Stay ConnectedCatholic reflections on the Sunday Gospel.
For men.
Every Sunday, we’re called to the altar of Christ to receive the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith. Prepare to encounter our Lord by reading and praying with the Word of God. Each week, we’ll send you the Sunday Gospel reading with a reflection to help you prepare for Sunday Mass.
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At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
Matthew 15:21-28
The Right Time
We often want God to take problems away immediately. He knows the right time, however, and waits for us to arrive at the right disposition of receptivity. When Jesus met this Gentile mother, initially he does not respond to her plea for help.
If we have faith in Jesus, why does he not just solve our problems right away? Why does he allow us to suffer? In this case, if Jesus is waging war against the demons, why does he not jump at the opportunity to cast a demon out of a poor child? It seems counterproductive to his mission to let people be possessed and tormented by evil spirits. The woman persists as she begs for mercy, saying, “Lord, help me.” In this, she provides an important example. God often makes us wait so that we can come to the right interior disposition. Rather than taking away our problems, he wants to fix things within us and waits for the right response of the heart.
The Gentile woman persists. After she brings her request, she was met with silence from God and resistance from the disciples. Throughout this difficult test, her faith was not shaken. This must be our model for prayer. When you ask the Lord for help, you must remain persistent in your pleading, and you must not waver in your faith. At times, you will not hear God’s response to your prayer. Men may dismiss you and attempt to dissuade you. God may even say that your favor should not be granted at this time or he may have something else in mind that is even better. But whenever you pray, you must follow the example of the woman in today’s Gospel and be persistent in your intercession and constant in your faith.
In your prayer today, recall any prayers that have gone without a response. Remain constant in your righteous petitions and firm in your faith.
After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:22-33
Sacred Silence
Jesus was seeking silence and solitude for prayer after he heard about John the Baptist’s death (see Matthew 13:13). He and his apostles crossed the Sea of Galilee to a deserted place, but the crowds raced around the sea, and they were waiting to hear him preach. Although he was seeking solitude, he was moved with pity and preached to them. When the crowds dispersed, Jesus sent his apostles ahead, and “he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.”
When Jesus prays to the Father, he heeds his own advice. He does not make a spectacle on the streets or in the synagogues. He seeks out solitude, and his Father hears him in secret (see Matthew 6:6)
In The Power of Silence, Cardinal Robert Sarah explains the importance of silence in our lives today. He says:
If man seeks God and wants to find him, if he desires a life of the most intimate union with him, silence is the most direct path and the surest means of attaining it. Silence is of capital importance because it enables the Church to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, imitating his thirty silent years in Nazareth, his forty days and forty nights of fasting, and intimate dialogue with the Father in the solitude and silence of the desert. (pp. 219-20)
The power of silence is rooted in the imitation of Christ. Jesus taught us to pray silently and frequently demonstrated the importance of silent prayer.
In the same book, Cardinal Sarah warns that silence can become a kind of idolatry if we seek silence as a goal in itself: “We do not seek silence for its own sake, as though it were our goal. We seek silence because we seek God. And we will find it if we are silent in the very depths of our heart” (p. 193). We must not enjoy silence as a final end, but we must use it as a means of drawing closer to the Father in heaven.
In the modern world, we are constantly surrounded by noise. Our phones are always sounding notifications, and even when they are not notifying us of anything, we are continuously checking them. The drive to work is filled with noise from the radio or some podcast or audiobook to which we listen. Many men walk around with AirPods in their ears, oblivious to the world around them. It is so hard to find time to listen to God silently. Even the calls to silent prayer in the Mass are frequently omitted. Like a storm at sea, the noise of the modern world threatens to overtake us.
As Exodus men, we have committed to daily silent prayer. This is a time to turn off the interior and exterior distractions that threaten to eliminate the time we have set aside to listen to God.
Today, honor your commitment to silent prayer. Imitate Jesus and go to a deserted place to sit silently, drawing closer to your Father in heaven.
Luke 9:28b-36
Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
The Chosen Son
Jesus went up a mountain to pray, and he brought Peter, James, and John with him. These three men were among Jesus’s closest and most trustworthy friends. St. Hilary of Poitiers (d. 367) interprets this event allegorically, saying, “By the three disciples who were taken apart is shown the future election of the people who were to come from a threefold origin: Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Commentary on Matthew, 186) Thus, just as the world would be reborn through Noah’s offspring, the Church would be born through Jesus’s apostles. Ultimately, Peter, James, and John were given the tremendous gift of witnessing Jesus’s glory to strengthen their faith for their impending trials.
Jesus revealed his glory when his “face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” It must have been both dazzling and blinding to look at. Similarly, in Exodus, “the glory of the Lord was seen as a consuming fire on the top of [Mt. Sinai]” (Exodus 24:17). Both on Mt. Sinai and on Mt. Tabor, the glory of God is seen as a blinding light.
St. Luke asserts that the disciples overhear Moses and Elijah speaking to Jesus about “his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.” This account is slightly different from the other Gospel accounts since they do not include the details of what they spoke about (see Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8). St. Luke is going a step further than the other evangelists and directly connecting Moses and Jesus by identifying Christ as the prophet-like Moses (see Deuteronomy 18:15-19).
The three persons of the blessed Trinity are revealed during the transfiguration. The Father speaks aloud, and the cloud of the Spirit overshadows them. Again, the cloud is reminiscent of Moses on Mt. Sinai (see Exodus 24:15-18). Here, Jesus both embodies the prophet-like Moses, and he far surpasses the Old Testament prophecy. For example, God tells Moses:
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kindred and will put my words into the mouth of the prophet; the prophet shall tell them all that I command. Anyone who will not listen to my words which the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will hold accountable for it. (Deuteronomy 18:18-19).
But Jesus is not merely the mouthpiece of God; he is the Word of God made man, and the Father commands us to “listen to him.”
When the Father revealed himself on the mountain, the disciples “fell silent.” In your prayer today, silently reflect on Jesus’s identity and on the goodness of the most holy Trinity in your life.
Matthew 13:44-52
Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
“Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”
The Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to three illustrations. Through the first two examples, he explains how precious the kingdom is. It is like a treasure buried in a field or like a pearl of great price that a merchant finds. Imagine what kind of rare objects you would drop everything and buy if you found them. Perhaps a signed rookie card of a great athlete, a remote lake house, or a Lamborghini Veneno in your favorite color. Or, perhaps more realistically, think of something so compelling you could not refuse to accept it: the perfect job, an amazing vacation, or seeing a beloved family member after a long time. Whatever it might be, imagine something of such great value that you jump at it without hesitation.
The kingdom is compared to things of great value and also ones that you would leave everything to possess. The man who finds a treasure in the field sells everything he owns to purchase the field. Likewise, the merchant sells all that he possesses to attain the pearl. These men do not wait to “get a good deal” upon finding the treasure. They find them, and they do whatever it takes to get them immediately.
If we want to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must follow the examples of the men in these stories. We will have to leave everything behind. We cannot be slaves to our phones, our finances, or our free time. Instead, we must abstain from unnecessary phone use, refrain from non-essential purchases, and offer up daily prayer time. If we truly want to be saints and to go to heaven, we boldly must live a generous life, giving every moment to the Lord. Once we understand the value of eternity with God in heaven, we will be compelled to give everything so that we can be united to God forever.
The third comparison in this Gospel reading explains the urgency of our decisions. The kingdom is like a dragnet that is thrown into the sea. This net would be pulled between two boats, or it would be thrown into the sea and pulled to shore by two ropes. This net indiscriminately gathers all the fish of the sea. The good fish are put into barrels, and the bad fish are cast back into the darkness. So it will be for us at the end of the age. We will all die; we will all be judged. The elect will experience the vision of God, and the damned will be cast into the fiery furnace. This is not a game we are playing. Our life has real rewards, and our actions have real repercussions.
Today offer some time in silent prayer. Meditate on the value and urgency of the kingdom of heaven using the three images Jesus used in today’s Gospel reading: a treasure in a field, a pearl of great price, and a net in the sea.
Matthew 13:24-43
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”
He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.
Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The Great Harvest
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells a parable about the end of the age. When time comes to an end, the angels will come to separate the children of the kingdom from the children of the evil one. At the end of the age, the children of the evil one will be burnt in “the fiery furnace where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth,” but “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
Commenting on this parable, Origen says, “The whole world, not only the Church of God, may be called a field. For as the Son of Man planted the good seed, the devil planted the weeds of evil words. Since these latter words have their origin in wickedness, they are sons of the evil one” (Matthew: Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators, 273). This evil is represented in the parable as a poisonous weed called darnel. The only use for this weed is to burn it.
The harvest of the field may seem a distant and unrelatable event. But, as Matthew later recounts, “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:36-37). The harvest could come anytime—in ten minutes or in ten thousand years. Like the age of Noah, this harvest will be a cataclysmic age. Time itself will end. In the age of Noah, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). In response to this wickedness, God blotted out man and every beast. But this will not happen again (see Genesis 8:21-22). At the end of time, our hope will be completed, and the righteous will enter heaven.
In the second parable of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. The mustard seed is—proverbially speaking—the smallest seed. Given time, the seed grows into a great tree. And so it is with the kingdom of God; the Church started with the outpouring of the holy spirit on the apostles, and now every baptized Christian is a part of this Church. The third parable builds on the second. The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast mixed with three measures of flour. The three measures of flour represent the law, the prophets, and the Gospels. The yeast causes this large amount of flour to spread and grow. At the end of time, the kingdom will be like a tree or a large quantity of bread.
In your silent prayer today, meditate on the kingdom of God. Reflect on the areas of your life that the devil has sowed evil seeds. Reflect also on how the kingdom of God is growing in every age. Then, thank the Lord for his great love.
Matthew 13:1-23
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
Understanding the Word
There is a symmetry in today’s Gospel around the seeds that bear fruit and those that do not. Jesus describes three conditions in which the seeds will not bear any fruit—along the path, in rocky places, and in thorny places. He also describes three levels of fruitfulness in the rich soil: “A hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
The meaning of “along the path” may be obscured to us. Living in cities with modern roads, many men seldom see natural paths. As these natural paths are frequently traversed, they acquire a stone-like rigidity. When the seeds fall along the path, they fall onto packed dirt, and they cannot penetrate the earth. When the word of God reaches the soul of a man like this path, his heart has already been hardened—he is pre-resigned not to accept the word of God. Rather than experiencing joy, these souls will be eaten up by the birds. Those who do not allow the word of God to take root will be devoured.
The seeds that fall on the rocky ground take root. The soul who hears the word of God is filled with unearthly joy. But when tribulations come, the initial joy the soul experienced quickly dies. The soul burns in the hot sun.
