Tag: easter

Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to Philip: 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. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”

With these words, Jesus responds to Philip, who says to him: “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Especially among the disciples, Jesus’ divine identity in the Father is in plain sight. Yet, Philip is unable to see. As Jesus says, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Speaking to the disciples during the Last Supper, Jesus tells them that just as the Father does his works through him, whoever believes in him will do the works that Jesus himself does. Jesus asks Peter this question, one that I can ask myself throughout the day: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”

God, help me understand the significance of today’s Gospel when I am faced with choices to refuse your will or to carry it out. I tend toward self-reliance at times, so much so that I am unable to see you in plain sight in the present moment. Rather than relying solely on my own initiatives today, let me ask in Jesus’ name that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Jesus says, “If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” Only with childlike trust can I approach you, Lord, in what I ask of you and in what I expect to receive.

God, look upon me today with your love. Give me the grace to see myself as you see me—apart from my own means of measuring self-worth—wholly as you see me, as your beloved child.

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.

Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

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

Jesus teaches the people gathered around him in the temple area. Addressing those who do not believe that he is the Christ, he emphasizes his unity with the Father, telling them, “The Father and I are one.” Although Jesus tells them that he is the Son of God and that those who believe and follow him have eternal life, they insist that he tell them plainly whether he is the Christ. Standing before them is God’s own Son, yet they fail to see what is in plain sight. What are the challenges I will face today in hearing and following the voice of Christ?

God, help me hear your voice today. Your ways, Lord, are hidden in mystery but are perceivable to ears that are open and a heart that longs to hear you. Long ago, in Jerusalem during winter, your Son walked around the temple area. Thinking about him that way makes him seem far away and out of touch with the present. Yet, your risen Son is alive today and accessible through your mercy in the sacraments of the Church, through the scriptures, and in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Grant me understanding, Lord, to know that it was through the death and resurrection of your Son the he placed me in your hands to receive the gift of eternal life.

Remain in me today, God, whether in times of quiet or commotion. Remind me I am in your hands. Saint Athanasius, 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.

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.”

In today’s Gospel, which continues from last week’s readings as he addresses the Pharisees, Jesus describes his relationship to the Father as the Good Shepherd. While the hired man, Jesus says, whose sheep are not his own, has no interest in caring for the sheep in time of danger, the good shepherd knows the sheep and they know him. Just as the Father knows Jesus, and Jesus knows the Father, the sheep know the good shepherd. Jesus speaks here of the love between the Father and the Son. For those who follow him and believe, the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep to take it up again in the resurrection. Jesus says, “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.”

Do I recognize Jesus as the Good Shepherd and see the sacrificial love of the Son who does his Father’s will? Through his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus calls us each by name to be brought into the same loving relationship with his Father to reconcile us to him in the hope of eternal life. God, help me understand how the Good Shepherd is not a remote concept, referring to some far-off people from long ago, but is the risen Christ present to me today in the people and events I encounter.

Be with me, Lord, throughout the day. From today’s Psalm, help me recall your love: “Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on. And bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place.”

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.

Fourth Sunday of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

So Jesus said, “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

In today’s Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Jesus addresses the Pharisees. He tells them the parable of the Good Shepherd, that whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate is a thief and robber and that whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for them and leads them out, following his voice, and walks ahead of them to lead them. But a stranger, Jesus says, they will not follow because they don’t recognize his voice. The Pharisees don’t understand what Jesus is trying to tell them, so he explains things to them in this way: “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.”

God, help me see that Jesus your Son is the only way to salvation, the gate, and that what he offers is eternal life to those who follow him. Jesus says: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There are choices I can make to steal and slaughter and destroy, but Jesus is the true shepherd who knows his sheep by name, those who choose to follow him to have life and have it more abundantly.

Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd, you call me by name to follow you. 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.

Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus continues talking with the disciples about his relationship with the Father as the bread of life. After telling them that his body and blood are true food and true drink and that they must partake of this to have eternal life, they say to Jesus: “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Jesus tells them, “It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.” And many of his disciples returned to their former way of life, so Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Peter’s reply, “to whom shall we go?” is a question I could ask daily as I make my way through this complicated world. Peter affirms his faith by saying, “We have come to believe and are convinced.” What opportunities today will I have to come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God?

God, I am struck by Peter’s words “we have come to believe.” As a pilgrim on this earth, I struggle every day to see you in people and events as the day unfolds. Your grace is at work in the world, but do I come to believe that and stand firm in my faith in you? Help me realize that the world will present me with innumerable alternatives to you. Grant me the grace to pause throughout the day before taking action, to ask myself: If not to you, Lord, to whom shall I go?

Lord, let me come to you today fully aware that in the mystery of the Eucharist you are present body and blood, soul and divinity. Help me recall the words you spoke to some who believed you and some who did not: “Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life.” Strengthen my faith, Lord. Saint Catherine, 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.

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said, “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.”

Speaking to some of the Jews who were quarreling among each other, Jesus says these words. They say, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?” Accepted today as a central tenet of the faith, the Eucharist that Jesus describes to the people of his time must have seemed bizarre and gruesome. But by comparing himself to manna that came down from heaven, Jesus brings the exodus into the present. He says to them, “Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” In this way, as the Son of God, Jesus is able to declare himself as the true food and true drink through which he will remain forever with those who believe him.

