Daily Catholic Gospel by Tabella

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,“How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.My sheep hear my voice;I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Jesus said:“Amen, amen, I say to you,whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gatebut climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.When he has driven out all his own,he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,because they recognize his voice.But they will not follow a stranger;they will run away from him,because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”Although Jesus used this figure of speech,the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,I am the gate for the sheep.All who came before me are thieves and robbers,but the sheep did not listen to them.I am the gate.Whoever enters through me will be saved,and will come in and go out and find pasture.A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Jesus said:“My sheep hear my voice;I know them, and they follow me.I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.No one can take them out of my hand.My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.The Father and I are one.”

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,he said to them, “Does this shock you?What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.But there are some of you who do not believe.”Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believeand the one who would betray him.And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to meunless it is granted him by my Father.”As a result of this,many of his disciples returned to their former way of lifeand no longer walked with him.Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?You have the words of eternal life.We have come to believeand are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”Jesus said to them,“Amen, amen, I say to you,unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,you do not have life within you.Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Bloodhas eternal life,and I will raise him on the last day.For my Flesh is true food,and my Blood is true drink.Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Bloodremains in me and I in him.Just as the living Father sent meand I have life because of the Father,so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.This is the bread that came down from heaven.Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,whoever eats this bread will live forever.”These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Jesus said to the crowds:"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,and I will raise him on the last day.It is written in the prophets:They shall all be taught by God.Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.Not that anyone has seen the Fatherexcept the one who is from God;he has seen the Father.Amen, amen, I say to you,whoever believes has eternal life.I am the bread of life.Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;this is the bread that comes down from heavenso that one may eat it and not die.I am the living bread that came down from heaven;whoever eats this bread will live forever;and the bread that I will giveis my Flesh for the life of the world."

Jesus said to the crowds,"I am the bread of life;whoever comes to me will never hunger,and whoever believes in me will never thirst.But I told you that although you have seen me,you do not believe.Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,because I came down from heaven not to do my own willbut the will of the one who sent me.And this is the will of the one who sent me,that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,but that I should raise it on the last day.For this is the will of my Father,that everyone who sees the Son and believes in himmay have eternal life,and I shall raise him on the last day."

The crowd said to Jesus:“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 heavenand gives life to the world.”So they said to Jesus,“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.”

[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]The next day, the crowd that remained across the seasaw that there had been only one boat there,and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,but only his disciples had left.Other boats came from Tiberiasnear the place where they had eaten the breadwhen the Lord gave thanks.When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,they themselves got into boatsand 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 menot because you saw signsbut because you ate the loaves and were filled.Do not work for food that perishesbut 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."

At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.He revealed himself in this way.Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.Simon Peter said to them, ""I am going fishing.""They said to him, ""We also will come with you.""So they went out and got into the boat,but that night they caught nothing.When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.Jesus said to them, ""Children, have you caught anything to eat?""They answered him, ""No.""So he said to them, ""Cast the net over the right side of the boatand you will find something.""So they cast it, and were not able to pull it inbecause of the number of fish.So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ""It is the Lord.""When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,and jumped into the sea.The other disciples came in the boat,for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,dragging the net with the fish.When they climbed out on shore,they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.Jesus said to them, ""Bring some of the fish you just caught.""So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashorefull of one hundred fifty-three large fish.Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.Jesus said to them, ""Come, have breakfast.""And none of the disciples dared to ask him, ""Who are you?""because they realized it was the Lord.Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,and in like manner the fish.This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciplesafter being raised from the dead.