Tag: John

The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD comes, he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 1:1-18)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The first words of John’s prolougue to his Gospel echo the first words of the Old Testament. Through powerful imagery of light and darkness, being and nothingness, and God invisible and God in the flesh, John connects the coming of Jesus to the long-awaited Messiah of the Old Testament. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he gives to those who believe in his name the power to become children of God. Enough can’t be said of the magnificance of John’s prologue. Only in rereading it and dwelling on it does its sweeping poetry and spiritual beauty shine brightly like the Star of Bethlehem that rested over the Christ Child.

God, help me hold on to the wonder of the birth of Jesus, that in his coming is the fulfillment of the covenants made by you with your people. In the first reading, John writes what it means to have your anointing; it is to live in the truth. He says, “I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.” Because I do know the truth but in sin tend toward lies, keep me on guard to remain in the truth. Give me the grace to turn away from what detracts from you and instead keep my eyes fixed on you yourself revealed in your only-begotten Son.

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.

“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” | Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 10:46-52)

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”

Jesus goes on to ask Bartimaeus what he wishes for him to do, and he replies, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus tells him that his faith has saved him, and immediately Bartimaeus sees and begins to follow Jesus on their way. Bartimaeus is prepared to receive healing from the Lord by his faith. First, he calls Jesus “Son of David.” Then the disciples lift him with encouragement to respond to Jesus’ call. And on encountering him, Jesus says that his faith has saved him. In response to that call, Bartimaeus’s sight is healed, and he begins to follow Jesus. Be attentive today to the ways the Lord calls you to him. What is your response?

“But he kept calling out all the more, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.'” God, help me listen out for you today, whether I experience encouragement from someone or hear in my heart the words “What do you want me to do for you?” Strengthen my faith to hear you and receive your healing. Throughout the day, Lord, help me see your presence more clearly, making ready the way to enjoy eternal life with you. As Saint Peter says in the first reading: “Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

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.

“For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.” | Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 10:32-45)

Jesus summoned [the disciples] and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus makes clear the path of discipleship. As Jesus tells them of his suffering and death in Jerusalem, James and John ask to be given a special role of power. Jesus teaches them that instead the greatness he exemplifies comes from serving others even to the point of suffering and death, as he predicts about his own coming passion and crucifixion. What Jesus says about being mocked, spit upon, scourged, and put to death James and John seem not to hear. But Jesus shows them that following him is about service, not the exercise of worldly authority. As Jesus teaches that following him calls for humility and serving others, he turns on its head the pursuit of worldly power and status. “If anyone wishes to be first,” Jesus says, “he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”

God, give me the gift of wisdom to reject the all-too-subtle temptation to power and authority. As Saint Thomas Aquinas writes, the four typical substitutes for God are wealth, pleasure, power, and honor. Any one of these slips into my daily thoughts, often in the form of “If only I had enough” or “If only I were given.” With humility, help me call to mind the simple phrase from the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” And the super-substantial bread of the Eucharist, help me realize that what I hold in my hands and take in is the body of Christ in the service of love to our salvation. Saint Paul VI, 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.

“They abandoned their nets.” | Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Free lectio divina prayer guide: quarryapps.gumroad.com/l/jojqau

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 3:20-21)

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

Jesus calls Simon and Andrew in the midst of their workday. They are in a boat, working for their sustenance and casting their nets into the sea. James and John, brothers in a family business, are mending their nets. In their livelihood, they are literally and figuratively in the same boat. When Jesus calls them, he refers to their occupation to make clear that what they have done as humble fisherman will be relevant to their work as disciples. Jesus invites them to get out of their boat and into his, not literally but figuratively, and they did. “They abandoned their nets and followed him.” Mark adds that Zebedee was not left to work alone but had hired men there to help him, a subtle suggestion that God takes care of all of the details when his invitation to follow is accepted. In the words of Christ, here is his invitation: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

