord, we pray, and graciously ensure those you have endowed with the grace of faith an eternal share in the Resurrection of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
April 21, 2026 Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter / Saint Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Gospel: John 6:30-35
Today is Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter. The Church today celebrates the Optional Memorial of Saint Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. The passage from the Gospel of Saint John continues to present Jesus’ discourse on the Bread of Life.
Saint John relates that the crowd said to Jesus, “What sign do You do, that we may see and believe You? What work do You perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (cf. John 6:30-31)
At times, we too are like this crowd that came to Capernaum seeking Jesus, wanting to receive a sign or a wonder from God. What sort of sign? It is the granting of our prayers. Having achieved the results, we desired through our own efforts, we sometimes forget God and think He does not exist, because we have not followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit to correctly understand every moment of our lives. Even at Mass, we might regard the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine as mere symbols, rather than the substantial, complete Jesus Christ.
Today, our priests, our bishops, and our cardinals—united with cardinals, bishops, and priests throughout the world—following the command and teaching of the Savior, call upon the Holy Spirit in the daily celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to consecrate the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we view the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the eyes of faith, rather than with merely human eyes, we will not think that it is our priests, bishops, or cardinals who give us the Body and Blood of Christ, but Jesus Christ Himself. What we receive is no longer bread and wine, but our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine. Although our corruptible bodies will grow hungry and thirsty again, the soul within us, nourished by receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, will never hunger or thirst again. As Jesus assured us: “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.” (cf. John 6:35)
Almighty God, who open the gate of the heavenly Kingdom to those reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, pour out upon Your servants an increase of the grace You have bestowed, that, having been cleansed of all sin, they may lack none of the good things You have promised in Your mercy. Through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
全属于祢 
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