3rd Sunday of Easter (B)
The announcement of the resurrection of Christ is effective and credible only if the disciples can, like the Master, show people their hands and their feet marked by works of love.
2nd Sunday of Easter (B)
It is often said of one who shows some distrust “You’re unbelieving as Thomas.” Yet, in hindsight, he seems to have done nothing wrong: he only asked to see what others had seen. Why demand only from him a faith based on word?
Good Friday – Gospel Reflection
All four evangelists devote two chapters to the story of the passion and death of Jesus. They refer to the same dramatic events and, although their versions of events are not identical and cannot be put together into one perfectly consistent story from the historical point of view, they essentially agree.
Holy Thursday – Gospel Reflection
In lieu of the institution of the Eucharist, John inserted the washing of feet, which the other evangelists ignore, but which for him is of paramount importance. With this substitution, he wanted to make it clear to the Christians of his community that the Eucharist and the washing of the feet, to some extent, are interchangeable.
The Easter Triduum: Entering into the Paschal Mystery
Just as Sunday is the high point of the week, Easter is the high point of the year. The meaning of the great feast is revealed and anticipated throughout the Triduum, which brings the people of God into contact — through liturgy, symbol, and sacrament — with the central events of the life of Christ
Palm Sunday (B)
Generally, when we read the story of the passion and death, we look at Jesus and the suffering he had to endure. But it is worthwhile, at least once, to also look at the disciples and see how they reacted to the cross and how the cross impacted on their lives, for the cross is the measure for comparison!
5th Sunday of Lent (B
In a sense, this Fifth Sunday of Lent is a synthesis of all the motifs we will see during the celebrations of Holy Week. The text from Jeremiah sums up the results of the New Covenant signed by the blood of the new and final Paschal Lamb.
4th Sunday of Lent (B)
Today’s Gospel reading is taken from the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus as reported in the first chapters of John’s Gospel. Jesus takes Nicodemus where he is on his journey and leads him further. Exactly what He does with us when we come to Him in our own darkness.
3rd Sunday of Lent (B)
In our fragment from John’s Gospel, the context is different from that of the Synoptics. Although it is set at the time of Passover, it does not take place in Jesus’ “last week,” just before his death, but at the very beginning of his ministry.
2nd Sunday of Lent (B)
This Sunday is extremely rich, enabling us to discover hidden nuances of past celebrations and glimpse the end and purpose of Jesus’ mission. Just in case we are frightened by Lenten penance, Jesus’ shining face will provide us with a bit of solace
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Mark’s chapter 1 and the first section of Ordinary time each end with another sign of Jesus’ authority over sickness and the power of evil. To be more precise, the cleansing of the leper is the last of a series of Jesus’ transgressions.
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
This struggle is the rebellion of the forces of evil, demons that are in a person, in society, in the ideologies, even religious and civil institutions. They dominate and when they are harassed, they rebel. Preaching that does not cast out demons, leaving things as they are, that does not change the person and the world, is not the word of Jesus.
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
he passage opens with a brief introduction wherein Jesus goes in the villages of the Galilean mountains and preaches the gospel. “The time is fulfilled—he said—and the kingdom of God has come; Repent and believe the gospel” (vv. 14-15).
This is the first sentence he says and it is the synthesis of all his message.
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Before taking up readings from the Gospel of Mark for Year B, the Lectionary lingers for one more Sunday on the introduction to Jesus’ public life. The First Reading and the Gospel find a certain unity around the idea of “vocation”.
2nd Sunday of Christmas and The Feast of Epiphany
«The Word of God became flesh». God isn’t mute. God hasn’t stayed silent, enclosed forever in Mystery. God has desired to communicate Self with us. God wants to speak with us, tell us of God’s love, explain God’s project. Jesus is simply the Project of God made flesh.
Mary, Mother of God
The council taught us to look upon Mary as a “figure” of the Church, that is, as the Church’s perfect exemplar, as the first fruits of the Church. But can Mary be a model of the Church even as “Mother of God,” the title with which she is honored this day? Can we become mothers of Christ?
Feast of the Holy Family (B)
There would have been tears, I think. If Simeon had waited all those years for the Lord, if Anna were a widow and so advanced in age, they would have shed tears when the saw the Infant King, certainly when they were allowed to hold him.
Christmas – The birth of the Lord
An ancient custom for the feast of Christmas foresees three Masses, called respectively “at night,” “at dawn,” “during the day.” In each Mass, through readings that vary, a different aspect of the mystery is presented, in such a way that we get, so to speak, a three-dimensional vision.
