“Follow me,” Jesus calls out in this weekend’s Gospel. He summons us as well, and his call is challenging. Being a disciple means putting aside one’s own personal concerns. It also means following Jesus no matter how difficult. Up until now, Jesus spent his time preaching, teaching, and healing around Galilee. But now Jesus has…
Today is Trinity Sunday. I have much more to tell you but you cannot bear it now.” God had big plans for the disciples, just like he has for us, but Jesus knows when his followers need some time to get up to speed. Today’s readings emphasize wisdom, especially the wisdom of God’s will for…
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons in one God. Easy to say, but difficult to understand, for it is a mystery beyond our comprehension. In the Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that everything the Father has is his and that the Holy Spirit will take from all that they have. Their relationship to each…
Reflection on the Sunday readings: It could be said that the climax of the readings we will hear comes in the very first paragraph of the first reading. A strong driving wind…tongues of fire…speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit made quite the entrance! But the special effects are only the beginning. With the Holy Spirit,…
This weekend we celebrate that day when Jesus Christ, having risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples with his gift of peace and his command to preach to all the nations, ascended to heaven to be with the Father forever. The portion of his mission which necessitated his physical presence here on earth…
We continue to celebrate the Easter season, this fifty-day celebration of the Risen Lord’s victory over the grave. It stretches from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, when we mark the day when the Holy Spirit came down upon the first apostles. At the Last Supper Jesus told his disciples that he and the Father would…
Today’s first reading comes from the Acts of the Apostles. The beauty of this book is thefocus on action, inspired by direct contact with Jesus. It is through these acts of faith,courage, and love that we have the worldwide church as we know it today. Each of us has a responsibility to continue this mission…
“Love one another,” Jesus tells his disciples. No, Jesus commands his disciples. This is how everyone will know that they are his disciples. As we gather, we ask ourselves if we can be recognized by our love. Do we show the love we have for one another in what we do and say? Do we…
In this coming Sunday’s Gospel the risen Lord appears to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He had already appeared to them in the upper room in Jerusalem—twice—but they still didn’t recognize him until he led them to catch a miraculous number of fish. We too may not recognize the risen Lord in our…
Divine mercy is like the wind: invisible, but with effects that can be sensed. We may feel the lifting of a burden off our shoulders as a fresh breeze on a new day and a new chance to do good. Today on Divine Mercy Sunday we hear John’s account of the coming of the Holy…