Lenten Resources

  “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” John 17:3 When we hear this text, we do well to hear another text, much like it: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,” (Jn…

  In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. How do we “take courage”? Where do we get it? I offer two suggestions. St. Benedict locates courage in the double-sided coin of the monastic life, humility and obedience. We hear something of his reference to its value in…

  “Wait for the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” To be baptized into the life of the Blessed Trinity – what significance does this have for us? If it has none,…

  Today is a very special day for me. On this very day in the year 2001, I consecrated myself to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today I can say “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will…

  “One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.’ He settled there for a year and…

  “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.” To this day, I still miss my grandparents and great grandparents. I have never met some, but by the close connections of blood and love, they have become a part…

  “When they [the Athenians] heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, ‘We should like to hear you on this some other time.’ And so Paul left them. But some did join him, and became believers.” There are three types of people in this passage. The first are…

   “About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened, there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors…

  Today we celebrate the feast of St. Philip Neri who once said, “The greatness of our love of God must be tested by the desire we have of suffering for His love.” In our Gospel reading, Jesus says to his disciples, “People will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming…

  Today Christ tells us, “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Jesus must go back to the Father so that the apostles can start their…

  Take Courage; I Have Overcome the World “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.” (John 15:18) It’s not easy to be a Christian today. Or it shouldn’t be. To live the Gospel—to speak the truth in love, to uphold the dignity of every person, to be merciful and forgive—this is…

  I Call you Friends “I no longer call you slaves…I have called you friends…” (John 15:15) Many Old Testament figures were called “servants” or “slaves of the LORD” (See Dt 34:5; Jos 24:29; Ps 89:21; etc.). They did the Lord’s will out of obedience without full knowledge of His plan. The prophets spoke “in…

  My Joy in You “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) Jesus speaks of joy—not just any joy, but His joy—offered to us as a gift, a mark of true discipleship, and the fruit of remaining in His love. This…

  Remain in Me “Remain in me, as I remain in you…” (John 15:4) In times of weariness or overwhelm, I am simultaneously comforted and challenged by Jesus the True Vine, as described in John 15. That He is the vine and I am a branch (among many) comes as a gentle assurance and a…

  Jesus’ Peace and Suffering “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.” (John 14:27) The peace that Jesus gives is unlike anything in the world. It is not the calm that…

  The Spirit Will Teach You “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” (John 14:26) As Jesus prepares to leave his disciples, he does not leave them like orphans. He promises to send them the Holy…

  As I Have Loved You “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) In the upper room, on the night of His betrayal, Jesus offers a new commandment—not new in the sense that love had never been commanded before, but new in its standard: “As I…

  In today’s gospel, when Philip asks Jesus if he will now show them the Father, Jesus assures him that “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” This means that in everything Jesus says and does, God the Father is revealed. However, since Jesus is a human being, we are also seeing God expressed…

  In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that he is going in order to prepare a place for us. He says further that when he has prepared this place for us, he will return and take us to himself. This passage is from Chapter 14 of the Gospel of John and is part of the…

  In today’s gospel passage, Jesus says to us, “Amen, amen I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger than the one who sent him.” Jesus is speaking to us disciples, reminding us that we are not greater than he is. We should note the context in which Jesus…

  Today we celebrate the feast of the Apostle Matthias. St. Matthias is unique in that he was not listed among the original Twelve. Rather, he was chosen to fill the spot among the Twelve left vacant when Judas Iscariot chose to betray the Lord with a kiss. The first reading, from the Acts of…

  During the season of Easter, the first reading for weekday masses are taken from Acts of the Apostles. We basically read straight through that book during this liturgical season. Last week, on Monday and Tuesday (May 5th and 6th) we read about the ministry and martyrdom of St. Stephen, which stirred up what was…

  Today’s gospel ends with Jesus saying, “I came that [my sheep] might have life and have it more abundantly.” This is similar to a phrase attributed to the 2nd Century Doctor of the Church, St. Irenaeus, “the glory of God is a human being fully alive.” A constant theme throughout scripture is that sin…

