Tag: Prayer

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him.

Today’s Gospel describes the plan of Caiaphas, high priest, to save the Jewish nation out of fear of the many signs Jesus performed. His fear is that if they leave Jesus on his own, people will come to believe in him. Caiaphas says to the Sanhedrin, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” At the beginning of today’s Gospel, we hear how many of the Jews come to Mary to see what Jesus had done in raising her brother Lazarus from the dead. This great miracle of Jesus in the hands of Caiaphas was divisive, and he meant to do everything he could to prevent Jesus from driving a wedge between the political alignment of the Jewish nation and the Romans. God’s plan for salvation in his Son’s passion, death, and resurrection began to unfold through Caiaphas and Mary. One obstructed God’s plan to “gather into one the dispersed children of God”; the other, a willing participant in that plan, cooperated with the same grace that set salvation into motion. If I had lived in that time, which side would I have been on?

God, help me recognize that if I am not with you, I am against you. As Jesus says in the Gospel according to Matthew: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” It is not possible to do your will and at the same time divide and plot to do harm to others. Having seen her brother raised from the dead, Mary’s joy overflowed to those around her, giving witness to Jesus as miraculous healer and Son of God. She gathered rather than scattered. Today I will have many opportunities to choose between gathering or scattering. Grant me the grace, God, to be drawn to you and to gather together others toward you, toward what is true and good and beautiful.

Guard me today, Lord, and guide me in your ways. From the responsorial psalm, let me recall your voice throughout the day: “My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

“If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is challenged by people who do not believe in him. Seeing that they fail to believe in Jesus’ divine nature, he appeals to the people on the basis of his many good works—through his words and through his healings of mind, body, and spirit. Still, the people try to stone and arrest Jesus, but he escaped from their power because his time had not yet come. Jesus left that place and went across the Jordan, where John first baptized. Many people there came to believe in Jesus, saying, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” The people came to believe not because of signs but because the testimony of John was true. These two ways of coming to know Christ, through his works or through testimony, lead to the same road: the realization that he and the Father are one.

God, help me understand that you always leave open a way to come to know and love you. Whether I see the works of your Son through the Gospel, or witness your miracles work in the lives of others, or experience health of mind and body through participation in the sacraments, there I have an opportunity to come to know you and strengthen my faith. Attacks on my faith will come; voices from the outside or from within will cause me to question that you are the Father almighty. Attacks on the Church will come; persecutors will murmur and seek always to denounce. But let me remember the words of Jeremiah from the first reading: “But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.”

Stay with me today and keep me in your care! In the words of today’s responsorial psalm: “I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.”

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I know him.”

As Jesus reveals that he is the great I AM, some of the Jews he is speaking with challenge him when he says, “I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The people ask Jesus if he is greater than Abraham or the prophets, who died, and Jesus answers that he is one with his Father and that the Father glorifies him. “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” the people ask Jesus. He tells them: “I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” They then pick up stones to throw at Jesus, but he hides and goes out of the temple area. Why Jesus hides here is not out of fear; by doing his Father’s will, the Father glorifies Jesus. The time of his passion had not yet come.

God, help me see what it means to know you as your son knows you. If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing. But if I know and do your will, my every word and action will glorify you. Just as the Father glorified Jesus, I give you glory, Lord, when I make my works, joys, and sufferings of the day a means to give you glory. In your son’s promise of eternal life, I see what those of Jesus’ time could not see: the resurrection that follows his passion and death. “I say to you,” Jesus says, “whoever keeps my word will never see death.” I believe in the resurrection. Glory to you, Lord; help my unbelief.

You are ever present, Lord, and transcend time. As you once promised Abraham, you promise to me: “I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” Help me today, Lord, remember you are here in the present moment.

