Have you ever been lonely? Have loved ones abandoned you in your greatest need? Sit next to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, with drops of His precious blood falling on the ground as His disciples sleep outside (Luke 22:39-46; Mark 14:32-42). Have trusted ones betrayed you? Your dearest friends denied you in their selfishness? Stand next to Jesus, betrayed with Judas’ kiss and looking on as Peter curses Him (Luke 22: 46; Luke 54-61;…
…when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. – John 12:32 All people belong to Jesus. Everyone. Not just Christians, all of mankind. He is King of the Universe, after all! In our Gospel passage for this Sunday (John 12:20-33), notice Jesus’s curious reaction after Andrew and Philip told Him that some Greeks wanted to speak with Him: “Jesus answered them: ‘The hour has come for the Son of…
And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised – Matthew 27:51-52 As we enter Holy Week, we are about to reach the pinnacle of our Lenten adventure. This Palm Sunday, we follow Jesus as He enters Jerusalem to praises of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew…
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do. – Mark 8:33 What do you see when you look at Jesus on a crucifix? Pain, anguish, sorrow, death—all these come to mind. I used to look at the crucifix and wonder why Jesus would suffer for us in this way. I eventually learned that the answer to that question is love. When I started to see the cross as an expression of…
Palm Sunday – March 28, 2021 You are not your own; you were bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We who are baptized are free children of God. Christ Himself, in His messianic role, freed us from the captivity of sin and death. But our freedom was not free. It came at a great price: the death of God Himself. His death freed us from Satan’s grasp, who seeks to enslave us. His death…
Our journey through the desert of Lent has brought us to this point: Holy Week and the cross. On this Palm Sunday, we walk along beside Christ as He lays down His life for us. Imagine you are there with the Blessed Mother, St. John, and the Magdalen as they walk with Jesus through His passion. Helplessly, you watch Jesus suffer as He is beaten, mocked, spat on, and crowned with thorns. Imagine yourself there,…
Today Jesus reveals His divinity at the miracle at Cana. It was Mary who noticed that the wine had run short at the wedding: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Jesus replied: “My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4). Jesus’s hour came later at the Last Supper, where He turned bread and wine into His Body and Blood: “Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this…
In the early weeks of the new Church year, our readings reflect on Jesus’ identity, which is entwined with His mission. Remember that Mary was to “name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). The Epiphany of the Lord (last week), the Baptism of the Lord (this week), and the miracle at Cana (next week) each reveal Jesus’ identity and mission in a different way. At the Epiphany, the…