This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh – Genesis 2:23 This one goes out to all the married couples out there. I’ll start with this: your marriage is important. Really important. Important enough for Jesus to make clear boundaries about it. Marriage between a man and a woman reflects the covenantal relationship between Christ and His Church. The exclusive, faithful love between a man and woman is a…
Holy Spirit of Christ, live and move and breathe in me. Speak your words of peace, love, and truth through me. Perform your works of charity, mercy, and power through me. Sing your hymns of praise, joy, and beauty through me. Serve your needy and poor through me. Weep your tears of sorrow and grief through me. Endure your pain and suffering through me. Forgive poor souls through me. Love your beloved children through me.…
God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord. Psalm 47:6/9 St. Augustine said, “Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him.” What does this mean to you, to have your heart ascend with Christ? In the Mass, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the celebrant prompts, “Lift up your hearts.” We respond, “We lift them up to the Lord.” This is a…
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; remain in my love. John 15:9 What exactly does it mean to “remain” in Jesus’ love? Jesus tells us that one way to remain in His love is by keeping His commandments, just as He has kept God the Father’s commandments (John 15:10). Then He goes on to sum up what He means by “commandments” into one thought: “This is my commandment, that you…
I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me. – John 10:14 Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves you inside and out. You are one of His beloved sheep. He knows and calls you by your name: “the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). This is your identity: a beloved son or daughter of God the Father, named…
If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 What does it mean for God to be “for us?” We can begin to understand by thinking of it in ways that are familiar to us. Do you have a family member or good friend who is always there for you? He or she is there to support you, just listen, or act on your behalf when you need it. They are always…
You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. Mark 1:11 Imagine yourself in our Gospel passage today. You are standing on the bank of the Jordan River. John is baptizing people, and Jesus appears, asking John to baptize Him. He enters the river and is submerged into the water. When He comes back up, you see the sky being torn open (cf. Mark 1:10). What does that look like? Does it make…
“I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock…” -Ezekiel 34:11 This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. King of the Universe! This brings up images of the grandest splendor: fine garments, a glorious throne, a magnificent array of pomp and circumstance. But listen closely to the scripture readings for this feast today. They’re focused on Christ the Good Shepherd. Shepherds…
The whole of the Christian life can be summed up in these four words: love God, love others. Our Gospel reading for this Sunday holds a beautiful gem. Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is this: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor…
Jesus offers us the key to discipleship in today’s Gospel reading: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16: 24-25). Paradoxically, this is also the key to fulfillment and happiness. To be Christian disciples, we must deny ourselves by emptying ourselves of sin, pride,…