3rd Sunday of Advent (B)
Opening the Word: Rejoice always.
We cannot yet see the Lord, but we celebrate the fact that union with him is our eternal destiny
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary made her life beautiful. Not appearances, not what is fleeting, but the heart directed toward God makes life beautiful. Today let us look joyfully at her, full of grace. Let us ask her to help us to remain youthful, by saying ‘no’ to sin, and to live a beautiful life, by saying ‘yes’ to God.
2nd Sunday of Advent (B)
We wait for him, yet we go out into the wilderness to find him. We wait for him but we prepare the way for him. We can do nothing to force him to come, yet we must do everything to make ready for him.
1st Sunday of Advent (B)
To be alert and to keep watch are the keywords of this passage from the Gospel of St Mark. They are repeated with an almost excessive insistence: “Be alert and watch!” (v. 33), “he orders the doorkeeper to stay awake” (v. 34), “so stay awake” (v. 35), “I say to all: stay awake!” (v. 37).
Solemnity of All Saints
Let us ask ourselves which side we are on: that of heaven or that of earth? Do we live for the Lord or for ourselves, for eternal happiness or for some immediate gratification? Let us ask ourselves: do we truly want holiness? Or are we content with being Christians without infamy and without praise?
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary—the “handmaid of the Lord”—is presented today to all believers not as a privileged one, but as the most excellent model, as the sign of destiny that awaits every person who believes “that the Lord’s word would come true” (Lk 1:45).
Epiphany of the Lord
The Magi thus personify all those who believe, those who long for God, who yearn for their home, their heavenly homeland. They reflect the image of all those who in their lives have not let their hearts be anesthetized.
Solemnity of Christ the King (B)
It has always proved difficult to hold these two prerogatives of Christ together — majesty and humility — deriving from his two natures, divine and human. The man of today has no problem seeing in Jesus the friend and brother of all, but he finds it hard to also proclaim him Lord and recognize Jesus’ royal power over him.
Gospel reflection for the XXXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
We must, I think, completely change the attitude with which we listen to these Gospels that speak of the end of the world and the return of Christ. We must no longer regard as a punishment and a veiled threat that which the Scriptures call “the blessed hope” of Christians, that is, the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel reflection for the XXXII Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
We might call this Sunday the “Sunday of the widows.” The story of a widow was also told in the first reading, the widow of Zarephath who gave up all she had left to eat (a handful of flour and a drop of oil) to prepare a meal for the prophet Elijah.
Gospel reflection for the XXXI Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Truly, loving God, more than a commandment, is a privilege, a concession. If one day we find him, we will not cease to thank God for commanding us to love him and we will not desire to do anything else but cultivate this love.
Gospel reflection for the XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Bartimaeus is someone who does not miss an opportunity. He heard that Jesus was passing by, understood that it was the opportunity of his life and acted swiftly. The reaction of those present — “and many rebuked him, telling him to be silent” — makes evident the unadmitted pretension of the wealthy of all times.
Gospel reflection for the XXIX Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
After the Gospel on riches, this Sunday’s Gospel gives us Christ’s judgment on another of the great idols of the world: power… Our minds — the thoughts of the heart — can become a kind of throne on which we sit to dictate laws and thunder against those who do not submit to us
Gospel reflection for the XXVIII Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
“Nothing is impossible for God,” says Scripture, and also: “Everything is possible for the one who believes.” But the world says: “Everything is possible for the one who has money.”
Gospel reflection for the XXVII Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
What is important is that one must understand that in this process of tears and repairs, of crises and surmounted obstacles, marriage is not exhausted, but is refined and improves. I perceive an analogy between the process that leads to a successful marriage and one that leads to holiness.
Gospel reflection for the XXVI Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
One of the apostles, John, saw demons cast out in the name of Jesus by one who did not belong to the circle of disciples and forbade him to do so. On recounting the incident to the master, he is heard to reply: “Do not forbid him … For he that is not against us is for us”
Gospel reflection for the XXV Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
In service all benefit from the greatness of one. Whoever is great in service, is great and makes others great; rather than raising himself above others, he raises others with him. Alessandro Manzoni concludes his poetic evocation of Napoleon’s ventures with the question: “Was it true glory? In posterity the arduous sentence.”