The last condition of failure is the seeds that fall among thorns where “worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit.” The soul in this condition is verdant and fertile. When the word of God comes to this soul, it takes root and springs forth. However, not only the word of God but also vices take root. Like weeds, these unholy anxieties and perversions choke the word of God, and it bears no fruit.
These three fruitless souls well depict our understanding of hell. For their hard-heartedness, they are trampled and devoured. For their weak faith and failure to seek to understand God‘s word, they are burnt. For their vices, they are choked by a bed of thorns.
St. John Chrysostom gives a comforting explanation of the rich soil. He says, “Take note that even the person yielding thirtyfold is saved. The Lord said that to make the way of salvation easy. What that means is this: Are you incapable of practicing virginity? Then live a chaste married life. Are you incapable of giving up all your goods? Then give some of what you own. Are you incapable of carrying that burden? Divide your possessions with Christ” (Matthew: Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators, 264).
In your prayer this Sunday, reflect on Jesus’ explanation of this parable. How will you respond to the word of God? Are you cultivating a life that leads you to understand his word? Ask the Lord to make your soul like the rich soil in the parable so that you can yield fruit a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
At that time Jesus exclaimed: I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.
Matthew 11:25-30
Freedom
In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls a certain set of people to him—all those who labor and are burdened. Commenting on the phrase “labor and burdened,” St. Thomas Aquinas says that “labor” refers both to God’s law and commandments as well as our human fragility. Man’s labor is to follow the commandments of God in man’s weakened state. On the other hand, St. Thomas says that “burden” refers to the weight of sin.
As St. John Chrysostom says, “Nothing so weighs upon the soul, and presses it down, as consciousness of sin; nothing so much gives it wings, and raises it on high, as the attainment of righteousness and virtue.” When Jesus promises to give rest to the laboring and the burdened, he is inviting them to a life of virtue—a life of freedom.
To accept this freedom, we must take Christ’s yoke upon us and learn from him: “For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” This is a rather confusing teaching. Jesus is freeing us from labor and our burden by promising us his yoke and his burden. Christ’s burden seems heavier than the commandments of the Old Law, for he says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old: ‘you shall not kill’ . . . But I say to you, that everyone who is angry with his brother, shall be liable to judgment” (Matthew 5:21–22). But his burden is light because it changes us at our core—our hearts. While it is difficult for a man filled with hatred to avoid murder, it is easy for a man filled with God’s freeing love to avoid anger.
Jesus gives two reasons why we will find rest when we take his yoke and his burden. He has the path to freedom because he is “meek and humble of heart.” St. Thomas says, “[T]he whole new law consists in two things: in meekness and humility. By meekness a man is ordered with respect to neighbor . . . By humility, one is ordered with respect to himself and with respect to God . . . Hence humility makes a man receptive of God.” When we imitate Christ’s meekness and humility, we have a right ordering toward ourselves, toward others, and toward God.
Do not fear Christ’s yoke; do not back away from the yoke that lightens all things. Rather, place yourself under it with all haste, and then you will know the pleasure of Christ’s light yoke. For it will not bruise your neck; it will lead you along the narrow way, teaching you how to walk seemly, ordering your every action toward the Lord.
In your prayer, today, ask the Lord to give you freedom by yoking you to a virtuous life; pray for the strength to bear this yoke. Then, learn from Christ how to live in virtue—being meek and humble in heart.
Jesus said to his apostles: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
Matthew 10:37-42
Love and Reception
In the first part of today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of three loves that should not supersede the love of God. They are the love of father and mother, the love of son or daughter, and the love of self. Our love must be ordered in and to God.
It is right to love one’s mother and father. Parents are God’s instruments of life and teaching. Likewise, it is right to love son or daughter. As a father, it is your responsibility to provide for your children's education; this education includes showing your children how to love and to recognize that they are loved. Lastly, it is natural to love oneself in order to care for the needs of body and soul. Love of self is often a vice because it is very easy to love yourself in a disordered way.
All these loves must be directed toward a love for God. Parents are the instruments of God who brought you life and education. If you are a parent, God has entrusted the care of his little ones to you. And you yourself are a child of God. In rightly loving yourself, you are honoring the God who created you.
What does loving yourself virtuously look like? It entails knowing your true good and doing what is necessary to pursue it: Taking up your cross and following Christ. As a Christian, you are called to love yourself by leading a life of prayer and asceticism. As Paul says, “Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).
In the second part of today’s Gospel Jesus talks about the rewards for receiving certain persons. In receiving a disciple, you receive Christ; in receiving Christ, you receive the one who sent Christ, the Father. Likewise, when you receive a prophet—on account of his prophecy—you receive a prophet’s reward, and when you receive a righteous man—on account of his righteousness—you receive a righteous man’s reward.
Saint Jerome offer’s an interpretation of the reception of prophets:
In every profession (of faith), there are weeds mixed in with the wheat. [Jesus] had previously said: “He who receives you, receives me, and he who receives me, receives him who sent me.” He had challenged the disciples to receive teachers. A concealed reply of the believers could have been: Should we then receive even false prophets and Judas the traitor, and supply their cost of living? The Lord, attending to this matter earlier, says that it is not the persons who are to be received, but the offices; and those who receive them will not lose their reward, even if the one who is received is unworthy.
In your prayer today, love Christ first. Then, ask him to show you how this love will manifest itself in your relations to self, others, and God.
Jesus said to the Twelve: “Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
Matthew 10:26-33
Fear No One
In Psalm 27, David asks, “Whom shall I fear?”—quem timebo (Psalm 27:1). And in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus answers this question: “Fear no one.” He then deepens his response, saying that we should fear the one who can destroy our soul, but it is wrong to fear those who only threaten to harm our bodies.
Putting the soul first and striving for indifference about bodily matters forms a very important part of the writing Principle and Foundation of the Jesuit Order, founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. In this reflection, Ignatius writes:
[I]t is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest.
This is no easy task. Have you ever met anyone who was so indifferent to created things that he did not prefer a long life to a short life? Sickness to health? Riches to poverty? Honor to dishonor? The spirit of the worldliness tells us that we must always desire the most dignified place. It says that this desire is purely natural. This spirit tells us that having more money is better than having less money. Saint Ignatius does not say that we should desire to be impoverished but that we should not prefer wealth over poverty. We should accept the state of life that the all-knowing God desires for us.
We ought not to fear sickness. Saint Ignatius was very familiar with infirmity as he was bedridden for several weeks recovering from a cannonball that hit his right leg in the Battle of Pamplona. Today our world is greatly afraid of sickness. We run from it, hiding from worldwide pandemics and the common cold. We are terrified of “those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
We should not be afraid. We should not fear sickness rather than health or a short life rather than a long one. Why should we not be afraid? We should not be afraid because of… sparrows. God so loves his creation that not one sparrow falls from the sky without the Father’s knowledge. A man, made in the image and likeness of God, known by the Father since the moment of conception, and baptized into the death and resurrection of the Son, is certainly worth many sparrows.
Our bodies will die, and our bodies will rise on the last day. This is a fact. We live in a passing world and are made for the next world. We must not fear the trials of this life. Our only fear should be the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. But even here, we know that Christ has conquered death and Hades. Because Christ has been victorious, we must fear no one.
In your prayer today, do not be afraid. Thank the Lord for his loving care. Thank him for your wealth or poverty, your sickness or health, your long or short life, and your honors or dishonors. “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31).
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
Matthew 9:36-10:8
Recognizing God’s Voice
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is moved by pity. When he sees the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he says that they are “like sheep without a shepherd”. Through his Apostles, he speaks to the sheep and leads them to life.
Have you ever seen sheep without a shepherd? The shepherd protects the sheep from other animals and points the sheep toward verdant pastures. The shepherd knows what is best for the sheep, and he helps the sheep act to their advantage. Without a shepherd, the sheep will wander aimlessly for days on end. They will move from one perceived good to the next perceived good with no mind for prudence. This is the image Jesus chooses to describe the state of the nation: wandering like sheep without a shepherd.
To solve the pastoral privation, “he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.” At this point, he instructs the twelve only to preach to the Jewish nation; he will send them to preach to all nations later (see Matthew 28:18-20). When they preach, they are instructed to “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, [and] drive out demons.” These actions accompany the Apostle’s message to the Jews.
A good shepherd calls his sheep and the sheep follow him—“he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:4). As shepherds, the Apostles are calling out to the Jewish nation saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” They lead the sheep to the green pastures of repentance and sorrow for sins. The sheep will know this is God’s message to them by the actions accompanying the message: the sick are made well, the dead are brought to life, and the evil spirits are driven away.
We are still sheep, but we have a shepherd. In every age, the Apostles and their successors (the bishops) proclaim the message of God to us: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Through the sacraments, the three marks of God’s voice are still heard. Through baptism, the dead are brought to life—we are baptized into Christ’s death and raised in Christ’s resurrection (see Romans 6:3-5). In the anointing of the sick, our infirmities are healed. St. Thomas Aquinas says that this sacrament is “directed against bodily sickness as a result of sin, [and] against other consequences of sin—namely, proneness to evil and difficulty in respect of good (Contra Gentiles 4.73). Demons are still cast out in exorcisms. As the Catechism says, “Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to the Church” (CCC, 1673).
In your silent prayer today, reflect on how the successors of the apostles are shepherds. Where do you hear the voice of God, and how do you recognize it?
Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “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.”
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 blood has 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 blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and 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.”
John 6:51-58
Frequent Communion
Today is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. This feast was first established in Belgium in the 1200s as a response to the debates about the True Presence and frequent reception of Holy Communion. It came from Julianna of Cornillon’s vision, where Jesus lamented the absence of a particular feast in the Church’s calendar focused on his sacramental presence on the altar. The feast was only a local celebration until one of its major supporters, Archdeacon Jacques Pantaléon, became Pope Urban IV in 1261. This feast is historically celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday (last Sunday), but in the United States of America, the feast has been moved to Sunday.
Today we will reflect on the frequent reception of the true body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. History has witnessed many different attitudes toward the reception of the Eucharist. In the early Church, all the baptized received the Eucharist; in the Middle Ages, the Church’s call to live a sinless life led to a holy fear of receiving the Eucharist, making it more distant from the laity. Most lay people received the Eucharist only three times a year at Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, after going to confession and preparing themselves.
In 1910, Pope Saint Pius X promulgated a decree in which he famously lowered the age of First Communion to that age at which a child can distinguish between the Bread of the Holy Eucharist and ordinary bread. Not only did he lower the age for First Communion, but he said that after First Communion, children should “frequently approach the Holy Table, even daily if possible.” He declared that the “daily approach to Communion is open to all, old and young, and two conditions only are required: the state of grace and a right intention.” These two conditions deserve further reflection.
The State of Grace: This means that you are free from all mortal sins. If you are baptized and have validly confessed all of your mortal sins—grievous offenses against the law of God—then you are filled with the life of God—the life of grace. In this state, you ought to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.
