Pentecost was better known in Jewish times as Shavuot; on this feast, which occurred 50 days after Passover (coming out of Egypt), the people of Israel received the law in Sinai. Move the camera to the upper room in Jerusalem around one thousand years later: 50 days after Jesus was crucified on Passover, but now…

The disciples have a date with Jesus at a familiar mountain after his crucifixion and glorious resurrection. Even though they feel undeserving of his invitation, they cannot afford to miss this meeting. They know he will provide what is needed to fulfill his purpose if he calls them. So it’s not a farewell but a…

Why does our Sunday gospel have a conditional: “If you love me.”  Love in this passage refers to the word Agape (ἀγάπη): a sacrificial love at the highest level that unites and heals; It is selfless. It is the highest, most pure form of love as a choice, not out of attraction or obligation. The “If” is…

“Do not be afraid, don’t let your hearts be troubled” are the opening words of the Gospel, the primary words of our relationship with God and life, the ones that should come to us as soon as we open our eyes every morning. Jesus sets the tone by which the disciples must embrace his upcoming…

This fourth Sunday of Easter describes the encounter between Pharisees and Jesus, who doesn’t hesitate to lay out his mission plan for those who follow him: “I came that they might have life.” That’s one of the brightest phrases in the Gospel, where I rest my faith, regenerating me every time I hear it: “I…

Jesus makes an unscheduled visit to a small town three hours away from Jerusalem. Two disciples somberly walk back to Emmaus; they had big expectations, and events did not go as planned; now, they are questioning their faith. Jesus drew near and walked with them. As a God who finds time to meet me on…

The disciples locked in after abandoning the Lord. They know deep inside that they betrayed, ran away, and are still afraid: what is less trustworthy than that disbanded little group? And yet Jesus comes to them. Not from far or above, not on the fringes, but, the Gospel says, in their midst. And he says…

Easter came to us through the eyes and faith of the women who had followed Jesus in a dawn full of surprises, rushing, and fears. Mary of Magdala and Mary of James left home in darkness before dawn in haste. With the urgency of those who love, they wanted to go to the tomb empty-handed,…

We enter the week of all weeks, which narrates the man who loved beyond limits, the giver of meaningful new lives, blessed the poor and the joyful, and made people witness a glimpse of what the heavens feel like. I look at Calvary and see a naked man, crucified and dying. Yet, a man with…

Our Sunday scripture’s protagonist is the last man in town, a beggar blind from birth who has never seen the sun or his mother’s face. So poor he has nothing, possessing only himself; he only hears the crowds of people rushing with prayers into the temple and deciphers in his heart when he might witness…