Consolation

 Day's Saints

John Viannay

John of the Cross

Gospel 

Jn 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
So they said to him,
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
So Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world."

So they said to him,
"Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

He blesses all you do.

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Anna, a saint

The Lord God made Manna for the Isrealites raining it down for them to collect. Then He sent His Only Son, and they nailed Him to the cross. Sometimes, joining Him, I am pierced by sudden pains, origins unknown, and I am left hurting and wondering what has happened to me. Then, it passes away, and the Lord remains, and I am able to function again. I give thanks to Him for providing something to offer Him to atone for sins and to console the Heart of the Mother of God.

Whatever He does to me, I am unworthy, and I can only do what He enables me to do, and others are given enviable talents that heal the sick and the desolated children of the Lord God.

One ought to cultivate a gratitude within themselves for all the Lord provides, and all He does. The Israelites lacked that piety which makes humility spring up in the garden of the soul and refreshes and consoles the weary and hard-pressed.

He leads us into the wilderness, and withdrawing for a time, He watches over us lest we lose faith and despair. Then He shows Himself, when, stripped of everything that could blind, He reveals Himself in His consolation to the weary one, tired of the battle and sleepless in countless nights of darkness.

I am old, and my hand trembles and I become dizzy and I wonder how I got this way. Then I show Him my hands, with holes in them which can hold nothing securely, and in response to His urging, I offer what seems so useless to Him, and He blesses me for my gift. We may think we need to be punished, but the Lord sees what we truly deserve, and what He has hidden away for us so it may be safe and not subject to evil or  malevolence.

Peace comes at the hand of the Lord, in the confession of our sins, and our efforts to do His Will. He gave us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink, and His blood makes us live. Let us given thanks, and pray that He bless priests and those consolers of the people of God in exile and surrounded by the shrieks of the afflicted. He reassures them that all is well, and soon they rest in His arms like a child and they dream a dreamless sleep.