A Right Intention: Pope Pius X said, “A right intention consists in this: that he who approaches the Holy Table should do so, not out of routine, or vain glory, or human respect, but that he wish to please God, to be more closely united with Him by charity, and to have recourse to this divine remedy for his weakness and defects.” This list is a wonderful examination of conscience before approaching the altar at Mass. Ask yourself if you are only approaching the Eucharist out of habit, or for your own glory, or human respect. Ask yourself if you want to please God, to be more closely united to Him by charity, and to have his remedy for your own human weakness and defects.
In your silent prayer today, reflect on your intentions. Pray that the Lord will purify your intent to please God, be united to him, and have a remedy for your weakness. If you are in good standing with the Catholic Church, free from all mortal sins, and have a right intention, then receive the Lord in Holy Communion with great joy.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:16-18
The Holy Trinity
Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday, a celebration that stems from the early Church. At first, it only consisted of songs and hymns written in honor of the Holy Trinity in opposition to the fourth-century teachings of Arius. These hymns worked their way into the Mass on Sunday. We now celebrate Trinity Sunday on the first Sunday after Pentecost every year.
Understanding the Holy Trinity was of the utmost importance for the early Church. One of the most precise writings about the Trinity is the Athanasian Creed:
Now this is the catholic faith: That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence. For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another. But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal … Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the trinity.
At the center of the Christian faith stands the eternal truth that the one God is three divine persons. This is a beautiful and mysterious truth.
As we reflect on this mystery, we pray to the Trinity. Our connection to the Trinity is in the person of Jesus Christ–*true God* and *true man*. Today’s Gospel focuses on the moment when the Father sends the Son into our human world: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” Even before Jesus became man, God was present everywhere—holding all things in existence. But as a man, Jesus bridges our nature and God’s divine nature.
The Son became man not only so that we could know of the Father in this life but also to free us from our sins and to win for us eternal life. Quoting Saint Athanasius, the Catechism affirms this, saying, “The Son of God became man so that we might become God” (CCC 460). When we are free from sin, and enlivened by God's grace, we partake in the life of God. We are made for eternal union with God and to partake of his nature.
So in your prayer today, reflect on the Holy Trinity and ask God to continue to help you to be free from sin, to grow in virtue, and become more like Him.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
John 20:19-23
Peace of Christ
We see from today’s Gospel that the disciples were still filled with fear for their lives when the resurrected Lord first appeared to them. There is no doubt that this fear was not just of the Jews who had opposed their Lord. They are said to rejoice at the Lord’s appearance only after he speaks peace to them and shows them his wounds to assure them that it is really he—and not merely a ghost. Having gone from their sight for a little while, as he had told them on the eve of his passion, he now appeared to them and began to give them the promised Holy Spirit.
It is perhaps startling that he so quickly gets down to business with them. He has returned not merely to live among them in the same form as before. Instead, he immediately gives them his peace and reminds them that because they are connected to him, they are connected to his Father. As the Son was sent by the Father, so too are they sent by the Son—and they will have the same Holy Spirit with them so that they too can offer the forgiveness of sins. They are sent to be the mediators of the one Mediator between God and Man—the ones who will bring the good news to a broken world that heaven is now open. They will teach the world about the life-giving words of Jesus. They will bring the peace that he is so insistent on bringing to them.
It is a marvelous scene but also a touching one. Given that all of them (save John) had completely abandoned or even denied him in his hour of greatest need, one might think that a good scolding might be the first thing he gave them. Instead, it is his peace. That they fell prey to fear did not mean that the Evil One had taken them. He had prayed that his Father would keep them from that. And his prayers were answered. Now he has returned, and he is both gentle with them as well as commanding. They were weak, but he will be their strength. They are frightened, but he will make them not afraid. They had left him, but he has not left them at all. He still wants their friendship and their service.
In your prayer today, meditate upon the times when you have abandoned or denied the Lord. How did he appear to you afterward? How did he give you peace? How did he stand you back up on your feet? If you have spiritual responsibility for others—children, students, catechumens, friends—ask the Lord to give you that same peace-giving and challenging way of bringing others to Christ and Christian maturity.
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
John 21:15-19
Saint Peter
In Matthew 16, Jesus asks the disciples who the people were saying that he was. They responded that some said Elijah, some John the Baptist, and still others one of the prophets. Jesus then asked who they—the disciples—said he was. Peter’s response, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” lead to Jesus’ famous blessing and the founding charter of the papacy, which would be known as the office of Peter:
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16: 16-19).
Soon after receiving this blessing and task, Peter responded to Jesus’ teaching about the suffering and death the Christ would have to undergo:
“Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men’” (Matthew 16:22-23).
The key to understanding this passage is to understand what it means to be “behind” Jesus. The most fundamental aspect of this is to be a follower of Jesus. Peter may be the rock; he is not the manager of the Christ’s affairs. To make this kind of mistake is to open oneself up to other errors. And we know that Peter made them, most importantly denying Christ three times on the brink of his trial.
In today’s reading, Jesus is testing Peter to see whether he has regained his steadiness. What he wants to know is whether Peter loves him, a question he asks three times. And to Peter’s affirmations, the Lord tells him what his task is: to feed his lambs, tend his sheep, and feed his sheep. Jesus adds to this task the warning that Peter himself would die the kind of death to which he had objected when Jesus predicted it of himself–death on a cross.
We men who have responsibilities as shepherds of families or of others in the Church must both love and follow Jesus—not tell him about how he should follow our plans. In your prayer today, ask the Lord if you have been following him. If there have been places where you have been wandering or have been resisting the Lord’s will and trying to substitute your own, ask him to prune your will and make your love complete.
Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
John 14:15-21
The Holy Spirit
Today’s Gospel reading prompts us to ask, “How is it that we can have the strength to keep on being friends with Jesus once he has gone away?” After all, those post-resurrection appearances only lasted for a little less than six weeks—then he ascended into heaven. How do you keep up the friendship with a friend who has gone away?
The odd-but-true answer is that he went away in order to be closer to us. It is the Holy Spirit whose power brings us Jesus’ eucharistic presence and gives us the gifts we need to be the ambassadors of Jesus to the world. It is the Holy Spirit who is the one who convicts us of the truth and also serves as our advocate, giving us the words needed to speak to this needy, hostile world. It is that Spirit who gives us access to the mind of the Father. It is that Spirit who is, said St. Augustine, the bond of charity between the Father and the Son.
Some skeptics like to mock Christians for their belief about a “man in the sky;” they really like to mock the idea that we believe in a “ghost” who speaks to us. As the Lord said, “the world cannot accept” the Spirit because “it neither sees him nor knows him.” But we do know him even if we cannot see him. We understand him particularly when things are toughest. St. Paul writes, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).
In your prayer today, ask the Holy Spirit to pray in you and form you more fully into the image of the Son of God.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:1-12
Heavenly Dwelling
The Christian life is a pilgrimage. We are journeying toward our final destination—heaven. This life cannot and does not last forever. We cannot live forever on this earth or in these bodies, for both this earth and our bodies will pass away. This life in these bodies tests us and prepares us for eternity. The test is in how we respond to God’s revelation in Jesus, for Jesus is the way to the Father and to the Father’s house. Life can be a blessing only with God for without him all life—even, or perhaps especially, everlasting life—is hellish.
That is why our Lord’s words are so comforting. We have the way to heaven in Jesus because he is one with the Father. The Father has loved him, and he has given that love to all those whom the Father has given him so that they might live their lives in Jesus. “It is no longer I that live,” says St. Paul, but “Christ lives in me.” He lives in us, and we live our lives in him. As long as we continue to live in that love, we will keep living and find our permanent resting place after this life.
In the Father’s house, Jesus tells the disciples, are many dwelling places—or, in other translations, “mansions.” The Father’s house is the destination of our pilgrimage. And the mansions or dwelling places tell us some important things.
First, they are dwelling places—plural. Unlike some philosophical or religious conceptions of our final destination, heaven is a place of variety. It is a place where though we are fully alive in God, this does not erase our individuality. Instead, it gives it to us. We are not assimilated to the Borg or melted into the “One” or the “World Soul.” Jesus promises that he loves us as persons—and persons we will remain, reflecting in our own unique way the glory of God forever.
Second, they are dwelling places—places to remain. “Mansion” is a good term if you know a little Latin. The word “mansion” comes from “manere”, which translates to remain. In this life, we have no abiding city, for we are ultimately citizens of the heavenly city. That is our destination, our permanent address. And the determining factor in whether we get there is whether we stick close to the way—Jesus—in this journey.
In your prayer today, meditate a little upon times when you have not felt fully yourself or fully at home. Perhaps now is one of those times. Then ask the Holy Spirit to keep before your eyes the way that is Jesus and the goal that is the Father’s house.
Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but 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.”
John 10:1-10
The Sheep Gate
Today’s Gospel may seem to be an odd shift from the images of the previous weeks’ Gospels; as you heard, Jesus goes from speaking of himself as the true bread to speaking of himself as a shepherd and a gate. But as Pope Benedict XVI observed, both images concern what we live on—where we get our life. Jesus is speaking to us over and over again about where we find our life in such images as bread, wine, vine, and shepherd. The true shepherd, the Lord tells us, is the one who gives life to the sheep.
The image of Jesus as a gate is perhaps a bit odder and less lifelike to us. Yet it is important, for it makes clear that the way to the Father and abundant life is through him alone: “Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” As the gate, Jesus is the way to heaven. As the bread, Jesus is the sustenance from heaven. As the shepherd, Jesus is the king of heaven.
The image of the gate here also tells us who true shepherds must be. They must be those who have entered the gate themselves. Those who will lead others and feed them must be those who follow Jesus and who gain their lives from him. We can see from John’s comment that the Pharisees do not quite understand what Jesus is saying to them—that they are not true shepherds because they reject him. But the Pharisees are not the only targets of this gate analogy.
Men who have families are designated shepherds—so, too, are any men in other positions of authority, such as in the workplace. In all cases, they will only be true shepherds if they enter the gate of Christ. Do you have a position in which you are a shepherd of some sort?
In your prayer today, ask the Lord to guide you so that you can be a true shepherd who feeds the sheep and tends to the lambs placed in your care. Your success hinges on these followers being able to hear the voice of the true shepherd in you. And hearing that voice is dependent upon your entering fully into the gate who is Jesus. Pray today that those entrusted to you might hear Christ’s voice in and through yours.
That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
Luke 24:13-35
Finding Christ
This Gospel teaches us how Christ reveals himself both in the scriptures and in the breaking of the bread. It is interesting to notice how Jesus chose to reveal himself to the disciples after the Resurrection. He approaches two of the disciples who do not understand his death and are leaving Jerusalem. Then, he asks them what they are talking about, and when he hears their half-understood explanation of his Passion, he begins to explain the mysteries of the scriptures to them.
