Tag: daily Gospel readings

Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter: Reflection

Jesus said to his disciples, “So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”

It’s not unusual after you have accomplished something great for someone to say to you, “You’ll always have that; they can’t take that away from you.” The words of Jesus reflect this but give greater truth to it because Jesus words speak things into existence. Just as he says, “My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you,” he says, “No one will take your joy away from you.”

God, help me understand that you are the giver of joy and joy in essence. One with the Father, you give glory to him and wish for the disciples and for all your children that our hearts will rejoice.

In Communion, I receive you, the Body of Christ. Let those words be on my lips today and in my mind as I face the anguish of the day. Jesus, you say, “But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice.” A day will come when I will not question you about anything because you have revealed all that the Father told you. Until that time, teach me to wait in joyful expectation.

Today let me remember and not be afraid to ask the Father in Jesus’ name for whatever present need I have.

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Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest: Reflection

“You will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

I can only guess that by saying “while the world rejoices,” Jesus means that his absence from them after his death, resurrection, and ascension will be for the world a cause for rejoicing. Since this is before Jesus’ death, the disciples experience great uncertainty at this point in his time with them, the mention of joy might seem foreign to them. The Easter joy that I take for granted was something the disciples knew nothing about at this moment.

God, open my mind to understand the first reading in relation to daily life. There is something there worth paying attention to. In it, Silas and Timothy oppose and revile Paul for testifying to the Jews. He left them, saying, “From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” He then meets a man named Titus Justus, whose house was next to a synagogue. Because of Paul, a synagogue official “came to believe in the Lord,” and many of the Corinthians believed and were baptized. Here is where it’s relevant: just as Paul preached and brought to conversion the Gentiles, God blessed him abundantly by bringing to conversion the synagogue official as well.

God, I know you want to break through the anxieties and distractions of the day to make yourself present. Do I dare say to myself and believe, “I want to see you face to face?” Is that what I want, and do I want to make that temple within me for no material gain other than to be before you? I know that as the day burns by my thoughts will tend toward matters at hand.

Today I want to look for the abundant blessings of God. In the midst of anxiety and grief, light pierces the darkness; let me trust in the words of truth that come from Jesus’ lips: “you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

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Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter: Reflection

“Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”

Jesus brought to the disciples the fullness of the truth. The Spirit of truth, the Advocate, will take that fullness from Jesus and declare it to the disciples and to the rest of the world. This brings to mind the Trinity, that the Advocate will glorify Jesus just as Jesus glorifies the Father.

God, help me understand that the Spirit of truth will guide me to all truth. That Jesus spoke of truth should enough to counter any doubts I have in daily life about what is uncertain. “I am the way and the truth and the life,” Jesus says. Truth is not a philosophy or a myth or an unknown god but a person, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will not speak on his own but will speak what he hears. Let me be open today to speak not on my own but through what the Spirit of truth teaches me to bring that truth to others.

In today’s Gospel reading of twelve short lines, Jesus says three times that the Spirit of truth will take from what is his and declare it to the disciples. Jesus has much more to tell them, but he sends the Advocate to reveal all truth to them. When I am in the midst of the day weighing the relative truth of an idea or situation, I want to remember to leave room to allow the Advocate to guide me to all truth.

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Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter: Reflection

“But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”

In these words from today’s Gospel reading, Jesus continues speaking of the coming of the Advocate. The disciples are filled with grief by what he says. Yet, if he stays, the Advocate will not come; if he goes to the Father, Jesus will send the Advocate to them.

God, help me understand that you work in ways I don’t ordinarily foresee or understand. Just as Paul and Silas pray and sing hymns after being beaten and imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, how difficult would it be for me when things don’t go my way to pray and accept that your will be done and praise you for it?

I feel especially rushed and moved along today by obligations and circumstances. The day doesn’t look like it’s going the way I would have it. God, show me how to rest in this and find your presence. Let me see Christ in others, and let me be a lifesaver to anyone else who feels tossed about on the waves.

Today I want to remember to be merciful when someone I encounter wants to cling to what is rather than let go of what is and trust that God will provide.

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Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter: Reflection

“I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”

In today’s Gospel reading, as Jesus explains the coming of the Advocate to his disciples, he says something alarming to them: “the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.” The reading ends as he says that their hour is coming and that the disciples remember what Jesus told them so that they will not fall away.

God, help me understand that you prepare your disciples for the coming persecution by sending the Advocate, which gives them the courage to face those who literally want to kill them. In a figurative way, I can imagine dying to defend my faith and the truth of the Gospel, but I can’t imagine the level of faith needed to courageously face those who would kill me because of it.

Holy Family, walk with me today; walk before me and behind me and lead me in my words and actions to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Today let me remember that I might encounter those who want to kill me because of what I believe—probably not literally and on a large scale—but ideologically and in small ways. Let me remember that they will do this because, as Jesus says, “They have not known either the Father or me.” Father in heaven, give me the wisdom and courage to bring them to you.

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Sixth Sunday of Easter: Reflection

“You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks during the Last Supper of his ascension and the Advocate coming to the disciples. By saying “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father,” he seems to address those among the disciples who don’t want him to go. They want to hold on to the life they have and not begin new life with the Holy Spirit. Aware of this, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”

God, help me understand that there have been times in my life when I was not attentive to the Holy Spirit and was unable to rejoice when I saw myself or others moving in a good direction; that is, “going to the Father.” Maybe this was because I wanted to hold on to the good that I did have and was afraid that God would fail to take care of me or others on the new path. Help me also understand, God, to be as sensitive as Jesus so that I don’t find myself an obstacle of the Holy Spirit. Give me peace; let me not be troubled.

