Daily reflection _ follow in the footsteps of Christ

MAY WE FOLLOW IN
THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHRIST
As people of faith we are asked to see God's loving hand and His own purposes in all the forms of suffering we must endure… for Him glory came from suffering, joy came from sorrow, and life came from death. 
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
Tertullian, an early Church Father who died around the year 230, declared that the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians. It was his poetic way of declaring that the Church grows through suffering, especially the suffering of persecution. The persecution of the primitive Church, which started with the martyrdom of St. Stephen, saw the first spread of the faith beyond Jerusalem. This was the beginning of the Church as truly Catholic, for from this time the faith was being preached and received in all Judea and Samaria, throughout Asia Minor and Greece, and finally in Rome and the ends of the earth, as Jesus had commanded just before His Ascension.
The faith was spread by devout men and women who endured much suffering, often to the point of martyrdom, so that Christ could be known and loved. There is a mystery in God's plan which we cannot pretend to comprehend, but for some reason suffering plays an important part both in preaching the Gospel and in following it. Jesus Himself had to undergo crucifixion and death for our salvation. In fact, the Eucharist itself is the fruit of His death on the cross. He gives us the gift of the Eucharist so that we may have everlasting life, but the price of life is death.
Today in the responsorial psalm we hear, "Let all the earth cry out to God with joy" (Ps 66:1). During these days of Easter we praise our God with joy in our hearts for the gift of His Son's resurrection.
In the Gospel, why did Jesus call Himself the Bread of Life?  The Jews understood that God promised them manna from heaven to sustain them on their journey to the Promised Land. Bread is the very staple of life. We could not live without food for very long. Bread sustains us. But what is life? Jesus clearly meant something more than mere physical existence. The life Jesus refers to is connected with God, the author of life. That is a great reason to cry out with joy! Real life is a relationship with the living God, a relationship of trust, love, and obedience. That is what Jesus makes possible for us: a loving relationship with God who created us for love with Him.  This means talking, sharing, and having Jesus be a part of our everyday lives; the love we receive in this relationship we can share with our family and friends. Apart from Jesus no one can enter that kind of life and relationship.
I thought of a question for us this morning: Are we satisfied with mere physical existence or do we hunger for real life? Jesus makes three claims about that. First, He offers himself as spiritual food which produces the very life of God within us; second, He promises unbroken friendship; third, He offers us the hope of sharing in His resurrection.
As people of faith we are asked to see God's loving hand and His own purposes in all the forms of suffering we must endure. During this Easter season, as we continue to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, remember that for Him glory came from suffering, joy came from sorrow, and life came from death. We follow in the footsteps of Christ who is the Bread of Life. Because in faith we embrace the cross of suffering, we will have a resurrection to glory.