Jesus gives these two disciples an exclusive, all-day, first-person Bible study showing how all the scriptures bore witness to him and to what he had to do in his Passion. He does this all without saying, “Hey, it’s me!” Instead, he speaks with them until they reach the village. By this point, they are so interested in what he has to say that they ask him to remain with them. It is then that he finally reveals himself.
He revealed himself while they were at table when “he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.” As he did this, they recognized who he was. Isn’t it interesting that after spending all day with Jesus—talking about Jesus—these disciples didn’t recognize him until he broke and blessed the bread?
After the Resurrection, Jesus reveals himself to us in a new way. Now, like these two disciples, we come to know him through the explanation of the scriptures, but most clearly, we know him in the Eucharist. In the breaking of the bread, Jesus is truly present. His body, blood, soul, and divinity are present in every particle of the consecrated host.
In your prayer today, ask the Lord to be present to you. Listen to the priest as he expounds on the sacred scriptures in his homily, and look for Jesus when the priest takes the bread, says the blessing, breaks the bread, and gives it to the faithful.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
John 20:19–31
Spiritual Vision
Thomas is not present for the first appearance of the risen Christ to the apostles, so his unbelief lasts longer than the others. What Thomas suffered from is a problem all too common to Christians in the modern world. We think we want scientific evidence when what we actually need the most is spiritual vision.
Think back on the other accounts of Jesus’s appearances, such as when he showed up along the road to Emmaus. He tells those he encounters that, based on the scriptures, they should have known he was to rise (see Luke 24:13-35). In other words, their spiritual knowledge would have prepared them to believe.
Thomas doesn’t have that knowledge here. And though Christ wants his followers always to have that kind of spiritual perception, he still works to awaken it within others when it is dormant. He lets Thomas see and touch his wounds even as he notes in a gentle rebuke: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
In your prayer today, meditate on how you are cultivating your spiritual vision. Are you really prepared to believe in the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? Are you busy pointing out others who have been slow to believe? Ask the Lord to work on yourself so that you will believe and see.
The Easter Gospel readings point you to the scriptures, the sacraments, prayer, and company with others whose faith or love are greater than yours. When these all come together, you will be prepared to believe the Lord even before he gives the proof.
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
John 20:1–9
The Resurrection
When the apostles hear the good news of the Resurrection from Mary Magdalene, Peter and John race to the tomb. As theologians have told us, John runs faster because he represents love in the Church. Whereas Peter comes more slowly as he represents authority in the Church and, as such, John allows Peter to enter the tomb first. This story, along with its symbolism, gives us several things to think about—both as we celebrate Easter today and get ready to live out this season with renewed boldness, announcing the good news to others in word and deed.
Our first point of reflection is that the authority in the Church is very important. John’s allowing of Peter to enter first is a sign of how, in our leadership roles, we should want to be in harmony with those above us. Concerning the Church’s authority, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote to the Magnesians around 110 AD:
Take care to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and with the presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles, and with the deacons, who are most dear to me, entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father from the beginning and is at last made manifest.
Ignatius used the musical term “harmony” to describe what our relationship to the Church’s hierarchy ought to be. Another useful description of this relationship is the image of the Body of Christ that St. Paul used (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Either way, you see that what you do for Christ is not your action alone; rather, it is part of a bigger group which is led by an authority. And in your own domestic church—your home—this reminds you what your authority is. It is not simply about “being first” or “making decisions”; rather, it’s about making sure the business of Jesus Christ is done.
Our second point of meditation is that although love must give way to authority, it is the thing that will make us travel the fastest. We can become so caught up in questions about authority that we lose focus on the business of Jesus: communicating his love to others so that they may experience it and then, in turn, communicate it to more people. There is no doubt that we have a crisis of authority in many ways among both Christians and the world at large. But it goes hand in hand with a crisis of love. Love, we are told in the first book of Peter, “covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Love also drives people to act much faster than appeals to authority.
In your prayer today, meditate on the authorities you report to as well as the authority God has given you. How have you responded to proper authority? Begrudgingly? Disrespectfully? How have you exercised it? With gentleness? With strength? And how have you shown the love that drives people to accept authority and accept the truth about Jesus? In your time of silent prayer, think of ways in which you may have failed to accept and distribute these twin gifts of authority and love that God bestows on Christians.
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”’” The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.” While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.” Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed; but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him in reply, “Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be.” Jesus said to him, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.” And all the disciples spoke likewise. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.” He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!” Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open. He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again. Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.” While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and the elders of the people. His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying, “The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.” Immediately he went over to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and he kissed him. Jesus answered him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?” At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me. But all this has come to pass that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled. Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Peter was following him at a distance as far as the high priest’s courtyard, and going inside he sat down with the servants to see the outcome. The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward who stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God and within three days rebuild it.’” The high priest rose and addressed him, “Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?” But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy; what is your opinion?” They said in reply, “He deserves to die!” Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy for us, Christ: who is it that struck you?” Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!” As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!” A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.” At that he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately a cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly. When it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? Look to it yourself.” Flinging the money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself. The chief priests gathered up the money, but said, “It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury, for it is the price of blood.” After consultation, they used it to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of a man with a price on his head, a price set by some of the Israelites, and they paid it out for the potter’s field just as the Lord had commanded me. Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?” But he did not answer him one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed. Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want me to release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over. While he was still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a message, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him.” The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus. The governor said to them in reply, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They answered, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” But he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.” And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him. As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha—which means Place of the Skull—, they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink. After they had crucified him, they divided his garments by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And they placed over his head the written charge against him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the cross!” Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” The revolutionaries who were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way. From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.” But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb. The next day, the one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, ‘After three days I will be raised up.’ Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This last imposture would be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “The guard is yours; go, secure it as best you can.” So they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard.
Matthew 26:14-27:66
Passion Sunday
Our Lord’s preparation of his disciples for his Passion is theologically rich. He gives them his body, blood, soul, and divinity in the first Eucharist. He warns them of the trial that he and they are about to undergo. He indicates to Judas—in a final warning—that he knows what Judas is about. He then takes out his three closest disciples to watch and pray with him. And yet, what happens?
Jesus’s three closest apostles—Peter, James, and John—do not stay vigilant in prayer but fall asleep. Judas follows through—to his own eventual sorrow and despair—with his planned betrayal.Although Peter had been adamant that his faith would never be shaken, when the time comes, Peter puts up an ill-thought-out fight and then denies the Lord. The others flee or look on from a distance, and only John (as we learn from John’s Gospel) stays with him at the cross.
After reading this account, you might be tempted to despair. If the apostles who spent three years in the company of God himself were such failures, why should we even bother? But rather than be tempted to quit, we should hear the words of this Gospel reading with joy and assurance for three reasons. First, even Jesus’s apostles needed a Savior, and their failure in no way prevented him from being faithful to the end. Second, though we are not reading about it here, we know that their own failure did not prevent them from returning to him post-resurrection. Or, more accurately, their failure did not prevent him from returning to them. And third, not only did he return to his apostles, but he also promised them the Holy Spirit so that they would be strengthened.
And that’s where you and I are. You may not have heard the Sermon on the Mount with your literal ears, but you have been united to its preacher in your baptism, confirmation, and, most amazingly, the Eucharist. In a way, you and I are in a better position than his apostles, for we have the Holy Spirit right now. And that Spirit gives you the power to think about ways in which you may have abandoned or denied the Lord this Lent. Perhaps it was a resolution to stay awake with him more in prayer—just as Peter, James, and John were called to do—but you gave way to sleep or distraction. Maybe it has been a sin that you vowed to put behind you, but you have done it again. Maybe it was a failure to speak the truth when you had the opportunity to publicly witness to your faith—you may not have spoken your denial aloud, but your silence implied consent to it.
Whatever the case, the Gospel reading of the Passion speaks eloquently of the possibility of failure but also gives comfort to us. This week, we should not let Lenten failures discourage us; we should confess our sins and seek to stay awake with him more by turning our hearts to him throughout the day. We should seek his Holy Spirit so that we would be more and more like him; we should not deviate from the path to the cross, instead we should pick it up and journey right alongside our Lord just as Simon the Cyrenian was called to do, and we should always be about the Father’s will.
In your prayer today, meditate on the Lord’s patience with his apostles and with you (past, present, and future). Ask that he gives you the courage to act on the Holy Spirit’s promptings right now.
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
John 11:3–7, 17, 20–27, 33b–45
The Raising of Lazarus
Today, we celebrate the third and final scrutiny in preparation for the baptism of the elect at the Easter Vigil. In the exorcism for today, the priest asks God to “snatch us from the realm of death” and to free the elect from “the death-dealing power of the spirit of evil” (RCIA, 175). We are only saved from the evil of death when we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection (see Romans 6:4-6)
In today’s Gospel, we see a display of God’s power over death. Lazarus was only a sign of what was to come for us—that is, when we die, we won’t stay dead. Lazarus’s resuscitation has given each member hope that God can reach into death, our greatest enemy, and defeat it.
Ultimately, Christ’s death and resurrection secured humanity’s hope that death would not have the final word for us. What Christ did for us on Calvary and in the tomb is still being worked out with each generation. It will come to completion when the world is brought to its apex in the second coming of Christ and the final judgment.
Each person, you and I, have to prepare for this final coming by hosting the life, death, and resurrection of Christ in his own body and soul. Christ has to be alive in us so that the evil one will not pull us into eternal death. We secure this life of Christ through trusting and believing in all that he has revealed and taught in scripture, participating in the celebration of the Eucharist, and emulating the saints. May we consistently repeat the words of Martha, “Lord, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
Christ’s voice reached into Lazarus’s dead body and awoke it. We can only hope that we are hearing this same voice while we are still alive. We must choose Christ now. Jesus is crying out into all our souls with the same message that awakened Lazarus: “[C]ome out!” Come out of darkness, ignorance, and sin; come into his light and life.
In your time of silent prayer today, ask that all baptized men and women and all who are preparing for baptism might “triumph over the bitter fate of death” (RCIA, 174) by choosing Christ this day and every day to come.
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam”—which means Sent. So he went and washed, and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
John 9:1, 6–9, 13–17, 34–38
The Man Born Blind
Today the Church celebrates the second scrutiny. The scrutinies are exorcisms of the men and women who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil. In today’s exorcism, the priest asks that the elect might be enlightened—like the man in today’s Gospel—and freed from the slavery of the father of lies.
Today’s Gospel story gives us great hope. Notice what Jesus did for the man born blind: “he found him.” This means Christ goes looking for us. The act of coming to the Lord begins with God searching for us. The whole story of Christ’s life is one of God seeking us out because we have alienated ourselves from his love and rejected the love of fellow humans.