  In today’s brief gospel passage, Jesus is speaking about his sheep. In this midst of this, he asserts, “No one can take [my sheep] out of my hand.” The implication is that he has a tight grip on us. He makes a similar assertion about the Father’s hand, that no one can take them…

  There is a difference between a pick-up basketball player and an NBA player. A person who tickles the ivories from time to time will never become a concert pianist. One merely dabbles at something; the other devotes the time and energy necessary to know a thing thoroughly. Many of Jesus’ disciples were having difficulty…

  Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles recalls two of the most famous conversion stories ever. Although Saul was born in Tarsus, he was raised in the city of Jerusalem. He was an intelligent and ambitious young man, trained in the Jewish faith under the famous Gamaliel. No doubt he was aware of…

  Good things can come from bad situations. Phillip, one of many Christians who left Jerusalem following the persecution and death of Stephen, went into Samaria, an area and a people looked upon with disdain. (That is why the story of the good Samaritan made such an impression.) However, through the work of the Holy…

  Stephen’s murder caused panic among the small community of believers. Several of them escaped Jerusalem and headed north toward Samaria. Their fear did not prevent them from speaking of Jesus, however. The Holy Spirit worked many miracles through Philip, in particular, who proclaimed Jesus to very receptive audiences. Jesus did the will of his…

  The martyrdom of Stephen is often compared with the passion and death of Jesus. Jesus’ prayer for his persecutors, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34) is similar to Stephen’s prayer, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7: 60). Likewise, Stephen’s plea, “Lord Jesus, receive my…

  Evangelization (the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ and the response of a person in faith) has never been more necessary than today. The heart of evangelization is being centered on Christ so much as to want to learn about him (i.e., reading Holy Scripture), internalize what is learned (i.e., through prayer…

  Peter spoke before the Sanhedrin. The high priest then had him flogged and threatened him with imprisonment if he continued to speak in the name of Jesus. But what else could he do? Jesus had changed his life. Simon’s brother, Andrew, introduced him to Jesus. Before Simon could say a word, Jesus renamed him…

  Does doing something over time grow old? Yes, it does. That’s why many professionals in various fields have continuous education. It’s a way for them to firmly secure the work that they do. Now how about our faith? Do things in our faith get old? Does our faith get dry? Yes, it does. And…

  No excuses! Jesus performs one of his great signs in our gospel today by feeding the crowds of people who had been following him. Jesus turned a couple of loaves of bread and fish into enough bread and fish for thousands of people. It’s a great lesson for us to see the abundance of…

  King David in our Responsorial Psalm today proclaims, “Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed the man who takes refuge in Him.” In the modern world that we live in today, everything we want is at our fingers. Anything that we need is easy to get. We fall prey to these things,…

  As young kids, what were we told when we did something wrong? Weren’t we told, “don’t do that again?” In our first reading today, the Apostles were thrown into the jail cells because the Sadducees said that the Apostles were doing wrong! God’s soldiers, the angels, freed the Apostles from their jail cells and…

  What is the easiest, shortest route to take? Isn’t that the question we ask ourselves when we go on a journey? It is for me. And when I’m giving driving directions to someone, it’s exactly what I consider. In our gospel, I think this is what Nicodemus is trying to look for. He’s basically…

  Jesus uses an expression with Nicodemus today in our gospel that Nicodemus finds puzzling. Jesus tells him that one must be born from above to the enter the Kingdom. This was an image Jesus was using to communicate the newness one will experience when they take on this new identity, this new form that…

  When a child does something wrong, and they know that they have done something wrong, what does the child do? They go and hide. Why does a child hide? Because the child knows what they did was wrong and they are scared of getting punished and being embarrassed because they’ve been caught red handed.…

  Jesus’ appearances to his disciples following his resurrection were very powerful and emotional moments. To have a loved one return from the dead would bring out in us reactions very similar to Mary Magdelene’s, the two travelers to Emmaus, and the disciples. But the long-term effect would be deeper and more meaningful. St. Paul,…

  Jesus frequently comes to persons through normal everyday events. A simple conversation while fishing. A suggestion to try something different to improve the chances for a catch. Breakfast afterwards. All of the senses (sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smell) combine to gradually unveil the truth: Jesus is in our midst. He has now appeared…