God, help me understand today’s Gospel. I’ve grown accustomed to hearing spoken at every Mass what must have been shocking to the people of Jesus’ time. Jesus said literally, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood.” As grotesque and bizarre as these words seem, they are the means to eternal life then and today through the love of the Father who draws us to him. From today’s Psalm, we hear: “For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.” Thank you, God, for the Eucharist, the pure gift of fidelity of your Son. In it, Jesus is present unceasingly in the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass.

Thank you, Lord, for sending your Son. His words penetrate the hearts of all who hear him, and some choose not to follow. Give me the grace today to hear his word and follow him.

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.

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.”

As Jesus speaks to the crowds, he makes clear that no one can come to him unless God draws the soul to him. Modeling his relationship with the Father, Jesus expresses that being taught by God means listening to the Father and learning from him. Since no one has seen the Father but Jesus, belief is the means to eternal life through eating the living bread that Jesus gives through his sacrifice in the Eucharist. “And the bread that I will give,” Jesus tells the crowds, “is my Flesh for the life of the world.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus powerfully declares his unity with the Father and that belief in him as the Son of God is the source of eternal life.

God, knowing that Jesus your Son speaks to me through today’s Gospel reading, how do I respond to the words “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him”? In the darkness of sin, there is a clear powerlessness in seeking you that must first be accepted before being drawn by the light of your love. Give me the grace to recognize the action of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing this, that the love between you and your Son draws me to you. In the first reading, just as Philip instructed the eunuch who was reading Isaiah, teach me to see Jesus through the scriptures and in the living bread of the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ.

Lord, be with me today; help me desire to be drawn to you. With the words from an ancient Eucharistic liturgy, I pray: “We give you thanks, O Christ, our God, because you have deigned to share with us your Body and your Blood, O Savior; you have drawn to yourself our hearts.”

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 Third Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to the crowds: “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus declares himself to be the bread of life. He says that whoever comes to him will never go hungry and whoever believes in him will never be thirsty. By doing his Father’s will, Jesus rejects no one who comes to him. In that is the promise of eternal life to those who see the Son and believe in him. What is the food I go for time after time that leaves me hungry?

God, help me come to you confident that you will supply me with daily bread in this world and the bread of life for the world to come. Jesus models the holiness of a will obedient to yours as he says, “because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” Give me the grace, then, to follow Jesus by knowing and doing your will. Help me be receptive to your grace just as Jesus was so that I do not lose anything of what you give me.

Jesus Christ, Bread of Life, let me come to you. You said to the crowds: “But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe.” Help me believe you without seeing you, Lord, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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.

Feast of Saint Mark, evangelist

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Today’s Gospel passage is taken from the last chapter of Saint Mark’s account of the Gospel. Honored today by the Church, Saint Mark tells us that Jesus speaks to the Eleven, telling them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” After commissioning the Eleven to go out and preach the Gospel to all creation, Jesus then ascends into heaven and takes his seat at the right hand of God. From these Eleven Apostles, the Church has grown to what it is today. As Mark tells us, the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word of God through their actions. By extension, Jesus’ words are universal, and he speaks to me as he did to the disciples. What small part do I play in this great drama whose glorious story still unfolds?

God, before ascending into heaven, Jesus said to the Eleven Apostles: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” These words of Jesus in today’s Gospel are not to be taken lightly. Help me see the still-unfolding relevance in today’s world of your Son’s commissioning of the Eleven. What small part do you have in mind for me in proclaiming the Gospel? In the final words of Saint Mark’s Gospel, he says of the Eleven, “But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.” Work with me today, Lord, so that I understand your word and do your will. In few words, the Gospel acclamation makes the task clear to me: “We proclaim Christ crucified: he is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Lord, stay with me as I strive to bring you into today’s inevitable conflicts and uncertainties in the people and situations I encounter. Give me courage to proclaim the Gospel and the grace of ever-greater faith in your kindness and mercy.

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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

In today’s Gospel, the people who follow Jesus are from the same crowd that shared in the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus tells them that they are only seeking him because he provided them with food, not because they believe in him as the Son of God. Jesus says earlier in John’s Gospel: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.” So when the crowd asks Jesus what they can do to accomplish the works of God, Jesus tells them to believe in him, the Son of God. As sung in the responsorial psalm, to be a disciple is to know the law of the Lord: “I declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me your statutes. Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.”

God, just as the crowd followed Jesus because he had fed them, I go looking at times for you without understanding what it is I need. As your Son was fed by doing your will, give me the grace to understand that the imperishable food Jesus speaks of is the food that endures for eternal life. The Gospel acclamation from today’s readings is explicit: “One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Yet, what is the ultimate word that comes forth from the mouth of God? It is the Word Incarnate, Jesus your Son—body, blood, soul, and divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine. God, thank you for the gift that sustains me in this life and is at the same time the food that endures for the life to come.

“Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!” God the Father, make your presence known to me today; strengthen my faith in you and in the one you sent.

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.