I think of my restlessness and how the leaves of a cottonwood blow every direction and yet stay connected to the tree. Let me trust that every day, God shows me the path to return to him if I see him at work throughout the day.

Today, the sixth Sunday of Easter, let me celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and make way for the Advocate. In the second reading from the Book of Revelation, John says of the New Jerusalem: “The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.” In that city, God is everything—the destination, the cause itself of joy, even the light to see by. Why would I not take joy in finding the source of that light?

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Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter: Reflection

“I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”

Jesus is who he says he is. He says in these few words that he has revealed everything he has heard from the Father, laying this as the foundation for a relationship with him. If Jesus has heard from the living God, and he says that this is the basis of friendship, then it is worth the time to consider how I relate not only to God the Father but also those around me, my friends formed by Jesus’ command to love one another.

God, help me understand that in your relationship with your Son, you shared everything with him that he needed to establish a pattern for others to follow; namely, the commandment to love one another.

For me to spend even five minutes in quiet prayer is to enter dense woods with heavy undergrowth. So many brambles and so much debris to maneuver around, things that trip up my steps, it’s hard to find God in that. I don’t want any consolation, any sixth sense, any goosebumps to affirm that God is near. I want to remember him today and ask him to accompany me all the way through. Be with me, God, and let me care nothing for worldly success.

Today the words of Jesus, as well as the words of the first reading, embrace everybody. I almost resist that command to love, to embrace. Yet, Jesus also says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” This is a two-way street: Jesus calls us friends because he manifested truth, mercy itself, and we manifest that in turn by loving one another and doing what he commands. “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Tethered to this command, there is no wrong step in loving others.

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Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter: Reflection

Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

Similar to the Our Father, when Jesus says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us,” Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” In both of these, Jesus models what a loving relationship should be. Just as the Father loves him and he loves us, that love is the pattern for loving each other.

A reporter answers the who, what, when, where, why, and how of a story. Jesus answers who (the Father and the Son), what (“remaining in my love”), why (“so that your joy might be complete”), and how (“if you keep my commandments”). This is pretty straightforward, and there is no mistaking how to remain in love—stated three times—with the Father and the Son. Thank you, God, for the clarity of the words of your Son.

Your love, God, is an all-embracing love. It is not false in any way; it is not as society can construe all-embracing love, which brings all to a center that cannot hold when it permits all. To love you, Father, calls for obedience to your holy will, to do what is pleasing to you, and to bring others to a center that can hold because that center is truth in the person of Christ.

The Gospel acclamation for today’s reading is “My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.” To remain in Jesus’ love today, let me remember to hear his voice while I’m busy or resting. Whether today brings a greater balance of trials than joy, I have no idea. But let me remember why Jesus asks that I keep his commandments: so that my joy might be complete.

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Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter: Reflection

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.”

In the words of Jesus, “You are already pruned because of the word I spoke to you,” I had to pause to think about what that means in my life. Maybe it’s similar to “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.” More than that, though, I think it’s more like “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away so that he can giveth more!” In the Gospel reading from a few days ago, Jesus says, “Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day.”

God, help me understand the work of your Son in the world. Jesus’ words are pruning words; they take away what doesn’t grow in me so that what does grow in me can grow like crazy. Aware of this same overgrowth, the disciples went out into the world to share the Gospel while remaining in God. Like them, I will also go out into the world today. How far will I go to share the Gospel?

A gentle spring rain comes down today, watering the lawn and the garden, watering the weeds. What does it mean for me to be a disciple? What does it mean to trust that what God takes away from me is pure grace? “Ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you,” Jesus says in today’s reading. Jesus, take from me freely today; in that, let me give glory to your Father.

Today I want to soak up all the goodness of Easter and delight in it, remain on the vine and know that pruning doesn’t hurt as much as withering away in selfish, willful aims. Let me be ready today to share the joy that is in the Gospel.

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Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter: Reflection

“And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.”

Jesus shows the depth of his love for the disciples by taking great care in affirming their faith in what they are about to witness and in modeling for them obedience to the Father. There is also in this Gospel passage Jesus’ reassurance “I am going away and I will come back to you”—words that not only console but are true. Jesus not only speaks of peace; he is living peace.

God, thank you for this beautiful Easter season, when the resurrection of your Son and the words he spoke before his Passion glorify you and draw us to you! It is not enough, Lord, to understand how the disciples received Jesus’ words and followed the life he modeled; it is for me to grasp that he says to me, “I am going away and I will come back,” and it is I who must know that Jesus loves the Father and does as he commanded him.

So often I know that I can rest in God’s presence throughout the day, that God takes delight in me, as a good father does his child. Yet, I find it hard to let go of the drive toward efficiency and accomplishing as much as possible with the time given. Can I make the effort today to break away from that a couple of times and quiet down to reconnect with God? “I am going away and I will come back to you.”

This day will bring its moments when I am troubled or afraid or anxious. Let me remember to ask Jesus to accompany me today not as a sign or symbol of peace but through him, with him, and in him, the peace of the risen Christ in his love for the Father.

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