Gospel reflection for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Regrettably we must state that Peter’s error has been repeated in history. Also certain men of the Church, and even Successors of Peter, have behaved at certain times as if the Kingdom of God was of this world and should be affirmed with the victory (if necessary also with arms) over enemies
Gospel reflection for the 23th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
We are deaf when we shut ourselves in, out of pride, in an aloof and resentful silence, while perhaps with just one word of excuse or forgiveness we could return peace and serenity to the home.
Gospel reflection for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
The evangelists would not have retained these harsh words of the Master if he had not understood the perennial relevance of the risk of introducing into the Church this hypocritical worship and the danger of equating the law of God with the traditions of humans.
Gospel reflection for the XXI Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
There’s something that Peter doesn’t forget: «You have the message of eternal life». He feels that Jesus’ words aren’t empty or deceitful words. Alongside of Jesus they have discovered life anew. His message has opened for them a life eternal. Where could they find better news of God?
Gospel reflection for the XX Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
The experience of «live in» Jesus and allow Jesus to «live in» us can transform our life at its root. This mutual interchange, this intimate communion, difficult to express in words, constitutes the true relationship of the disciple with Jesus. This is what it means to follow him, sustained by his very life-force.
Gospel reflection for the XIX Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
According to John’s story, Jesus repeats each time more openly that he comes from God to offer everyone a food that gives life eternal. The people can’t keep listening to something so scandalous without reacting. They know his parents. How can he say he comes from God?
Gospel reflection for the XVIII Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
When they heard his words, those people of Capernaum cried out from the depths of their hearts: «Sir, give us that bread always». With our wavering faith, we sometimes don’t dare to ask for such a thing. Perhaps we only worry about the food for each day. And sometimes just for ourselves alone.
Gospel reflection for the XVII Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Of all the things done by Jesus during his prophetic activity, the most remembered by the first Christian communities was surely a huge meal organized by him out in the countryside, near the lake of Galilee. It’s the only story recounted in all the Gospels.
Gospel reflection for the XVI Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
In the Church we need to learn to gaze at the people as Jesus did: catching on to the suffering, the loneliness, the confusion or the isolation that many suffer. Compassion doesn’t spring from paying attention to norms or remembering our duties. It awakens in us when we look attentively at those who suffer.
Gospel reflection for the XV Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
When he sent them, Jesus doesn’t leave his disciples abandoned to their own power. He gives them his «power», which isn’t a power to control, govern or dominate others, but his power to «cast out evil spirits», free people from what enslaves, oppresses and dehumanizes them.
Gospel reflection for the XIV Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Jesus isn’t a Temple priest, busy about taking care of and promoting religion. Nor does anyone confuse him with a Teacher of the Law, dedicated to defend the Torah of Moses. The Galilean villagers see in his healing actions and in his words of fire the actions of a prophet moved by God’s Spirit.
Gospel reflection for the XIII Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
The scene is surprising. Mark the Evangelist presents an unknown woman as a model of faith for the Christian communities. From her they can learn how to seek Jesus with faith, how to reach a healing contact with him, and how to find in him the energy to begin a new life, full of peace and health.
Gospel reflection for the Birth of John the Baptist (B)
Today, as we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, we are remembering someone who was called by God to deliver a message and a man who took this mission very seriously.
Gospel reflection for the XI Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Sooner or later, we Christians will feel the need to return to what’s essential. We will discover that only the power of Jesus can regenerate faith in the de-Christianized society of our day. Then we will learn to sow the Gospel with humility as the start of a renewed faith
Gospel reflection for the 10th. Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
X Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B Mark 3:20-35 The cost of being a disciple of Jesus today In the gospels there are many different images and titles used … Continua a leggere
Gospel reflection for the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus (B)
‘Believe what you see, see what you believe and become what you are, the Body of Christ. When we say ‘amen’ we are saying, Yes, I believe this is the Body and Blood of Jesus and I will become the Body of Christ for others’.
Reflection for Trinity Sunday (B)
Today is not the day to try and explain how three goes into one! The Feast of the Trinity is not a matter of facts, figures and numbers. The Trinity is a sacred mystery that we are called and invited to experience in our heart.
Reflection for the 5th Sunday of Easter (B)
When Jesus calls God the vinedresser, he is describing God in terms of his relationships and attitude as well as his actions in the lives of his followers and disciples. Just as the vinedresser his totally committed to the vine and the grapes, God is totally committed and dedicated to each of us.
Lectio on Baptism
IMMERSED IN THE FATHER, IN THE SON, IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, by Benedict XVI The Lord’s last words to his disciples on this earth were: “Go, make disciples of all … Continua a leggere
