Tag: Word of God

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

From the responsorial psalm: “Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the king of glory may come in! Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (today’s readings)

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted—and you yourself a sword will pierce—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

The words of Simeon to Mary are powerful, and from Mary’s viewpoint must have been very disquieting. For her to hear that Jesus will figure into the lives of many in Israel and that he will be a sign of contradiction is unsettling enough. To add to that, Simeon tells her that she herself will be pierced by a sword. This foreshadows the suffering Mary will endure at the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus. And for what purpose? “so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” At the end of the passage, Luke says this about all the years ahead that Jesus would spend in the home of Joseph and Mary after they presented him to the Lord: “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”

God, help me understand what Simeon and Anna understood about Jesus. As they awaited the consolation of Israel throughout their long lives, they witnessed him firsthand, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” Confident in his faith at seeing his salvation, Simeon was able to say, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go.” Give me the grace, Lord, to receive the Eucharist with the same faith, realizing that you are truly present in the form of bread and wine—that it is the king of glory, the Lord, that I take and receive and let dwell within me. “Who is this king of glory? It is the 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.

“Quiet! Be still!” | Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the bonds of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come to his people.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (today’s readings)

Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

In the first reading, Saint Paul mentions the word faith—what he defines as “the realization of what is hoped for”—six times as he recounts the faith of Abraham, who followed God and received the fullness of God’s promises. Using the word just once, Jesus questions the disciples after he calms the storm. And with a single word, the same one with which Jesus silences demons, he calms the storm by saying “Quiet!” While the disciples stood in awe of Jesus’ mastery over the elements, we know what they didn’t know about him yet: he is the risen Christ, the Son of God, who destroys death and restores life. The disciples ask him beforehand, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus answers as he always does when we question his sovereignty over every moment in our lives: “Do you not yet have faith?”

God, throughout the day, help me remember three words Jesus spoke to the disciples: “Quiet! Be still!” In order to hear that voice, I have to remain in the boat with him in the midst of storms. Give me the grace to remain there and not cast myself into sea swells. I’m sure that sometime in the future for a yet-unknown reason, my prayer will be “Don’t you care, God?” In that moment, Lord, don’t let me lose sight of you seated in the stern. Remove all fear, and strengthen my faith. Blessed Virgin Mary, 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.

“Of its own accord the land yields fruit.” | Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest

San Giovanni Bosco - A black and white photo of a man wearing a hat

From the responsorial psalm: “Trust in the LORD and do good, that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security. Take delight in the LORD, and he will grant you your heart’s requests. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (today’s readings)

Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.”

Of its own accord, the seed of the kingdom of God sprouts and grows and ripens for the harvest. Jesus speaks in parables to the crowds so that they receive and let take root the word of God as children receive the love and guidance of parents. “With many such parables,” Mark tells us, “he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.” Jesus’ revelation of the kingdom is more than the sharing of factual information; it is an invitation to participate in its wonder and mystery. In receiving the word, as Saint Paul puts it, we are “among those who have faith and will possess life” as the smallest of seeds grow to the fullness of grain that is harvested and gathered.

God, your kingdom is here and now and yet to be. In it, “we live and move and have our being.” Help me today to hold on to a childlike sense of faith and wonder at your presence in the world and in the events of the day that are close to home as they unfold. The Gospel acclamation reminds me that “you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Let me turn my attention less to the things that I can make grow and thrive and more to your eternal will being done as things take place seemingly of their own accord. Lord, let me take refuge in you; sustain and save me. Saint John Bosco, 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.

“To the one who has, more will be given.” | Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place? He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 4:21-25)

He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Jesus continues teaching the disciples, placing his focus on the purpose and impact of his message by making two comparisons: the light from a lamp and ears for hearing. What Jesus reveals is not meant to be hidden away but instead given a place of prominence so that the revelation illuminates all of the lives it touches. “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you” is to say that you receive what you put in, whether attentive to his words or indifferent or dismissive of them. Jesus calls us to actively listen to him and respond to his teachings, which is essential to growing in faith and understanding of his message.

God, as Saint Paul encourages in the first reading, let me do today as I approach you with a sincere heart and absolute trust. So many moving pieces go into a day that it is sometimes hard to see the light that shines right in front of me or to listen attentively for your quiet voice amid a bustle of activity. “Take care what you hear,” Jesus says. And anyone who has hears, which is everybody, ought to hear and see what his revelation makes visible. Lord, keep me far from being the one who has not. Give me the grace to receive still more from you as I measure out the breadth and depth and height of your word. “Such is the race that seeks for him,” the psalmist prays, “that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.”

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 sower sows the word.” | Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 4:1-20)

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.”

Using a parable about a sower, Jesus describes conditions in life that we all face at one time or another. Jesus explains to the crowd gathered around him by the sea that the seed represents the word of God and that different types of ground symbolize the various responses to his word. Whether through persecution or distraction or anxiety or succumbing to the evil one, we sometimes fail to see God’s word take root. “But those sown on rich soil,” Jesus says, “are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” What kind of soil will the sower of the word find in us as he comes to sow his word?

