…you are clothed with power from on high. – Luke 24:49 Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come and His disciples would be “clothed with power from on high.” Can you imagine what this might look like, to be clothed with God’s power? Perhaps being clothed with power looks like a suit of armor. Maybe even a suit of spiritual armor, as St. Paul described: “Finally, be strong…
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. – John 14:23 Where does God live? (I’ll give you a hint: there’s more than one answer to this.) One answer is that He lives in heaven where He is the light and temple of the City of God: “I saw no temple in the city for its temple is…
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. –John 13:34-5 As Christian disciples, we are called to love God and others. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the apostles that we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ in a special way: as He loves us. Jesus loves you and I more…
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He calls us each individually by name (see John 10:3), but he also calls us to come together to belong to His flock. He may leave the ninety-nine sheep to save the one who has strayed (see Luke 15:4) but he leaves them in order to bring the one back into the fold. This is where we belong, in the community that is the Church. A flock of sheep out…
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. – John 21:3 In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples after His Resurrection in a familiar way. He first called them when they were fishermen in this same place (see Luke 5:1-11). Sometimes the Bible names the Lake…
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” – John 20:27 We each have wounds—wounds that have healed, wounds that are still healing, wounds that are still fresh and sore. In a mysterious way, being wounded is part of the human condition (CCC 405). Jesus became man precisely so He could enter into…
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! – Psalm 126:5 Alleluia! The season of Easter joy has arrived! Jesus promised His disciples that although He would suffer and die and they would have to hide while mourning Him, their suffering would be replaced with joy. Jesus told His disciples: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your…
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” – John 8:11 As I watch the Gospel scene of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11) play out in my imagination, I notice the looks on the people’s faces. The Pharisees and scribes who brought the woman look judgmental and disgusted. They “forced her to stand in their midst.” Imagine her trapped there between all these…
What’s going on with the barren fig tree in today’s Gospel? It’s growing in an orchard and a gardener cares for it. It should have everything it needs to bear fruit, but it’s barren. So what’s the problem? When the orchard owner tells the gardener to cut down the barren tree, the gardener asks him to spare it: “Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize…
…from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks – Luke 6:45 This scripture passage is convicting to me. It’s not enough to “watch my mouth” and try to limit my speaking only to what is true, good, and beautiful. I must think about what is true, good, and beautiful first. Even before that, this makes me realize that the types of things that I “plant” in my mind will bear fruit in my thoughts,…