God meant it when he said, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). From the very foundations of creation, the enemy of man has been isolation from love. Adam and Eve began the process of leaving the presence of God when they chose to sin in the Garden of Eden, and we have been predictable heirs to this behavior ever since. We also have a habit of throwing one another out of our lives. Loneliness is a deep suffering in this life. It is something like a foretaste of hell. We were made to see the truth and live in communion with God.
This communion with God is the way of faith, hope, and love. As the darkness of sin closes our eyes to the love of God, grace moves to find us. This movement of grace is a great mystery, as it may find us early in life as a response to our baptism or may even find us late in life on our deathbed. But there is no doubt that grace and God’s own life and love are moving within human experiences to open our eyes to his will for us.
The Church, and its ministries, try to make us more capable of relating to God. It does this through the sacraments, catechesis, acts of charity, and its mission. The Church continues Christ’s work in and throughout time. God wants to welcome us, give us sight, and restore our communion with him and one another. He gives us the strength to answer the question Jesus asks the man born blind: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
Today, pray for those preparing to enter the Church at Easter. Pray that God may gently lead the elect to Christ, the light of the world. Finally, tell the Lord in answer to His question with conviction, I do believe, Lord.
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water. I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.” Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him. When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
John 4:5–15, 19b–26, 39a, 40–42
The Woman at the Well
Over the next three Sundays, we will celebrate the three scrutinies in preparation for the Baptism of the catechumens who are to be admitted to the Sacraments of Christian Initiation at the Easter Vigil. The Gospel readings on these Sundays will be the same Gospel readings that have been associated with the scrutinies since at least the seventh century: The Woman at the Well, The Man Born Blind, and The Raising of Lazarus.
In today’s Gospel, we see that Christ waits for us when we are in our deepest need. He is there, ready to respond when we announce our most urgent thirst. This need—this thirst—is not for realities that are temporal. No, our deepest thirst is for God himself.
The setting of this Gospel reading is at a well, which has many allusions to marriage in the Old Testament (see Genesis 29). The woman at the well in John’s Gospel is a Samaritan, a non-Jew. She represents the hunger of humanity to find rest in loving and being loved by God. Here, at the well, God reveals himself as the one who wants to marry the world. All thirsts will end in heaven, but they begin to be quenched even here on earth as we enter more deeply into a vulnerable and realistic relationship with God.
We enter into conversation with God just like this woman at the well. We tell him everything, and he tells us everything about us and himself. Thus, he reveals the meaning and purpose of each our lives. Such a purpose is certainly not one of wandering in thirst from well to well. This would be a purposeless life—a futile life. We were not created to simply seek temporary relief from meaninglessness or pain and suffering. God is always offering us eternal rest as we establish communion with him in prayer and worship.
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” Jesus has revealed himself to be “the truth” (John 14:6), and he is present to us through the sacraments and in the scriptures as the living Spirit. In the above passage from today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is saying that the Father is seeking people to worship Christ. Yes, the Father is actively seeking out all men to worship him in spirit and truth—literally, in Christ. This is how we fulfill the Father’s desire: we share the good news, we give testimony that Christ is the Savior, we are witnesses to the fact that Christ is the one in whom all our thirsts are satisfied.
In your prayer today, bring your pains to Jesus. Tell him everything. He is waiting for you. Allow his love and grace to gush into your souls and fill you with right worship in spirit and truth.
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Matthew 17:1-9
Heaven on Earth
The Transfiguration is a foretaste of heavenly glory. In this event, Jesus is taken up into the heavens and clothed in a dazzling white garment. When Jesus is in this exalted state, he dialogues with Moses and Elijah. The former represents the law—for it was to Moses that God revealed his law (see Exodus 31:18). The latter, Elijah, represents the prophets—for this prophet was taken up into the celestial body by a fiery chariot in a whirlwind (see 2 Kings 2:11). More than the law and the prophets, the operation of the Trinity is manifest at the Transfiguration. Concerning this event, St. Thomas Aquinas says, “the whole Trinity appears—the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Holy Spirit in the bright cloud.”1 Thus, when Jesus was taken up into the heavens, and an unearthly splendor filled that place, the Trinity, the law, and the prophets were all made manifest.
Although we do not see Jesus shining like the sun, we can experience a foretaste of heaven while we are still here on earth. Today, we will reflect on two of these foretastes of heaven. The first is in our relationship with God and the second is in his sacred liturgy.
At the end of time, there will be a new heaven and a new earth; the holy city—the new Jerusalem—will come out of heaven from God (see Revelation 20:1-2). We cannot be in heaven—the New Jerusalem—until the end. However, the vital essence of heaven is that we are with God. Every good deed, every act of asceticism, every scriptural reading, every encounter with God, all of these are a kind of foreshadowing of heaven because all of these deepen our relationship with God.
When we do these good deeds, we should happily think of the heavenly kingdom, the end of time, and our death. Thinking about heaven is deeply related to thinking about death. Centuries ago, it was common for people to meditate on the four last things: heaven, hell, death, and judgment. Our Christian ancestors did not want death to befall them quickly because they wanted the time to prepare themselves spiritually before their individual judgment. They were ready to embrace suffering in reparation for their sins—even the sufferings that accompany death. The saints embraced any suffering as an opportunity to share in the cross of Christ so that they, and others, might come to the glory of heaven. All of their asceticisms and good deeds were foretastes of heaven as they formed the saints’ relationship with God.
The second type of heavenly foretaste is the sacred liturgy, the Holy Mass. In the liturgy, we partake in the sacrificial action of eternity. Every sign and symbol at the Mass and in the church should point us to think about the heavenly reality. The union of the signs of the earthly liturgy and the heavenly liturgy was well illustrated in a report that was brought to Vladimir I, Grand prince of Kiev, by his emissaries returning from Mass in the Great Church of Constantinople. Vladimir’s emissaries recounted this Mass saying:
We know not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth, there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of the other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty.2
Hopefully, you have the same experience at Mass and see that the action you are participating in is a heavenly reality.
In your holy hour today, reflect on these earthly foretastes of heaven. Do you see how your good deeds point to heaven and how the Mass touches the heavenly reality? Allow the grace of these moments to change your life so that you can spend eternity with God in heaven.
1Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, 3, 45, 4 ad 2
2Samuel H Cross and Olgerd P. Scherbowtz-Wetzor, eds. and trans., The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text (Cambridge, Mass.: Mediaeval Academy of America, 1953) in Alexander Rentel, “Byzantine and Slavic Orthodoxy” in The Oxford History of Christian Worship, eds. Ceoffrey Wainwright and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Also see: René Marichal, Premiers Chrétiens de Russie: Introducion, choix et traduction des textes, Chrétiens de tous les temps 16 (Paris: Cref, 1966) 52-53, in Marcel Metzger, The History of the Liturgy The Major Stages, trans. Madeleine Beaumont, (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 1997), 86.
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.
Matthew 4:1-11
Temptations
As we heard in today’s Gospel, Satan attacks Christ using his identity, saying, “If you are the Son of God….” Satan hopes to provoke Jesus into defending himself and performing a miracle, thus submitting to Satan’s prompt. But Christ does not give in to the devil. He cannot be moved by temptations or outside forces; he acts only out of his own freedom.
Satan knows that we are different, so he often successfully takes the same approach with us that failed with Christ. He tempts us with our identity. To one, he says, “You know God is mad at you, so why not drink tonight?” To another, he says, “You are not loved by God. How could you be? Think about your sins.” To a third, he says, “You will never become holy; you are always making mistakes, weak and filled with faults.”
Satan always tries to make us believe that we are broken and repulsive to God or that God has already abandoned us. The two most common satanic lies are: “There is something wrong with me” and “I am alone.” When we buy into these lies, we usually sink deeper into sin. At times sin fills the man with a defeatist attitude. He thinks, “Well, since I already started drinking I might as well keep going,” or, “Since I already started looking at pornography I might as well keep doing it.”
But God moves you toward freedom no matter the depth of sin you have entered. Once you begin sinning, you are not condemned to stay there. Grace is offered for you to stop at the 2nd drink; nothing is inevitable or determined in our behavior. God knows that he can reach you and he keeps trying. Even the next day, when you awaken with regret—and a headache—God is there, not to condemn you but to refresh you with his life.
The world of condemnation and rejection belongs to Satan. He wants to take us to that world, but we do not have to go. We can always move toward the resurrection, toward the light and freedom. Do not start going down the road to self-condemnation. Always reach out for grace. Remember, as Fr. Jacques Philippe says in his book Interior Freedom:
The person God wants to touch and to transform with his love is not the person we would have liked to be or ought to be. It is the person we are. God doesn’t love ideal persons, he loves actual real persons” (Interior Freedom 32).
In your Sunday holy hour, recall the times that the devil has tempted you using your identity. Did he pull you toward pride or fear? Then take comfort and know that you are not alone. You are not wounded beyond the gaze of Christ’s love.
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:38-48
Perfection
“Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That is a daunting command. Too often, we understand that command through the lens of our contemporary anxiety-ridden culture. We interpret that saying of Christ to mean that we cannot make mistakes, that we cannot fall into error. All must be perfect, without blemish, without weakness, because in perfection we find our identity. The counselors’ offices are filled with men bearing such anxiety.
Christ is not commanding the perfect execution of all human action; he is commanding something more vexing. He is commanding that we act like God in loving all. We are to love those who do not love us. We are, in other words, to will the good of those who will our harm. In this way, we are to be perfect.
God’s love is available for the sinner and the saint. The entire scripture is a testimony to God’s love seeking out and penetrating the hearts of “sinners,” of bad people. To leave the bad people without love would be to leave them without God, for God is love. He wants us to participate in his love and join him in converting bad people into good—enemies into friends.
We are not to act like God out of our own willpower. It is too puny—too wounded. We are to act like God out of our willpower infused with God’s love. This infusion happens through prayerful communion with God and through faith, hope, and love.
Forgiving those who have harmed us means being configured to Christ upon the cross, who says, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). To forgive someone is to incorporate the wound they inflicted upon you into your love for them. In other words, the wounds do not sever your communion with another but instead become the occasion for your love to deepen. Forgiveness is always a miracle. Forgiveness is always divine, always unexpected, and scandalous to modern rules and values.
Our culture and society today teaches us to “cancel” the enemy, to shun and exile him to the margins of influence and commerce. However, in Christ, the enemy is always our future brother. There is no clearer evidence that one has allowed Christ to inhabit one’s will and heart than forgiving one who has harmed us.
Such forgiveness does not have to happen all at once. It usually proceeds in degrees, as the victim slowly relates all the pain to God in prayer and, over time, becomes enabled to set his heart free from the prison of hate, revenge, and anger. Such freedom does not have to occur in the perpetrator’s presence. God can free us from the chains of unforgiveness even after the perpetrator has left our presence or died. Forgiveness is a gift God gives victims; if they are open to it, this gift frees perpetrators. This is perfection: forgive as you have been forgiven.