God, help me prepare my heart to receive your word so that it takes root and bears fruit “thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” The seed that you come to plant will grow throughout my life and continue to grow even into eternal life through the single sacrifice of Jesus Christ your Son. You are the sower who promises and delivers, as Jeremiah prophesied, through the New Covenant to put your laws into our hearts and write them upon our minds. Give me the grace, Lord, to make of myself a good seedbed of rich soil, ready to receive your word. In fruitfulness, let it grow abundantly in this life and continue to grow under the eternal light of your presence. Let me hear and accept your word.

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 Third Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God. My trust is in the LORD; I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:30-35)

So they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

John continues relating the story of Jesus’ encounter with the crowds that followed him after he performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. After Jesus tells them that to do the work of God is to believe in the one he sent, they ask for a sign from him so that they may believe. The same crowd Jesus had just fed ask him, recalling how Moses fed them manna in the desert, ask “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?” How can they ask this after witnessing a miracle? Yet, Jesus tells them it was not Moses but his Father who gave them true bread from heaven. And Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Father in heaven, help me trust in you today through Jesus Christ your Son. Trust that you will provide me with everything I need. Trust that you know what I need even before I ask. Grant me the wisdom to know what it is I seek and what to ask you for. I stand as one among the crowds that followed Jesus, sometimes asking “What can you do?” Give me the grace, Lord, to breathe freely in the gift of peace that only you can give. Help me be aware of this gift when I have the opportunity to become a means of your peace for others. Stay with me, 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.

Monday of the Third Week of Easter


From the responsorial psalm: “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. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 6:22-29)

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 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.”

Some of the multitude that Jesus fed come looking for him. Jesus knows their needs and realizes they wish to satisfy a physical hunger for food. He responds by acknowledging that the bread they seek would provide temporary sustenance but that he is the one who offers the true bread from heaven. Encouraging them to work for the food that doesn’t perish, Jesus teaches them to hunger for the very word of God—”the food that endures for eternal life.” They ask him: “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus tells them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

God, help me focus today on working for true food, the bread of life. And make known to me throughout the day exactly what that means. The Gospel acclamation, the words of Jesus, make clear how I choose to make that happen: “One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Jesus tells the crowd that to accomplish your works, Lord, we are to believe in the one you sent. To live on your every word, Lord, is to live for love because you yourself are love. In seeking the true bread from heaven, give me the grace to live in your love and be loving to others.

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.

“All the people were hanging on his words.” | Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 19:45-48)

The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

When he comes to drive out those who are selling things in the temple area, Jesus says to them: “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time see him coming every day to teach in the temple area. To their frustration, they can’t find a way to put him to death. In seeking to put Jesus to death, they find instead that he speaks the words of eternal life to those who hang on his words. How could they kill the one who is hope to the hopeless, the shepherd to lost sheep who guides and guards them? Jesus, the living word of God, is in spiritual battle at his Father’s house.

Father in heaven, help me shut out the distractions of a world clamoring with buying and selling, the voices from the marketplace coming from every device. Drive out every darkness that is not of you, as Jesus drove the merchants from the temple area, and help me find you in quiet moments set aside for the day. As the psalmist says: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.” Strengthen me, Lord, for spiritual battle in this life by my listening for the voice of your Son and following him.

From the responsorial psalm: “You have dominion over all, In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.” Lord, help me today to hang on your words. Saint Andrew and martyrs, 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.

Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:47-54)

The Lord said: “Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus condemns those who memorialize the prophets their ancestors killed. It is a sweeping, difficult message that takes into account generations of human history, in which, as Saint Paul writes “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” While a criticism of religious leaders of the time, Jesus also condemns the hypocrisies of the present age, wherever putting on appearances and false displays of piety supersede genuine acts of mercy and love. The building up of what is false can only lead to separation from God since God is truth itself. As Jesus says: “Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” From every person, Jesus calls for transformation of heart and a genuine commitment to hearing and keeping God’s word.

Father in heaven, help me recognize that Jesus your Son condemns only to set people again on a path to integrity and truth. “I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.” Give me the grace today to trust that you are attentive to my prayers and that in your mercy you alone satisfy every need. Help me know the strength of your guidance throughout the day, keep me from the harm of accepting what is false as true, and bring me into the knowledge of your will and the light of your glory.

From the responsorial psalm: “I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word. My soul waits for the LORD more than sentinels wait for the dawn. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.”

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 Kingdom of God is at hand for you.” | Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist | 10.18.23

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:1-9)

Jesus said to the disciples: Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus commissions seventy-two disciples, sending them out ahead of him to do urgently what he himself will do: proclaim the Kingdom of God. His words are not meant only for those disciples at that time in history but also for every Christian who hears and responds to the Lord. In a world full of brokenness and division, Jesus commands those who follow him to be a means of peace and healing while proclaiming God’s kingdom. To take on such a task, the disciples are to depend on God for a roof over their head and a meal placed before them. Like lambs among wolves, the disciples are to rely on God’s guidance and provision, and the power to bring God’s work to fruition. Then, as today, the Kingdom of God is at hand!

Father in heaven, give me the grace I need to be steadfast every day in proclaiming your kingdom. Saint Paul describes the resistance he met in preaching and his isolation and exposure to mortal danger. Whatever I do in your name today, Lord, help me remember his complete reliance on you. As he writes in his letter to Timothy, “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” Stand by me today, Lord, as you give me every opportunity to love and serve others according to your will.

From the Gospel acclamation: “I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.” Saint Luke, 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.