At the beginning of the journey, three potential disciples appear. Their enthusiasm must have been tested, if not dented, as Jesus talks of the cost of discipleship. St. Luke frequently highlights the gentleness and compassion of Jesus, but when it comes to the commitment required of would-be disciples, He makes no attempt to soften the [...]
Jesus had begun His ministry by announcing the kingdom of God. He called disciples to follow Him and then revealed to them, by His miracles, His exorcisms and His teaching, what God’s rule meant. In today’s Gospel, Jesus questions His disciples about His true identity; and so, having heard what the crowds say about Him, [...]
In the Gospel, Jesus does act as the anointed one of God., the Christ. He exercises the mercy and compassion of God in pronouncing the woman free from her sin. He recognizes the meaning behind the women’s symbolic actions – her weeping, her kisses, her anointing of His feet. He acknowledges her change of status [...]
Jesus gathered His friends, on the night before He died, and, sharing bread and wine with them, said, “This is My body…This is My blood.” The Gospel writers, recording this event, remembered also an earlier event, when Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to people to eat. It was on [...]
Today’s feast is one that calls on us to be full of gratitude for our faith and to celebrate with one another God’s closeness to us. As we continue with our Eucharist, the great prayer of thanksgiving, we will be reminded that once again we are caught up in the mystery of the Trinity. Soon [...]
In today’s Gospel we hear why it is that we are still celebrating Pentecost over 2000 year later. Jesus, in His farewell discourse to His disciples, assures them that they will never be abandoned. He promises that the Father will send them His Advocate, one who will teach them how to remain true to Christ’s [...]
What makes Christ’s prayer in the Gospel unique, apart from the amazing fact that He is praying for us, is that He is directly addressing His heavenly Father. Jesus is praying not only for His immediate disciples but for all of those who come to believe through their witness. That means us. We have an [...]
At the Last Supper, the night before He died, Jesus made His own last will and testament to His disciples. The great bequest that Jesus makes, His parting gift, is the gift of peace. It is the power of the Holy Spirit, which after His death and resurrection, Jesus will send from the Father to [...]
In today’s Gospel, Jesus prepares His disciples for a different way of life, one where He is no longer physically present with them. He reminds them of His love for them, and teaches that they need to respond to that love and to express it, so that others may know that they are disciples of [...]
St. Paul had been a senior Pharisee and the local Jews might have first thought of him as a visiting celebrity. Imagine their horror to find him preaching about Jesus and preaching to the pagans too. St. Paul makes clear that he has come not to his fellow Jews but to all who will accept [...]
