Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Jeremiah 20:10-13  +  John 10:31-42
April 12, 2019

   “If I do not perform my Father’s works, put no faith in me.”  

Some disagree with the saying, “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” claiming that a little is better than none.  They do not see that those having the “little” often self-righteously and proudly conclude they “know it all.” Continue reading →

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Genesis 17:3-9  +  John 8:51-59
April 11, 2019

“Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

While yesterday’s Gospel Reading looked in part upon Abraham, today’s Scriptures double down on this focus.  Today both the First Reading and Gospel Reading look at “our father in faith”.  In fact, it is Abraham as father that is the specific focus. Continue reading →

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Daniel 3:14-20,91-92,95  +  John 8:31-42
April 10, 2019

“…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Historically, freedom for the Jews was based upon two figures of their past.  First, descent from Abraham—their father in faith—was considered the foundation of the People of God.  Second in importance was adherence to the Law of Moses, who led God’s People from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.  Yet the Gospel accounts show that many in Jesus’ day who were living in the Holy Land were in fact slaves. Continue reading →

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Numbers 21:4-9  +  John 8:21-30
April 9, 2019

“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize
that I AM….”

It’s questionable whether, when Jesus told the Pharisees that they would realize Jesus’ identity when they lifted up the Son of Man, they understood that He was foretelling His being lifted up on the Cross.  Yet perhaps the Pharisees had already at this point plotted the death of Jesus in detail.
Continue reading →

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Daniel 13:41-62  +  John 8:12-20
April 8, 2019

Please note:  Because the Gospel Reading yesterday [for the Fifth Sunday of Lent – Year C] was John 8:1-11, today’s Gospel Reading is changed to the passage that immediately follows it.

“So they said to him, ‘Where is your father?’”

Today’s Gospel Reading has many different threads.  There is much going on within the passage.  This means that for the Christian who wants to take up today’s Gospel Reading and use it for meditation, there are many options. Continue reading →

The Fifth Sunday of Lent [C]
Isa 43:16-21  +  Phil 3:8-14  +  Jn 8:1-11
April 7, 2019

For His sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish….

Lent focuses our attention on human sin, but always against the backdrop of divine mercy.  Never think about your sins without first reflecting on God’s merciful love for you.  Likewise, never think of God’s love for you without also recalling the depths to which Jesus sank to pour that love into your sinful heart. Continue reading →

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Jeremiah 11:18-20  +  John 7:40-53
April 6, 2019

“Then each went to his own house.”

This morning’s Gospel Reading is fairly unusual in that Jesus neither appears nor speaks.  The passages focuses upon the reactions of various persons to Jesus, or rather, to what He had just said.  In fact, the first sentence of today’s Gospel Reading begins, “Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said….”  So to make sense of today’s passage, we need to recall yesterday’s. Continue reading →

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Wisdom 2:1,12-22  +  John 7:1-2,10,25-30
April 5, 2019

So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon Him, because His Hour had not yet come.

Today’s Gospel Reading might not seem very dramatic.  There is more said about Jesus than there is said by Him.  A good part of the reading is the evangelist describing Jesus’ moving about and avoiding conflict.  Yet the final sentence of this passage heightens the setting of all that is said and done here. Continue reading →

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Exodus 32:7-14  +  John 5:31-47
April 4, 2019

“…these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”

Jesus’ words today seem somewhat harsh, as they often seem in St. John’s Gospel account.  Jesus’ words to the Jews confirm that they are lacking in faith, unwilling to believe in the Good News that Jesus is preaching.  As we, the members of the Church, draw closer to Good Friday, we ought to ask whether we fully believe in the power of the Cross in our lives.  Do we believe that in suffering we can find redemption?  Do we believe that there is a meaning to all the suffering that we are constantly experience (often, of our own making)? Continue reading →