On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
Jesus’ disciples said to him,
"Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
"Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there."
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.
While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,
"Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
"This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
CONOCE A NUESTRA FAMILIA EXTENDIDA:
meet our extended family
Bl. Franz Jagerstatter (Feast Day June 7)
May 20, 1907 – August 9, 1943
Franz Jagerstatter was born in Upper Austria as the child of a farm maidservant, Rosalia Huber. Franz lost his father during World War I and was adopted after Heinrich Jagerstatter married his mother. As a young man, he loved to ride his motorcycle and was the natural leader of a gang whose members were arrested in 1934 for brawling. For three years he worked in the mines in another city and then returned to his hometown, where he became a farmer and married Franziska Schwaninger, a deeply religious woman. Inspired by his wife, Jagerstatter began to study the Bible and the lives of the saints.
In 1939, he was drafted into the Austrian army. When he refused to take the oath of loyalty to Hitler and perform military service with a weapon, he was imprisoned in Linz, Austria where he was tortured and bullied for two months. Franz believed that he could not be both a Nazi and a Catholic, and that there were some things in which one must obey God more than men. While he was tempted to lose his faith, God’s presence was with him which helped him to persevere.
Franz learned that one year before, a priest had refused to perform military service for the same reasons as his and had died for his convictions. This news gave Franz the support and comfort he needed in order to stay strong in his convictions. On August 9, 1943, Franz Jagerstatter was beheaded. He was beatified in Linz on October 26, 2007.
TOMA TIEMPO PARA COMPARTIR
Take time to chat
· In what way does today’s Gospel reading explain our belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?
· Why is receiving the Eucharist special to you? Share a time when you felt Jesus powerfully present after receiving the Eucharist.
· Discuss the way in which the Eucharist fulfills the Passover celebration. (Hint: see the Fun Fact from January 17th.)
· Do you think Bl. Franz Jagerstatter was right for standing up for his convictions? Why or why not?
