“…my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” – John 6:32-33 God is the giver of all good things: “…all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). The very best gift–the most perfect gift– God the Father gave us was the gift of His Son:…
“Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?’” …Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” – John 6:13-14 I often feel like I am running low. Like I don’t have enough time, energy, money, or other resources to do the things that God is calling me to do. I know in my mind that I have a “poverty…
In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. Ephesians 1:7-8 Stand with me at the foot of the cross, like St. John, St. Mary Magdalen, and the Blessed Mother. See the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God flowing, poured out for us (Matthew 26:28). His blood was shed for us from the moment His Passion began: “And…
…when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:10 What was the “thorn” that St. Paul spoke about in this Sunday’s second reading (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)? It actually doesn’t matter what his particular thorn was. Paul used his own experience of weakness to teach us how to see our weaknesses as strengths and to help keep our pride in check. He listed several things that could be thorns we encounter on a…
In our Gospel passage for Sunday (Mark 5:21-43) Jairus, a synagogue official whose “little daughter” is very ill—on the verge of death—searches out Jesus and asks Him to heal her. On His way to Jairus’s home, a woman with a hemorrhage for twelve years approaches Jesus in faith. She reaches out her hand to touch Jesus and His power flows out of Him to her. It’s striking, almost as if she is instrumental in her…
I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. Isaiah 1:2 Have you ever rebelled against God? I know that I have–repeatedly. It might not look like outright rebellion, but I have definitely resisted God’s will for me in various ways. The rebellion usually sounds like this: “I want (insert situation here) to go my way!” This willful disobedience leads to anger, resentment, and conflict in my soul. It’s only…
In a homily Pope St. John Paul II gave on an apostolic trip to America, he offered this inspiring description of the Eucharist as the fullest expression of God’s love: “The Gospel of God’s love…finds its highest expression in the Eucharist. In the Mass and in Eucharistic Adoration we meet the merciful love of God that passes through the Heart of Jesus Christ.” Take a moment and imagine how this might work: God sends us…
Each of us has a deep longing in our hearts: to love and be loved. Pope Francis said that the ideal of love is “the most authentic desire of our hearts.” The Holy Trinity is love itself: an eternal exchange of love between God the Father and His Beloved Son. The Holy Spirit, “who proceeds from the Father and the Son” (Nicene Creed), is the result of this fruitful and creative love between God the…
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. –Acts 2:1-3 Pentecost is the birthday of the Church! “For it was from the side of Christ…
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. Mark 16:19-20 Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if Jesus had not left the Apostles and ascended into heaven? What if He would have stayed with…