Today, ask the Lord to give you the grace of perfection—the grace to forgive and to love.
Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one."
Matthew 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37
Free from Within
In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees—he invites them to be more than mere “rule followers.” Although he respects rules, more importantly, he invites us to internalize the truth of the moral rules and live this truth as our own. To remain a rule follower under fear or compulsion is not the glory of the disciple. Such a life does not flow from a love of truth and holiness. It is true that one who follows rules keeps order within the sphere of behavior. However, Christ is looking for inner freedom and integrity. In the fullness of the Christian life, lust will not become promiscuity because a man does not desire it, anger will not become violence and envy will not birth theft because these disordered desires have been deflated by one’s participation in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Our moral behavior flows from somewhere deep within our heart and soul, not simply from a superficial rebellious streak. Our lust, our anger, and our murderous ways need to be healed from within. We need to be set free from interior influences, from desires gone astray, from unchecked and unreasoned impulsive behavior. Jesus wants us to know that our acts are ours and that part of being saved by him is becoming aware of what is within us and giving it to Christ for inner healing, as he is the Divine Physician. This type of living is part of the abundant life that Christ promises.
A man who simply follows rules does preserve public order, as no violence occurs and no theft is perpetrated, but the man who is refraining from such behavior still wants to steal and still wants illicit sexual behavior. Christ wants to set us free from within.
As one’s prayer life, worship life, and ascetical life deepen in Christ then progressively, developmentally, in time, and patiently a man undergoes a startling renewal. His desire for sin diminishes. He begins to anticipate that if he follows the promptings of sin he will end up, not in a place of fulfillment, but of boredom and meaninglessness.
With the light of Christ flooding our minds we actually begin to foresee the fruitlessness and irrationality of choosing sin. And so, by the power of being in communion with Christ, a man comes to say ‘no’ to sin. He says no not simply because such behavior is against a commandment or religious rule, but because he knows that such behavior undermines his very dignity and his communion with God. This is freedom indeed. And such freedom is attained by stopping the evil thought or desire at its first appearance in the mind. If we welcome it and think about it, desire then awakens to push us toward that which we know is evil. In the power of the Spirit, when the first thought to sin arises simply turn and ask our loving God to empty its attraction and reveal its true nature to us—a nature always at odds with our lasting happiness.
In your holy hour, today and in the coming days, ask the Lord to heal you from within so that your righteousness might surpass that of the Pharisees. Ask the Lord to free you from every inclination to sin and to orient your heart and soul toward worship of the true God, today and every day moving forward.
Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."
Matthew 5:13-16
Public Witness
Christianity, being a Christian, involves public action. The apostles declared fidelity to Christ before crowds, governments, towns, and cities. Jesus himself died before men in public, attesting to his great love for mankind and his Father in Heaven, by the power of the Spirit.
During the course of human history, many have tried to make Christianity a private devotion. Even in our own time we have seen a subtle shift in language from respecting freedom of religion toward claiming to respect the freedom to worship. True freedom of religion is not only the freedom to go into a building and worship. It also implies that one is free to fill the public square with the speech and behavior that flows from worship, as long as it does not interfere with the common good. Religion is not free if it is only given sanction to inform one’s private emotions or thoughts.
The good news is supposed to set men free, not simply make the worshipper feel loved. Such experiences of being loved by God and loving God in return are essential to the human experience of faith. But such reciprocal love between an individual and God must also bear public fruit.
Sometimes it is difficult to give testimony about God’s love and his laws in public, and so we shrink from such occasions in the name of respecting others’ privacy. If we do this too often, however, we lose the very vocabulary of salvation and become mute before others when they approach us looking for relief from our time’s superficial philosophies, therapies, and self-help pursuits.
We need to be bold in articulating what we believe and why we love God. We have to affirm that such love has a right to be spoken and acted upon in public, or we may find ourselves confined to church buildings and banned from public testimony. We are called to let our light shine. We are called to be the light of the world, not simply the light of the sanctuary. We may be tempted to ‘go along to get along,’ but such compromise is not prudent. It is simply self-preservation, or tepid conviction. All the apostles except one died a martyr’s death. Their light attracted the attention of those who prefer the dark. But through their public commitment to Christ the church spread and the good news reached even those in the dark.
In your holy hour today, reflect on how you can bring the fruits of your life devoted to prayer, asceticism, and fraternity into the public eye. Ask that the light of these graces might shine before others “that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
Matthew 5:1–12a
The Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit. What does this mean exactly? Think of the opposite of being poor in spirit—which is being prideful. When someone is prideful, they are “puffed up” and “full of themselves” (see 1 Corinthians 13:4–5). The antithesis of pride is humility. Therefore, you are a blessed man if you humbly acknowledge that God is God, and you are not.
Blessed are they who mourn. How is it that the sorrowful are the happy ones? Isn’t this a clear contradiction? No, even though it may seem to be. Those who mourn are blessed since they mourn over the right things. In other words, they place their joy in eternal things and not in the things of this world. Precisely in their earthly mourning, they experience a hopeful joy for eternity. Even though they are bound to encounter sorrow in this valley of tears, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, is their comforter.
Blessed are the meek. What is meekness? It’s certainly not a word you hear every day. Meekness is not weakness; rather, it is the controlling of the emotion of anger through right reason and love. Moses is an example of meekness. He was said to be the meekest man in the world (see Numbers 12:3) because he only had righteous anger (see Exodus 32). However, he eventually became embittered and spoke words that were rash when he was tested at the waters of Meribah (see Numbers 20:10–11, Psalms 106:33). Sadly, this prohibited him from inheriting the promised land (see Deuteronomy 32:51–52). Moses’s punishment serves as a kind of warning for us: if we want to enter into heaven, the true promised land, then we must learn to control our anger (see Ephesians 4:26–31).
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Our Lord also says many times elsewhere: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34; compare 5:30, 36, 6:38, 9:4, 17:3–4). This should be our greatest source of motivation.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. In one sense, this means: “the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you” (Matthew 7:2). But as St. John Chrysostom says, “The reward here seems at first to be only an equal return; but indeed it is much more; for human mercy and divine mercy are not to be put on an equality.”1 You receive far more mercy from God than you could ever show others.
Blessed are the clean of heart… Blessed are the peacemakers. Remember well that you were made a child of God in your baptism. Cherish this new identity and this new dignity that was bestowed on you by God the Father. If we remain pure and persevere to the end, then, by God’s grace, “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. This is to say: “You are blessed when you stand up for what is right—no matter the earthly consequences.”
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. In this last beatitude, Jesus returns to the first. Just as he promised the kingdom of heaven to the poor in spirit, now he promises the kingdom to those who are persecuted.
In your silent prayer today, reflect on one or two of these Beatitudes and write them down. Ask the Lord to lead you in your prayer and consider what action He may be asking of you.
1Quote by St. John Chrysostom found in Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Matthew, ed. John Henry Newman, vol. 1 (Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1841), 152.
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
Matthew 4:12–23
Left Their Nets
After Jesus’s baptism and before his public ministry, John the Baptist is absent from Matthew’s narrative accounts because he had been arrested. When Jesus learns about John’s arrest, he goes to Galilee to the region inherited by the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali in fulfillment of the prophecy (see Isaiah 9:1–2). This same prophecy is the one that predicted how a “child,” a “son” (Isaiah 9:6), would be born in Israel who would be a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) and sit “upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness” (Isaiah 9:7). Knowing full well the implications of his actions, Jesus begins to call his disciples and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom amidst all these Messianic expectations.
The men he called to follow him were simple fishermen. They probably had heard the scriptures—especially the ones that speak of the Messiah coming from their region—because they attended synagogue services on the Sabbaths. They had faith in God, but they probably didn’t believe these prophecies would come true in their lifetimes. Then, all that changed when they heard the excitement around Jesus’s preaching as he went around exclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When our Lord calls you, he doesn’t ask you to be someone you are not. God’s grace does not impose itself on you or destroy your individuality; rather, it elevates, transforms, and perfects you into the man that you were created to be. Jesus sees that Peter, Andrew, James, and John have natural skills as fishermen. Jesus then uses those skills to make them great evangelists, saying, “I will make you fishers of men.” Notice the response of each of these men. Scripture recounts how “[a]t once they left their nets” and “immediately” followed him. Their hearts were ready because they were open.
Where is your heart today? Is it scared to let go and let God in, or does it freely offer everything to God, trusting that he will make you the greatest version of yourself? In your meditative prayer today, ask God for the grace to drop your nets—whatever they may be—so that you may follow Christ unreservedly.
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
John 1:29–34
Agnus Dei
Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollit peccata mundi (Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.) This was John’s proclamation when he saw Jesus approaching him in today’s reading. After the Spirit of the Lord had descended on Jesus, John knew that Jesus was the “Son of God” and the savior of the world.
When John—Jesus’s older cousin—identifies him as “the Lamb of God,” he says that Jesus “existed before” him. If you were present among the crowd, surely you would think, “What a bizarre thing to say about a younger man.” However, John was correct in saying this, for Jesus existed before all time. This was neither self-depreciation for John nor empty praise for Jesus; John was speaking out of true conviction from “the one” who sent him to baptize in the first place. In his own words, John says, “The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’” And that is all John needed to believe that Jesus was the Son of God born before all ages.
Throughout sacred Scripture, God is referred to in many ways. For example, he is called El Shaddai, or “God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1, 49:25), the Lion of Judah (see Genesis 49:9), and the Alpha and Omega (see Revelation 21:6, 22:13). These are all impressive and powerful titles, but in today’s reading John calls him a lamb. What does a lamb have to do with God? A lot. The lamb was associated with Abraham’s sacrifice in place of Isaac and was the key sacrificial animal in the Passover (see Exodus 12:3).
Recall when Isaac asked his father, “‘Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son’” (Genesis 22:7–8). As the story continues, God provides a ram for Abraham to sacrifice. Note well that Abraham does not sacrifice a lamb. Abraham’s sacrifice is not completed until God provides himself as the lamb with his death on the cross.
Likewise, the lamb’s blood in the Passover saved the people of Israel from the angel of death and from slavery in Egypt (see Exodus 12:3). The Passover event was a foreshadowing of Christian baptism, where we overcome death by participation in the Paschal Mystery. We are adopted by God and forgiven our sins.
In the silence of your prayer today, reflect on the title “lamb of God.” Why is the all-powerful God associated with a lamb? Then thank the Lamb of God for taking away your sins and giving you new life.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
Matthew 2:1-12
Are You Looking?
Of all the people in the world, why was it the wise men of the East who saw the star and found the child Jesus? Unlike everyone else, they were looking. They knew the prophecy of the coming king of the Jews and looked for a star to indicate his birth. Perhaps they knew the prophecy of Balaam, given long before the birth of Christ, which said that a star would come forth (Numbers 24:17-18). Since they came looking for Christ even though they were gentiles, they must have had a sense that the Jewish Messiah would be more than just a regional king. He was destined to be the king of all nations. The magi perceived the sign and responded on behalf of all of us, welcoming the new king.
