Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: John 19:25-34

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
            and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
            and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved,
            he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
            “Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
            in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
            Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
            and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
            “It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day,
            in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
            for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
            the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
            and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
            and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
            they did not break his legs,
            but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
            and immediately Blood and water flowed out.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The crucifixion of Jesus Christ creates a scene of both gore and glory, encompassing two mysterious truths: human suffering and the greater mystery of divine love.

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Crucifixion was the most brutal form of execution in the ancient world. Those who were crucified did not die because of blood loss caused by the nails driven into their flesh; they died by suffocation.

A man would hang upon the cross for as long he could push himself up with his legs, lifting his chest for a desperate draw of air. Once a person became too exhausted to push anymore, he’d suffocate under his own weight, arms spread open in surrender. 

This is why the Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two men hanging next to Jesus; the Jewish feast of Passover was near and they needed to move on. Those criminals would’ve died within a matter of minutes.

The Lord, however, had already passed from this world, but a soldier pierced his side to confirm.

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There we find the source of the Sacraments, the love of God literally poured out as Blood and water.

From the earliest days of the Church – and certainly in John’s Gospel – Christians understood the water flowing from Christ’s side to be the font of baptism. The Blood, the font of Eucharist. 

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him and I shall raise him on the last day,” the Lord promises (John 6:53).

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But the Lord’s death on Calvary was also seen in the context of marriage.

In the 4^th century, Saint Augustine noted that the flow of blood and water recalls the union between a bride and her groom on their wedding night. Thus, the Cross becomes the fullest expression of Christ’s love for his bride, the Church.

There he gives himself away – arms spread open, embracing all of humanity, washing us clean. 

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On this Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we recall that most sacred moment when the Lord, “loved us and gave himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2).

What else are we to do, but, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures forever” (Psalm 118:1).

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Image credits: (1) (2) Bartolomé Estebán Murillo, Metropolitan Museum of Art (3) Faith Web

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Gospel: Matthew 7:21-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Have you ever tasted a Sour Patch Kid? 

It’s a gummy candy covered in sugar. When you first chew it, a Sour Patch Kid tastes incredibly sour like a lemon. 

But the more you chew it, the sweeter it becomes.

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That, to me, is an image of the Christian life.

It isn’t always easy to do the Lord’s will. In fact, sometimes Christ’s words can leave a very sour taste in our mouth. “Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Turn the other cheek.”

But the more we follow him, the easier – the sweeter – his will becomes.

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What might following the Lord look like concretely?

Telling the truth when it’s difficult… reaching into our pockets when there’s not much left… letting go of a grudge when we’d rather nurse it… forgiving someone who’s hurt us… Surrendering our future to Him.

This is the sour-sweet path of love.

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“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus says. “Only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

You might say, those who’ve developed a taste for Sour Patch Kids, trusting that the sour always becomes sweet.

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Image credits: (1) Adobe Stock (2) Sour Patch Kids (3) Grace Evangelical Society, YouTube, 5:14

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Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

    “Fear not, Abram!
        I am your shield;
        I will make your reward very great.”

But Abram said,
“O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be,
if I keep on being childless
and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?”
Abram continued,
“See, you have given me no offspring,
and so one of my servants will be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
“No, that one shall not be your heir;
your own issue shall be your heir.”
He took him outside and said:
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.

He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered him,
“Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.

When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River the Euphrates.”

The Word of the Lord.

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All week our first reading has come from the Book of Genesis, as we witness the faith journey of Abraham. He’s an old man now and his wife, Sarah, has borne no children.

So, Abraham grumbles before God, saying, “What good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless?”

It seems Abraham’s on the brink of despair. God has made an impossible promise: to bless his descendants, something that cannot happen if Abraham has no children.

“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can,” the Lord says to him today. “Just so, shall your descendants be.”

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Strangely, God tells Abraham to look up and count the stars in the middle of the day. 

It seems cruel. Although Abraham knows the stars exist, he cannot see them now. God is inviting him to trust. If the Lord has worked wonders before, then why would he not work wonders again?

Before he dies, Abraham has eight sons. Today more than half of the world’s population – over 4 billion people – call Abraham their father in faith. 

His descendants as numberless as the stars, as God foretold.

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Like Abraham, do I feel insecure about my future, as if I cannot see the stars? 

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In those moments, the same God who blessed Abraham is inviting us to trust. Pray until “dusk.”

Then, God’s plans will be revealed.

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Image credits: (1) iStock (2) Adobe Stock (3) BBC Sky at Night Magazine