Let’s not let our consciences be deceived about how fragile our settlement with Jesus really is; how we need the living occupation of the Prince of Peace in our hearts for He came to make His home with us. Then and only then can we belong to the flock that He holds so that nobody [...]
The enemies of Christ, those who serve the cause of the ruler of this world, include the soothsayers of all false peace, the clients of easy accommodations, the mystical whisperers of seductive but superficial harmony draped in the fading popularity of this world. John 14: 27-31a comes right after Jesus’ teaching on the indwelling of [...]
Here is Nazareth, the neediest of Israel’s villages, well known as a place of dishonour. And yet, instead of celebrating their local celebrity, the people were filled with scepticism at Jesus’ works. "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary?" Matthew 13: 54-58 recounts an episode in which Jesus visits Nazareth [...]
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night, presumably so as not to be observed. Yet the night in which he comes is our night also. The night has this double meaning: for on the one hand, we are blind and stumble about, while on the other hand, the night brings counsel. John 3: 7-15 continues the [...]
Since we are not greater than our Master, the recourse He invokes is our recourse also: we can, like Him, call upon the name of the Lord, of the Father, and thus we will in the end be delivered from our enemies because we know the Father. John 15: 18-21 comes from the discourse of [...]
Everything needed for evil to conquer was overthrown on Easter morning; of that there is no doubt. But every individual must live that conflict in themselves, even now. Matt 28: 8-15 tells us something about the power of a garden. The women emerged amazed from the tomb and started to run to tell the disciples [...]
St Mary Magdalen came very early to the tomb on Easter Morning. There is something crucial in the timing: it was still dark. Mary at this point was still going through a trial that had started with Jesus' arrest. She had very little to sustain her, knowing only the destruction of her Master's body on the [...]
When we listen to the cross, we hear the call of His love to rise above the misery of our current condition. And from the heights of the cross, we can see into the distant country of our eternal home. John 8: 21-30 sees Jesus in teaching mode but now with the Jewish crowd at [...]
Our prayers, works, sufferings and joys are not independent sacrifices looking for their own justification before the throne of God. What brings them to life is the sacrifice of Jesus, His eternal yes. Mark 12: 28b-34 sees another of those dialogues between Jesus and a private individual – in this case, one of the scribes. Which is the [...]
It is not easy to die on the Cross under whatever guise it comes to us this day (stresses, strains, losses, pains). But if we think of it as dying in His arms—His arms outstretched caressingly—then maybe, like Mary our model, we can say yes. Luke 9:22-25 offers us one of Jesus’ starker prophecies: the [...]
The madness of our self-sufficiency comes to the fore in the discourse of Jesus at the Last Supper. There, we see that our path of perfection is in point of fact a path towards union. Not only does Jesus promise to dwell with the Father in those who love Him, He also affirms that we [...]
If we wish, like the disciples, to be taken to the eternal banquet, we had best look like we have a taste for wine (love and salvation), "woman" (Mary's obedience), and song (the return of love for love received). Indeed, we should indulge as frequently as we can! John 2: 1-11 gives us that classic [...]
While being the salt of the earth requires the Gift of Knowledge, being the light of the world requires the movements of the Gift of Counsel: the gift of knowing when and how to intervene, of when to echo the words of Jesus and when to emulate His silence. Matthew 5: 13-16 sees Jesus deliver [...]
Why doesn’t Jesus just try harder with the Nazarenes? To a great extent, the Lord’s choices in this moment are a mystery to us. Mark 6: 1-6 sees Jesus back in his hometown, preaching as He did elsewhere, but finding the people incredulous. After all, they knew Him, did they not? He was just Jesus, [...]