Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Easter
Acts 8:1-8  +  John 6:35-40
May 8, 2019

   “…whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.”   

One benefit of attending weekday Mass is how the experience of Sunday Mass is more enriching.  During Easter this is even more true.  The Scripture readings of weekday Masses especially tend to dovetail with those of Sunday Masses. Continue reading →

The audio below considers the background and contexts of the Scriptures of this Sunday’s Mass.  Hopefully this will help you in meditating upon the scriptures, and in being open to the Holy Spirit speaking to you during Sunday Mass:

Click HERE to download the audio

Here’s an outline of the audio reflection: Continue reading →

Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Easter
Acts 7:51—8:1  +  John 6:30-35
May 7, 2019

   “…my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”   

When the crowd asks Jesus, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?”, they’re asking a loaded question.  To appreciate both the crowd’s question, and Jesus’ reply, we have to back up to the end of yesterday’s passage. Continue reading →

Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter
Acts 6:8-15  +  John 6:22-29
May 6, 2019

   “…believe in the one He sent.”    

In today’s Gospel passage from John 6, we hear the crowd ask Jesus two questions.  First they ask, “Rabbi [meaning, “Teacher”], when did you get here?”  Jesus doesn’t answer their question, but He confronts them with the fact that they are only concerning themselves about their physical hunger.  It was for this reason that they had wanted to make Him their king.  But Jesus wants them to want something greater. Continue reading →

The Third Sunday of Easter [C]
Acts 5:27-32,40-41  +  Revelation 5:11-14  +  John 21:1-19
May 5, 2019

   He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.   

 As the Church journeys through the Easter Season, we continually celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection.  But it’s important to recall that the point of this joy is the feast celebrated at Easter’s end:  Pentecost.  Pentecost, celebrated on the fiftieth and final day of the season of Easter, is a celebration of God the Holy Spirit flooding the hearts, minds, and souls of those who wish to live as members of the Body of Christ. Continue reading →

Saturday of the 2nd Week of Easter
Acts 6:1-7  +  John 6:16-21
May 4, 2019

   “It is I.  Do not be afraid.”   

How can the presence of Jesus cause fear in people?  Contrast today’s Gospel passage with the scene of the Annunciation.  Jesus says to the apostles in today’s Gospel passage what the Archangel Gabriel says to Mary:  “Do not be afraid!”  Is it odd that God’s Presence—or even the news of His desire to come and be present—so often causes fear? Continue reading →

Sts. Philip & James, Apostles
1 Corinthians 15:1-8  +  John 14:6-14
May 3, 2019

   “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.”   

Throughout the Easter Season, the Scriptures at Holy Mass focus our attention upon several recurring themes.  Examples of this are the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, and the unity of the Church.  As is fitting for the feast of two apostles, the Scriptures for today’s feast of St. Philip and St. James highlight how the Church’s foundation is apostolic.  Of course, the role of the apostles goes beyond the Church’s beginning. Continue reading →

Thursday of the 2nd Week of Easter
Acts 5:27-33  +  John 3:31-36
May 2, 2019

   “We must obey God rather than men!”   

Baptism is not a private experience.  It is not simply about “me and Jesus”.  Baptism washes away not only one’s own personal sins, but also the sin of Adam and Eve.  All members of the human race have shared that original sin, with the exceptions of Mary and Jesus. Continue reading →

St. Joseph the Worker
Genesis 1:26—2:3  +  Matthew 13:54-58

“Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.”

On this feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, the readings from Sacred Scripture help us reflect upon the covenant between the Lord and His People.

It’s fitting that today’s feast falls during the Easter Season, when the First Reading day after day reveals the life and mission of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles.

This Church is the fruit of the tree of Calvary.  Whereas Adam in the Garden cast man down into the pit of sin by his Original Sin, Christ has raised man up on Calvary.  Yet Christ has done even more than restored fallen man to his original state.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God the Son—by incorporating us into His own Mystical Body—has made each of us a child of God the Father.

In this context of the Church, whose mission began on the day of Pentecost, and upon which mission we are reflecting throughout Eastertide, we honor today the patron of the universal Church:  St. Joseph.  Specifically, we honor him according to the title “St. Joseph the Worker”.  We don’t speak of him as a “Wonder-worker”, as some saints are described.  Joseph didn’t work wonders.  He simply worked, and his simple work reminds us who are God’s adopted children of a basic lesson of the spiritual life.

In this basic lesson, St. Joseph reminds us of the Little Flower.  St. Joseph does little things with great love.  But more importantly, St. Joseph does little things for a great love, and in that, shares in the life of that great love.