Today, we often continue to overlook the presence of Jesus in the world even though he gives us many signs. God has arranged the world to point us toward his Son, giving us little signs and occasionally even big ones—like the star. When we take time to see the signs, we experience epiphany moments: moments when things suddenly become clear and we can see what is beneath the surface. God has a plan and seeks to lead us closer to him each day. He uses each day’s events and the people in our lives to break through to us. We have to take time to look and listen in order to respond.
Tomorrow Exodus 90 begins. It is time for a new beginning. You will have time to look and listen for the signs that God has given, so that you can find his presence in your life and follow him more faithfully. Like the wise men traveling as a group, you will have a fraternity of men seeking the Lord with you. Like the threats of Herod, there will be challenges. God will lead us to him if we let him. These 90 days will provide us time for a new epiphany. We’re excited for the journey – let’s begin.
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:16-21
Shepherds
We begin the new year by reflecting on the shepherds adoring the Messiah. The beginning of a spiritual revolution to renew the world takes place in a stable of all places, with a newborn in a manger surrounded by shepherds. Like the shepherds, we are invited into the mystery of God’s entrance into the world. This new year can be a time of transformation if we take this reality into our hearts—pondering it in prayer, telling it to others, and living it out.
As the shepherds were watching over their sheep at night, an angel appeared to them saying, “I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12). These humble shepherds received this magnificent proclamation. The whole nation had been awaiting the return of the messiah-king from the Davidic dynasty for centuries. Now the Messiah, the long-awaited Messiah, God’s anointed, was coming to reclaim the throne.
We approach the manger with the simple, humble shepherds who are called to witness this incredible event. You can imagine how intrigued the shepherds would have been to see the Messiah. Wouldn’t they have expected the Messiah to be born in wealth and power? Instead, they found Jesus lying in a manger, just as the angels had described. Excited, they explained everything from the message to Mary and Joseph who were amazed to see how God’s plan was unfolding. Here were shepherds, simple men, among the first to witness the glory of God in Jesus Christ. We, like the shepherds, should seek out baby Jesus.
We can imitate the shepherds as we prepare to begin an Exodus on January 9th. One way to do this is by committing to a daily holy hour of prayer, during which we can adore the Lord and ponder the mysteries of our faith. Like the shepherds, we can rest from the grind of life to seek out the Savior. He can lead us into deeper freedom if we listen to his voice calling us, like angels called the shepherds, to “Come and see.” And that’s the invitation for you and me - come and see – to spend time with Jesus, the Savior, every day.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled.This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:1-14
Lying in a Manger
Picture the most magnificent nativity scene you have ever seen, perhaps it is in your home, at church, or in a great basilica. These creches are displayed in many prominent places to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Certainly, this is a good tradition. Yet these beautiful Nativity Christmas scenes, Nativity Christmas tree ornaments, and Nativity Christmas plays can obscure the fact that our Lord was born in abject poverty. The King of kings and Lord of lords could have come into the world any way he wanted, yet he came humbly as a little child lying in a manger.
Christmas was anything but perfect for Mary and Joseph. They traveled from their hometown of Nazareth to the city of Bethlehem to participate in the mandatory public census. They had to return to Bethlehem because Joseph was from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of David. They did all this, even with Mary nine months pregnant, in order to be obedient to civil law. When they arrived, Mary and Joseph were not welcome in Bethlehem. Don’t let our happy holiday celebrations fool you; Christmas would have been a trying time for the Holy Family, since they were poor, alone, cold, and homeless.
It was under these difficult conditions that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This was all part of God’s plan. Do you know what Bethlehem literally means? In Hebrew, it means, “House of Bread.” Now today we see Jesus, the “Bread of Life” (John 6:35), born in a manger, the place where animals feed. We also see him coming to us in the Eucharistic bread at the Mass.
God became man in the form of a baby, lying in a manger. This definitely provides insight into God’s character: Jesus is both humble and self-giving. Today, on Christmas Day, enjoy time with family and friends, but most of all, spend time in silent prayer thanking God for his gift of self. Ask for the grace to make your heart a “manger,” a place that welcomes the Lord even in difficult times.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,but before they lived together,she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,yet unwilling to expose her to shame,decided to divorce her quietly.Such was his intention when, behold,the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,“Joseph, son of David,do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.For it is through the Holy Spiritthat this child has been conceived in her.She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.”All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means “God is with us.”When Joseph awoke,he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded himand took his wife into his home.
Matthew 1:18–24
Saint Joseph
Today’s Gospel reading tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ from Joseph’s point of view. The story begins at Mary and Joseph’s betrothal. It is important to understand the historical context for this since a betrothal is similar but different to a modern-day engagement. On the one hand, betrothals were promises of marriage similar to engagements. But on the other hand, betrothals were legally binding and could only be terminated by someone’s death or by obtaining a divorce certificate (see Deuteronomy 24:1–4).
Joseph is described as “a righteous man.” When he discovered that his betrothed was with child before their wedding day, he resolved “to divorce her quietly.” There are three possible explanations for his decision to divorce Mary. Firstly, Joseph could have been suspicious that Mary was ungodly and had been cheating on him with another man (think of American tabloid talk shows that shout: “You are not the father!”). Secondly, Joseph could have been perplexed because he knew that Mary was a holy woman of God who would not commit adultery. But she was pregnant with child and it is not his, so the only option would seem to be a quiet divorce. Thirdly, Joseph could have been made aware that Mary was miraculously pregnant with a child by “the Holy Spirit;” and he would decide to divorce her quietly since he did not understand his part in God’s plan and felt that he was unworthy. Whatever the case may have been, it is clear that Joseph didn’t want to cause Mary any difficulties. But can you imagine what must have been going on in his heart?
In the end, Joseph became privy to God’s plan when an angel told him exactly what was going on in a dream. Perhaps this detail will remind us of another famous Joseph who understood dreams. This entire account is meant to communicate three vital truths. Firstly, Jesus is a descendent of King David since Joseph is his legal guardian. Secondly, Mary’s virgin birth is the fulfillment of the prophecy in the Book of Isaiah. The angel even quotes the verse explicitly, saying, “Behold, [the] virgin shall conceive and bear a son”(Isaiah 7:14). Thirdly, Joseph is not Jesus’s birth father. Rather, Jesus is the Son of God and is the fulfillment of the same prophecy: “[A]nd [they] shall call his name Immanu-el [which means ‘God is with us’]” (Isaiah 7:14).
When reflecting on the supernatural origin of Jesus, it is easy to be in awe of God’s goodness. Without Jesus, we could not be saved from our sins. Yet it may also be easy to overlook Joseph, who heard the angel’s message and then “did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him…” Today, pray for the grace to be a man like St. Joseph, the righteous man, the man who listened and obeyed the Lord’s direction.
When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,"Are you the one who is to come,or should we look for another?"Jesus said to them in reply,"Go and tell John what you hear and see:the blind regain their sight,the lame walk,lepers are cleansed,the deaf hear,the dead are raised,and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
As they were going off,Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,"What did you go out to the desert to see?A reed swayed by the wind?Then what did you go out to see?Someone dressed in fine clothing?Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.This is the one about whom it is written:Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.Amen, I say to you,among those born of womenthere has been none greater than John the Baptist;yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Matthew 11:2-11
The Christ
Before today’s Gospel, John the Baptist had already displayed great faith in God. Indeed, he had already preached in the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). He baptized with a baptism of repentance. When Jesus came to him, he said, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14). Notice how easily John recognized that Jesus was greater than he was. Furthermore, when there was a dispute over whether or not John was the Messiah, he said, “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him… He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:28-30). John knew he was not the Messiah but longed to know who the Messiah was.
So in this reading, he sends messengers to Jesus asking him if Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus responds in a curious way. He does not give them a clear cut answer; instead, he tells the messengers, “Go and tell John what you see and hear,” and he references Isaiah’s prophecy which we hear in this Sunday’s first reading, which says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 35:5-6). These verses prophesy the circumstances and signs that will accompany the coming of God’s Messiah. The verse right before them says, “Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you” (Isaiah 35:4). Jesus links his actions to Isaiah’s prophecy that God will come as the savior.
In his response to John’s messengers, Jesus appeals to his mighty works and deeds, essentially saying, “Let my actions speak louder than my words.” Jesus has already performed the signs that Isaiah said would accompany the coming of the Messiah. He has given sight to the blind (see Matthew 9:27-30), healed the lame (see John 5:8-9), cleansed lepers (see Matthew 8:3), brought the dead back to life (see John 12:1), and given the poor the hope of the Gospel (see Mark 6:12).
In the second half of today’s Gospel, Jesus asks the crowd who John the Baptist was by asking them why so many people have come to see John preaching in the desert. He answers for them that John was a prophet—in fact, the prophet preparing the way for God’s Messiah. John was indeed a great man, but he is preparing the way for someone much greater: the savior of the world.
Jesus has come. He is the Messiah. We are not to and have no need to look for another. In your prayer today, do two things. Recall the longing for the Christ that the Jews experienced 2000 years ago, and embrace the longing for the second coming of the same Christ at the conclusion of this world. Today, joyously hope for the Messiah’s second coming.
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew 3:1-12
John the Baptist
Today’s Gospel reading prompts us to reflect on the life and mission of John the Baptist. John was a very peculiar figure. He wore a tunic made of camel’s hair tightened by a leather belt and lived on a diet of bugs and wild honey. Yet, this revolting appearance and lifestyle had a deep meaning. John was dressing just like Elijah the prophet (see 2 Kings 1:8), and he was acting like the “New Elijah,” the one prophesied to come and “prepare the way of the Lord” (see Malachi 3:1).
The first thing we see him doing is preaching in the desert, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” John is both speaking and acting in conformity with God’s plan. He is fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah, “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God’” (Isaiah 40:3). This message is exactly the same as Christ’s message (Matthew 4:17).
John is called “the Baptist” precisely because he baptized with the baptism of repentance. This is why people were flocking to him from all over and “were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.”He was none too pleased with those who came to him with questionable motives. Indeed, he called the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of vipers” and “sons of snakes.” John the Baptist warns them not just to do the right things outwardly but also to “[p]roduce good fruit as evidence of [their] repentance.”
John’s mission was to prepare the people for the Coming of Christ. In your prayer today, reflect on how you are preparing yourself for his Second Coming and ask yourself, do you “[p]roduce good fruit as evidence of your repentance”?
Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Matt. 24:37-44
Stay Awake
“Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns the disciples to stay attentive and to be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. To communicate the importance of his warning, he references the famous Old Testament narrative concerning the Flood in “the days of Noah.” How much do you remember about the Flood? Have you ever wondered, “What precipitated the Flood?” In other words, what caused it to happen in the first place?