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”

In today’s Gospel, some of the Jews who believe in Jesus struggle to recognize the truth of his divinity. Jesus, truth incarnate in the person of Christ, says to them: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” But they believe that as descendants of Abraham, they have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it, then, that Jesus tells them that the truth will set them free? As the Son of God, Jesus freely chooses to do the will of the Father through his passion, death, and resurrection, and in that he invites us into the freedom of discipleship. Jesus tells them: “A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.” Like the people Jesus addresses in today’s Gospel, are there precedents or biases I accept that are obstacles to the truth of Jesus Christ?

God, give me the grace to recognize that I often accept partial truths as if they were incontrovertible realities. Help me take care today of the agendas I set for myself this morning that I check against tonight. Do I measure my worth by the things I plan to do and then carry out? Have I accomplished my will? There is something disappointing and bitter in living that way—checking off accomplishments. What can I hope to accomplish in a day unless I first seek to know your will? God, I want to live today knowing that your Son frees me to hear your voice and do your will.

Lord, thank you for the peace in knowing you are near. You loved me first. Keep me in your truth today and always so that I am free to receive your love!

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

So Jesus said to the Pharisees, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals to the Pharisees what is about to take place in his crucifixion. Jesus, the Son of Man, will be lifted up on the cross to die for the sins of all. By telling the Pharisees that unless they believe that Jesus is I AM—that is, Yahweh, God the Father—he invites them into his redemption through faith and repentance: “For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” In God’s love for his people, in that lifting up of Jesus on the cross, a paradox unfolds before all of humanity. The cross becomes an instrument of the resurrection. By dying, Christ destroyed death; by rising, he restored life. As Saint Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians: “For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man.” The Pharisees question Jesus: “Who are you?” Far from being a remnant from the historical life of Jesus, this question is one that I can ask myself daily. But unlike the Pharisees, I have the benefit of knowing the answer through his resurrection. He is I AM.

God, I want to come to a greater understanding of what Jesus meant when he said to the Pharisees: “I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.” Your son sits at your right hand and belongs with you above. The Pharisees who belonged to the world did not recognize the blindness of sin and so would die with their sins in this world. Help me understand that you belong to what is above and that you also want me to die to this world through repentance so that I can rise to new life through your son. Help me realize that Jesus is I AM.

Lord, as you always do what is pleasing to your Father, help me do what is pleasing to you. Be with me today and increase my awareness that with you I am never left alone.

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.

Saying these few words, Jesus then bends down and in that moment when no words are spoken, the crowd slowly disperses. In today’s Gospel, it is the elders who are the first to walk away from stoning the woman caught in adultery. In that still moment, they recognize that they also commit sin and are not free from guilt. By contrast, in the first reading from Daniel, it is the elders who are the first to accuse Susanna of adultery to hide their sin. John tells us in today’s Gospel that after the crowd goes away one by one, Jesus says to the woman: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She tells him, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus says to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Before saying this to the woman, Jesus straightens up the woman; this is a detail not to be missed. He reaches out his hand to her to raise up the helpless.

God, there are times, as in the responsorial psalm, where the day’s walk is through a dark valley. In the first reading and in the Gospel, the crowd—the mob—accuses and wants nothing more than to see justice carried out even to the point of death. This is the world you sent your son into. Am I sometimes the one in the midst of the mob? Even when Jesus says “Let the one among you who is without sin,” there is one who would throw a stone regardless. During the Gospel reading on Good Friday, the congregation takes the voice of the crowd, crying out “Crucify him.” Help me, Lord, be merciful and forgiving. You alone know the sins of others and are the just judge. Give me the grace to quiet the mob voice within me. In the dark valley of waywardness and sin, straighten me up so that I can find a way back to you; guide me in the way of forgiveness.

Be with me today, merciful Lord, and forgive me. “Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for you are at my side.”

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Fifth Sunday of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

In this Sunday’s Gospel, both Martha and Mary say this to Jesus as he approaches their brother Lazarus’s tomb. Jesus makes clear to the disciples that he will raise Lazarus from the dead, saying, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” Martha, one of the two sisters who in another Gospel passage busies herself in the kitchen while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, says to Jesus: “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” She believes that Jesus is the Messiah, saying, “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Jesus then asks Martha to send for Mary, who was inside mourning. Using the same words as Martha, Mary says to Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw Mary’s weeping and the weeping of friends who had come with her, John tells us that Jesus became perturbed and deeply troubled. Jesus asked where Lazarus was, and he wept before going to the tomb that kept Lazarus bound by death.