God, help me understand the depth of today’s Gospel, how it was that the first apostles abandoned their way of life to follow Jesus Christ your Son. There are levels of understanding in the reading, ways to approach it. What did it mean for each of the apostles to follow Christ? Where did it lead them? And then I might ask what it means to me to hear Christ’s invitation to follow, to fail to follow, repent, and try all over again through the sacrament of reconciliation. The rich young man who appears elsewhere in Mark, could not bring himself to do what humble fisherman accomplished: they abandoned their nets. Give me the grace to remain humble, to recognize that whatever I do for worldly gain means nothing if it prevents me from following you. Help me recognize, Lord, as Paul says, that time is running out and that “the world in its present form is passing away.” Lord, give me clarity and wisdom in hearing and responding to your call.

From the responsorial psalm: “Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. Teach me your ways, O Lord.”

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 James, Apostle

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 20:20-28)

Jesus said in reply to James and John, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

The mother of James and John approaches Jesus, kneeling before him and asking a favor. She says, “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Revealing a glimpse of the mystery in the relationship of the Son and the Father, Jesus indicates that the brothers will drink the chalice of suffering that he will drink but that it is not his to give but the Father’s the seat that he has prepared for them. Jesus tells the indignant ten apostles who overhear that authority in his kingdom is not as it is in the world: “Rather,” Jesus says, “whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.”

God, help me see what exercising authority in your service means. Keep me from aims of personal ambition and desire for power and instead help me follow Christ in his mission of self-giving love. Give me the grace to be ambitious for the things that endure to give you glory: humility, love, and selflessness. As Saint Paul says in the first reading: “We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.”

Lord, help me follow the example of Jesus today by doing your will and exercising authority through the humility of service to others. Saint James, 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.

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.

Peter questions Jesus about John and what is in store for himself in the near future. He questions Jesus’ will for them. Jesus’ response is simply “You follow me.” Because God loves each person as a separate, unrepeatable human being, he asks us to follow him in a unique way—apart from the path even of those closest to us. By saying this to Peter, Jesus corrects his path, guiding him away from the distractions of speculating about the future and on Jesus’ relationship with the other disciples. Am I on task with God’s will, or am I looking distractedly at others and at other things?

God, help me understand and be confident about the particular path you have given me to follow. As Saint Thomas Aquinas says, the substitutes for you that the world offers are honor, power, pleasure, and wealth. These are in themselves a sufficient obstacle to you in everyday life. Add to that busying myself with the relative merits of others and the graces they receive, and I am sure to miss hearing the words you say to Peter that you also say to me: “What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”

From the Gospel acclamation: “I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord; he will guide you to all truth.”

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.

The Resurrection of the Lord

The Disciples Peter and John running to the sepulchre
on the morning of the Resurrection,
Eugène Burnand

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

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.

Today’s Gospel by John describes the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John. The passage begins with Mary Magdalene arriving at the tomb early on the first day of the week. She sees that the stone has been rolled away from the entrance and runs to tell Peter and the other disciple. Peter and the other disciple go to the tomb and see that the linen cloths are lying there, but the body of Jesus is gone. At the end of the passage, John enters the empty tomb and sees and believes that Jesus has risen from the dead. It is evidence of Jesus’ historical resurrection, a central tenet of the Catholic faith, but also an example of discipleship. Despite following Jesus as his closest disciples, it wasn’t until Peter and John entered the darkness of the empty tomb to see and believe in the Scripture—that Jesus had to rise from the dead. As a disciple of Jesus, I have to stop and consider how to increase my faith, where I need to see and believe.

God, help me understand the glory of the resurrection. In the empty tomb, the risen Christ has conquered death and is alive today just as he was when he rose from the dead two thousand years ago. He is the first, the one who goes before me in the hope of my own resurrection and salvation through him. It is a kind of veiled hope in this life, which quietly calls me toward you day after day in the bold, resounding hope that one day I, like your Son, will be with you forever in your glory. As Saint Paul says, “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” Christ has risen, and in him is undying hope. Father, give me the grace of discipleship to see and believe in hope made visible through the glory of his resurrection.

Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed; let us then feast with joy in the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia!

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 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.

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