According to the biblical account, “When men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose” (Genesis 6:1). It seems that “sons of God” is a reference to the righteous line of Seth (Genesis 5:3), and “daughters of men” is a reference to the wicked line of Cain, the murderer (Genesis 4:10). Then the narrative continues, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). God regretted making man because all the righteous men were choosing pretty girls over God and allowing them to pull their hearts away from God, thereby making women their gods and idols. So, the Lord God decided to flood the earth and all were wiped out except one man.
Only Noah and his family were saved from the Flood. But why him? What was so special about Noah? It’s quite simple: Noah was not influenced by the godless culture of his time. Rather, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). No one but Noah and his family knew what God was planning to do. And that is because only Noah and his family were God-fearing people.
You can imagine what life was like leading up to the Flood. People were living by the motto, “Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (Isaiah 22:13). Well, they were right. But St. Paul warns us, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’ Come to your right mind and sin no more” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34). You want to be prepared and ready to meet God since death can take you at any moment—just ask the men in the field and the women at the mill.
Do not give in to our current godless culture, but learn to fear God as Noah did and put Him first in your life. In your silent prayer today, ask for the grace to “stay awake”, to stay vigilant and to watch for the coming of Christ.
The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.” Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.” Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:35-43
The King
In this Gospel reading many different groups are taking shots at Jesus. First it is the rulers, saying, “He saved others, let him save himself….” Notice that they aren’t even talking to our Lord, but talking about him—within his earshot. They have no respect. Then they specifically choose to mock his title as “the chosen one, the Messiah of God.” Apparently they were expecting some sort of political revolutionary to be the Messiah—not Jesus. Likewise the soldiers are mocking him, saying, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” See how the soldiers are mocking him more brazenly: addressing him to his face. They think that our Lord’s claims are nonsensical unless he physically gets off the cross and “saves himself.” Lastly, one of the criminals who was sentenced to death near Jesus says, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” This is not a plea made in humility. This is a demand that seems to be made with the same kind of mockery.
It can be hard for us to understand the ways of God. For example, it can certainly be hard for us to understand suffering and it can be tempting to see evidence of it in the world and think, “If I were God, there wouldn’t be so much suffering.” And that’s exactly where we get things wrong when we start actually thinking, “If I were God….” God is good and God knows best. How do we know this? Simply, look at what Jesus did for us on the cross. God could have become man in order to be a self-serving king. There are plenty of examples of those throughout history. But God became man in order to suffer and die in our place so that we might have eternal life (see John 3:16).
This is the good news of the Gospel for all people who repent and believe. Just ask the “good thief.” He recognized that Jesus was different from him. He looked into the eyes of love and repented from his sin. He did not join the mockery but instead rebuked the other criminal, asking him, “Have you no fear of God…?” That’s the first step in repentance: recognizing that God is God and you are not. Then, he turns to our Lord and says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He gets it: Jesus is the king of a more glorious kingdom than we can see on earth. And what does he get in return for confessing his guilt? Not mockery, not punishment, and not shame. Rather the criminal is admitted into the kingdom by the king himself.
Truly God’s ways . . . they are not our ways. Ask God for the grace to let him reign over every aspect of your life today.
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here— the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
“Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Luke 21:5-19
Persecution
What does a hostile persecution of the faith look like? Think of what it would be like to live somewhere in the world where Christianity is illegal; imagine being persecuted by your own family, arrested and imprisoned by the government, and killed for practicing the faith. For many people throughout the world, this is a reality, and Jesus predicted this would be the case.
As Christian men, we should expect persecution. Persecution is nothing new in the history of the Church. St. Timothy warns us in his second letter saying, “[A]ll who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). It is not hard to find plenty of good illustrations of this. For example, St. Paul had just been stoned, dragged out of the cities of Antioch and Iconium, and thought dead. Then, when he was restored to health, he preached the Gospel in a different city and made many disciples by God’s grace. Next, he returned back to the city that stoned him and exhorted the disciples there, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
So what does all this mean for you and I? It’s simple: be ready. Be ready for persecution from the world but know that you were not made for this world. Tell the world that you were made for more. That is the challenge for you and I this day – to be a bold witness, to be ready as St. Paul and so many others who have gone before us. The more you trust in the Gospel and practically apply it to your life, the less there is to fear.
In your silent prayer today, imagine yourself deeply entrenched in a persecution. Where would you be? Are you hiding? Preaching in the streets? Or even, locked behind bars? As you reflect on this, beg God for the grace of perseverance and courage in the face of persecution.
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Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.” Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘Lord,’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
Luke 20:27-38
Resurrection
Marriage is a beautiful thing. From the beginning of time, God created man and woman to complement and complete each other. Having already created the animal kingdoms, God said, “It is not good that man should be alone, so I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). Clearly, God made us to be relational beings. This mirrors God’s Being: God is one God in three divine Persons. In today’s Gospel, the Sadducees are not questioning the goodness of marriage, but they are questioning the relations of married people in the afterlife.
Seemingly out of nowhere, since this is the first time the Sadducees appear in Luke’s Gospel, the Sadducees come forward and put Jesus to the test. Because they did not believe in the resurrection, they bring Jesus a scenario of what they think is an air-tight argument against it.
But in order to understand their argument, we must first grasp one of the Jewish commandments in Deuteronomy. There God says,
When [a brother] dies without a son, the widow of the deceased shall not marry anyone outside the family; but her husband’s brother shall come to her, marrying her and performing the duty of a brother-in-law. The firstborn son she bears shall continue the name of the deceased brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel. (25:5-6)
God gave this commandment in addition to the first-ever commandment given to Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:22). This shows that, in addition to valuing relationships, God values life. But the Sadducees could not see the connection between marriage, remarriage (after the spouse’s death), and the afterlife in Heaven. So they pose a simple question to Jesus, “What if seven brothers were married to one woman but they all die; whose wife will she be in Heaven?” And Jesus says something to the effect of, “No one’s because there is no marriage in Heaven.”
Jesus’ answer is profound on many levels. First, Jesus is not afraid to directly answer the question of his opponents. Second, he tells us there is no contradiction between remarriage and resurrection; in fact, he gives us an insight into the very purpose of marriage. Third, he gives us an insight into what existence will be like in Heaven.
Jesus’ answer implies that marriage is a means to man’s ultimate end: which is salvation. Our Lord tells us: “[T]hose who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.” Therefore, Jesus is telling us that Heaven is an eternal state of being with God, a place reserved for the risen.
Our Lord’s response would have irked the Sadducees because they had just attempted to argue that belief in the resurrection of the dead is absurd. But Jesus doesn’t stop there; instead, he goes so far as to appeal to their highest Jewish authority. He says, “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush….” His listeners would have known he was speaking about the great prophet Moses’ experience at the burning bush in reference to God’s theophany—the manifestation of God. Here God called out to Moses, saying, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). Jesus concludes with a question: why would the living God refer to himself as the God of our fathers if they too were not still alive in him? Interestingly, this same reasoning and defense of the resurrection of the dead can be found later in the New Testament from both St. Luke (Acts 7:30-34) and St. Paul (Acts 26:22-23).
Let’s take a moment to thank our living God today for the great reality and the great gift of the resurrection. Pray to “be made worthy” and that you may persevere to the end in order to experience this gift firsthand on the last day.
Is it time for your Exodus? Learn more here: https://ex90.cc/sunday
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."
Luke 19:1-10
With Joy
Zacchaeus lived in Jericho, a city located northeast of Jerusalem in modern-day Palestine. As the chief tax collector, he was a wealthy man who was the head of other tax collectors in his district. Unfortunately for him, tax collectors had a “bad rep” in those days. The Jews saw them as traitors to their people because they worked for the Roman occupiers. They also had the reputation of cheating people and over-taxing them for the sake of personal financial gain. Despite his bad reputation, Zacchaeus actively sought to find the Lord.
When Jesus passed through Jericho, a large crowd began to form around him. Zacchaeus could not see because he was “short in stature,” so he climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus. According to one source, these trees can grow up to 130 feet high and 6 feet wide. Here, the irony is that Zacchaeus sought to see Jesus with great effort only to learn that Jesus was already seeking to see him. Our Lord told him, “[C]ome down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And Zacchaeus obeyed the word of the Lord and received him with great joy.
Some people did not like the fact that our Lord wanted to stay with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. In the minds of many of them, being a tax collector was synonymous with being a sinner. But Zaccheaus realized the great treasure he had found in Jesus and he was willing to do whatever it took to be in right relationship with him. That is why he said, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” In doing this, he was justly imposing a serious penalty for restitution on himself (see Exodus 22:1; CCC 2412).
In your time of silent prayer today, put yourself in the place of Zacchaeus. He was hindered from seeing God because he was short. What hinders you from seeing God? He tried to overcome this impediment. How do you strive to overcome the things that impede your relationship with God? As you end your prayer, remember that even before Zacchaeus climbed the tree, Jesus was coming toward him. God takes the first step - He’s doing so for you, right now - and inspires faith. Today, praise God for inspiring your faith and seeking you out.
Is it time for your Exodus? Learn more here: https://ex90.cc/sunday
Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14
Exalted
Have you ever seen someone who is really bad at their job? Image an expert in your field—someone you are told to respect—but he just can’t seem to accomplish the simplest task. You are told to look up to him, but he is failing in his field of “expertise.” This is what is happening with the Pharisee in today’s Gospel.
The first verse of today’s tells us about the intended audience, saying, “Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” If we are honest with ourselves, we know that this applies to us as well. In one way or another, we are all like the Pharisees in our low moments. Not only do we justify ourselves to ourselves, but we also justify ourselves to God himself. We fail at the simplest things in the fight for our salvation.
When was the last time you thought, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like [that guy]?” Thinking this way is akin to playing God. As men, we tend to compare ourselves to others and act like we know it all. It is easy to assume the worst of others and the best of ourselves. But inn reality, we need to be more like the humble, little tax collector.
The tax collector’s prayer is the opposite of the Pharisee’s. First, note the difference in their posture as they stand before the Lord. The Pharisee stands confidently, while the tax collector “stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven.” His body language communicates his attitude of humility. Second, the tax collector “beat his breast,” a symbol of repenting from his heart. Third, he prays a short prayer: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Nowhere in this prayer does he compare himself to others or justify himself to God. In other words, pride is absent. This man knows that he is in need of God’s grace and mercy. And that should be our starting point in prayer since “humility is the foundation of prayer” (CCC 2559).
When you are talking to God, instead of acting like a defense lawyer, remember that you are a “beggar before God.” And, acknowledge that you need God and ask for his help from a place of humility, instead of pride. When you do, God lifts you up, and that is what it means to be exalted.
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