God, I want to see today’s Gospel with a fresh set of eyes. At its core is a stark reality: Jesus, your son, raised Lazarus from the dead. Help me see also Martha’s and Mary’s responses to their brother’s death and the faith and trust they had in your mercy. Martha is stouthearted in her faith, and expresses it in certain terms: “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Overcome with grief, Mary sheds tears that brings Jesus himself to weep. Both Mary and Martha reach out to your son in faith, and he responds to them with mercy by raising Lazarus from the dead. I believe, Lord; help my unbelief.

God, thank you for your mercy, your loving-kindness toward those in pain. Strengthen my faith in your son, who says to you before raising Lazarus from the dead: “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me.” 

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

“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.”

These words of the angel Gabriel follow Mary’s question at the annunciation: “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” Rather than challenging God’s power and ability to do the impossible, Mary’s question suggests the nature of her relationship with God. Your will, God, not mine. After Gabriel responds to her, she says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. In her question also is a sense of the awe she felt before God. That same sense of wonder overshadowed her as she learned that her barren cousin Elizabeth had conceived a son and was in her sixth month. The last words Gabriel speaks before departing are “for nothing will be impossible for God.” There is so much beauty in the Annunciation, any aspect of it is worth spending time pondering.

Lord, I can imagine Mary pondered these words long after Gabriel left her; carrying them with her as she carried Jesus; carrying them with her in his infancy and childhood; and carrying them with her to the foot of the cross. Mary’s simple question—”How can this be?”—was answered again and again throughout her motherhood. Mary said yes to the Incarnation, obedient to the Lord’s merciful will; her son said yes to suffering and death, destroying death and rising to new life to bring all of us redemption. “How can this be?” That’s a question I can ask of myself every day to understand your will. Help me, Lord, respond by saying, “May it be done according to your word.”

Lord, thank you for the gift of your presence! Overshadow me today; make your will known.

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”

In today’s Gospel according to John, Jesus can’t keep his divine identity secret. Although Jesus seeks to travel covertly to the Jewish feast of Tabernacles because there were some in Jerusalem who were trying to kill him, once there he hears what some of the people are saying about him. “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.” They go on to say about Jesus: “Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” Jesus then cries out in the temple area as he is teaching: “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” They try to arrest Jesus, but John tells us “no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.”

God, help me learn how you move and act through my life each day. As Saint Paul says, in you “we live and move and have our being.” The people of Jerusalem knew your Son yet did not know you or where he came from. Their expectation was that the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from. God, you work in ways that confound human understanding. What the people of Jerusalem assumed—that no one would know where the Messiah is from—blinded them to the coming of Christ. You walked and moved among your people, yet many did not see it. In my own preoccupation with the way things usually work, I completely miss the works you accomplish every day. In each day made up of a multitude of experiences, you alone in the mystery of your being are true.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Give me the grace, Lord, to know you through your works today and always.

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said: “Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues speaking to some of the Jewish people who question his divinity because he calls God his Father. Although Jesus recognizes the light of testimony that John brought, Jesus tells the Jewish people he addresses that he does not accept human testimony. Jesus says to them: “But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.” As the Incarnate word, Jesus’ works testify on behalf of his Father. Jesus also tells the people that he does not accept human praise and questions that basis of belief as a hindrance to their acceptance of him. “For if you had believed Moses,” Jesus says, “you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

God, just as your Son performed works that testified on your behalf, as one baptized I am also called to give witness to you through my prayers, works, sufferings, and joys—through my life—so that in dying and rising with you in baptism I give you glory and praise. The Gospel acclamation sums up Jesus’ earthly mission and is a core belief in giving witness to the Father: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.”

Strengthen my faith, Lord, that I may always believe your words. From the responsorial psalm: Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

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.

Readings