Tag: God’s will

Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, To deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:16-21)

When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.

Continuing where yesterday’s Gospel left off, today’s reading describes what happens after Jesus fed the five thousand and then went off to the mountain alone. John describes how the disciples went down to the sea to reach Capernaum. Within moments after embarking, a strong wind stirs up the sea and they see Jesus walking on the sea toward them. Until he says to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid,” the disciples fail to recognize Jesus. They wish to take Jesus into the boat, but they reach the shore immediately. Two miracles—really three—occur as the Gospel unfolds: Jesus walks on water, the disciples reach the shore without human effort, and they recognize the divinity of Jesus in the peace that only he can give.

God, I am certain of the myriad uncertainties I will face today. In the midst of them, give me the grace to call to mind that Jesus your Son is present at all times. Help me trust that as much as uncertainty and fear will be woven into the day, “all your works,” as the psalmist says, “are trustworthy” and preserve me in every trial. “Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.” Jesus, I trust in you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Friday of the Second Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD. One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:1-15)

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Crowds began to follow Jesus because they saw the miracles he performed among the sick. Before feeding the crowd of five thousand that came to him, Jesus asks Philip a question: “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Knowing what he would do, Jesus asks Philip to test him. Seeing the vast crowd, Andrew tells Jesus there is a boy who has five loaves of bread and two fish. This time, Andrew asks a question, uncertain of the outcome: “but what good are these for so many?” Of the two questions, one affirms God’s superabundant grace; the other is despairing, skeptical. Every day, God tests our faith by giving us countless opportunities to trust him. Where do we go for true food, true drink?

God, open my mind to understand today’s Gospel. When I consider that Jesus broke bread, feeding five thousand, I marvel at how he made that possible. Even more so do I stand in awe at the feeding of millions every day in the Eucharist. It is the same Christ broken and shared but undivided among those most in need of his body and blood, soul and divinity. There is something in Jesus’ question, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” that begs to be answered. We can’t buy what we most need; no one can. Only you, Lord, can supply the Eucharistic meal that makes you present within me and makes me whole.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Bertramz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr

From the responsorial psalm: “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 3:31-36)

Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.

What is clear from today’s Gospel is the love of the Father for the Son and the complete abandonment of the Son to the will of the Father. The love of the Father abides fully in the Son. To obey the Son is to trust in God and participate in the fullness of his redemption through the resurrection. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” “The wrath of God remains upon,” John tells us, whoever disobeys the Son. Not an active divine punishment, wrath is the natural result of suffering through active rejection of belief in Christ. The wrath of God is a continual invitation to return to him wholeheartedly, to trust in his will and be obedient to it.

God, help me trust in you at all times and accept the testimony of your Son, who “testifies to what he has seen and heard” from above all. When I consider the trials and distress of the day that is certain to come, I want to hold fast to my faith. “Many are the troubles of the just man,” the psalmist says, “but out of them all the LORD delivers him.” And “When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them.” Guide me in your ways today, Lord; teach me to persevere in faith in this life so that in the world to come I may one day give you unceasing praise and bless you at all times. Saint Stanislaus, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!” Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 3:16-21)

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-begotten Son of God.

Today’s Gospel reading picks up where yesterday’s left off. In John’s words, the passage summarizes the conversation Jesus has with Nicodemus. So that everyone might have eternal life and because he loves the world he created, God sent his only-begotten Son “so that everyone who believes in him might not perish.” But because God made us to be free and respects free will, the choice to believe in the Son of God—the choice between light and darkness—is left to each person. “Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,” John says, “but whoever does not believe has already been condemned.” In choosing Christ, we come willingly into the light of truth, seeking to do God’s will.

God, you fashioned the world out of love, and you love the world you created. Help me choose freely today to come toward the light of Christ your Son. Inclined toward sin, it’s not a given that I will choose to live in the truth of that light. Let me remember to call out to you for your help, and aid me today in choosing to do right and rejecting evil. In the words of the psalmist, grant me the grace to call on you in every distress and look to you so that I may be radiant with joy.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

From the Gospel acclamation: “The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 3:7b-15)

Jesus answered [Nicodemus] and said to him, “If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains to Nicodemus the purpose of being “born from above” in order to enter the kingdom of God. He emphasizes that spiritual rebirth is not something that should be surprising to Nicodemus. And he goes on, saying, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Just as the Israelites looked at the bronze serpent, so people look to Jesus lifted up on the cross to receive eternal life.

God, help me understand what Jesus conveys to Nicodemus in teaching him about spiritual rebirth. In the risen Christ, the lifted cross becomes the means not of death but of the way made ready for us to eternal life. Give me the grace to trust in your mercy, that what Jesus says to Nicodemus about heavenly things I can trust with complete assurance. Help me live out today as Jesus instructed Nicodemus: “You must be born from above.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

From the responsorial psalm: “‘In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!’” Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 1:26-38)

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

When the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, he first tells her not to be afraid. Why? Because she has found favor with God. He goes on to tell her how she will conceive a son and name him Jesus and that of his kingdom there will be no end. Mary questions how this will come to be, and the angel answers her. Mary asks no other questions but simply says yes, trusting in the Lord to accomplish his will through her. Mary’s fiat is an example for every person seeking to do the will of God. Not all of the specifics are given; there is no step-by-step manual. But in seeking to do God’s will, two things are necessary: to be unafraid and to trust that nothing is impossible for him.

God, I see in Mary a high standard, even an impossible one, to live up to. Yet, Mary who is the new Eve, was conceived without original sin and conceived and gave virgin birth to Jesus. Give me the grace through Christ your Son to take one step at a time in hearing and responding to your voice. “May it be done to me according to your word.” As you spoke to Ahaz in the first reading, Lord, you also speak to me. In striving for holiness, help me remember the name Emmanuel, “God is with us.” And “nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.