Reflecting Him

Daily Reflection – 5/1/2025

Sacred Scripture

The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. (John 3:31-36)

Reflection

Today we read the concluding words of the chapter of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in which Jesus describes his own mission and the life of anyone born anew from above.

Jesus says that many don’t seek the things that are above, most don’t leave the darkness to enter the light, most don’t allow Jesus to change their fundamental orientation at the root, most don’t really convert and continue and lift up their hearts to God.

Yet, God commits to a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit and offers all the grace we could ever need or want. The beautiful nature of divine love is that it is never ending and ever abundant.

The problem is that we often “ration” His grace. We don’t do this because we believe God is limited. Rather, we often do it because we are afraid to let God unleash His almighty power in our lives.

If we are unable to accept the fullness of his love and let it grow within us then perhaps, we need to examine those things in our life that are “dead.” Those areas of our present or past that block us from truly being his light in the world.  We need to face the hard truth and let something in our life end. As difficult as it might be, at times we need to face what is real and move forward.

Are there areas in your life that are dead and need to be removed? Do you find yourself in a manipulative or abusive relationship, and yet want to hold onto the dream that this relationship is good and gives you joy? Do you find yourself addicted to alcohol, or drugs, or pornography, and yet say to yourself, “My life is healthy, there is nothing that needs to change”? Do you find yourself surrounded with self-pity over someone or something that you have lost, and refuse to let go of the dream that you want things to be as they once were—that you don’t want things to change?

Dead branches in our life not only hinder us, but they can also at times kill us. That is why, when there is nothing else, we can do, we need to let go and let God remove what is dead from our lives. To do anything less would be living a lie. But the good news is this. Letting go, as difficult as it is, is not meant to cause pain, but to foster life. Cutting off what is dead is not cruelty, but an act of a loving God who removes barren branches so that other parts of our life can thrive. Jesus promises us life and joy in its fullness, and he is serious about what he says. We must believe him. If we want joy, we need to trust him. If we want life, we need to let him take what is dead in our lives and prune it away.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord Jesus Christ, let your Holy Spirit fill me and transform my heart and mind that I may choose life — abundant life in you and with you.  And give me the courage and strength to always discern good from evil and to reject everything that is false and contrary to your holy will.”

Daily Note

We believe what Jesus says on the basis of our faith in God. Because we trust in God, we trust in what he says and gives witness to. The one born from above allows the Holy Spirit to give witness within him, not putting up any resistance to what God is doing. The Holy Spirit is a witness just as much as the apostles to Jesus’ risen life and when we are reborn from him, we give witness together with him. We don’t ration the Holy Spirit’s work, and he helps us, as St. Paul described to the Galatians and the Romans, to “live by the Spirit,” which allows us to be “concerned with the things of the Spirit.”  And for that reason, Jesus says, such a person living by the Spirit is already living eternally because he is through the Spirit in union with Christ’s risen life.

Daily Reflection – 4/30/2025

Sacred Scripture

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.  (John 3:16-21)

Reflection

For the majority of people, the most remembered verse in scripture is John 3:16. It speaks to all of us of the greatest love that we have ever known.

But against that portrait of love, which is the light of Christ, there is also a sobering but painfully accurate reminder that some people prefer the dark to the light. If there is any doubt about that, all one needs to do is look around the world today and you can see hell’s waiting room.

The fact that the darkness of evil is so front and center all the time should offer us a certain warning about our fallen human nature.  We tend to be drawn into mud and too often we forget that we are there.

That thought has always been difficult for me to reconcile when I reflect on His perfect love which came into this world for you and me. A true lover gives the best he has to offer and everything he has for the beloved.  God proved his love for us by giving us the best he had to offer — his only begotten Son who freely gave himself as an offering to God for our sake and as the atoning sacrifice for our sin and the sin of the world. It is not an excluding love for just a few or for a single nation, but a redemptive love that embraces the whole world, and a personal love for each and every individual whom God has created.

St. Augustine wrote that God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love. Isn’t that a beautiful thought?

The words of today’s scripture are so beautiful and give us so much hope. We must remember that even though we can adjust and live of this world, it is not what we were meant for. Jesus shows us the paradox of love and judgment.  We can love the darkness of sin and unbelief or we can love the light of God’s truth, beauty, and goodness.  If our love is guided by what is true, and good and beautiful then we will choose for God and love him above all else. 

We were meant to be of the light of Christ and only live in this world. God created us for more, He created us to live in the light. Today, let us reflect on the words from John’s gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)

Prayer of The Day

“Lord, help me to live in the light.  Help me to keep my eyes firmly focused upon the glory of Your Resurrection.  May the joy of that gaze keep me from the countless distractions of evil all around me.  Jesus, I trust in You.”

Daily Note

As a follower of Christ, we are called to keep our eyes on Him and on Him alone.  We are called to penetrate the darkness with our faith and to let our whole being be attracted to and drawn toward Christ Jesus. 

Reflect, today, upon that which you are drawn toward the most. Move your eyes from the temptation to become drawn in and fascinated by the evil around us, to the joyful vision of our Resurrected Lord alive and at work all around us.  Let this Light guide your daily life.

Daily Reflection – 4/29/2025

Sacred Scripture

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can this happen?” Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:7-15)

Reflection

Jesus is hard on intellectuals.  They are like the rich in that they have a lot of obstacles to overcome to enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus was a recognized elite Jewish scholar, a Pharisee, and a member of the Sanhedrin.  But something was missing for him.  He knew he didn’t have all the answers, but he was pretty sure that Jesus did.

So, Nicodemus listens, and this is what Jesus told him that Jesus tells all of us.

Being “religious” alone cannot save us.  Our faith will not grow on “systems of religious knowledge and rules.” Instead, we must draw on salvation from Jesus alone.  We have to be reborn from above, through the Holy Spirit. 

So how are we reborn in the Spirit?

Jesus teaches us that it is not the credentials of this world and human action, but the works of God through the Holy Spirit that saves us.

We have to recognize that our being in control and all of our accomplishments can get in the way of our own and others’ salvation.  We must let go of all that and let God work through us and others. 

We need to claim our birthright in Jesus. The mission of Jesus Christ on earth was to conquer sin and bring us to our Father. That is, if you will, our birthright as followers of Christ.

Never let go of that.

Never let go of the love that He has for us.

Never let go of the fact that regardless of our burden, He walks at our side. His hand rests lightly on our shoulder, and He whispers “Rest in me. I will give you comfort.”

Nicodemus needed to separate his faith from what he could see and control in the natural world and place it in the spiritual world where God is in control.  Jesus reminded him that the working of the Spirit is like the working of the wind.  You can’t see it and you can’t control it. 

Our work, our efforts, and our knowledge don’t make it happen.  We can’t save ourselves solely through our actions. But by making our relationship with God a priority of our lives, we let the Spirit work in us.  That cost Nicodemus his wealth and status, but not his life, in fact, just the opposite, by being born again, he gained his life.

Years ago, the phrase “let go, let God” enjoyed a lot of popularity.  It may have seemed simplistic, and perhaps even a catchy slogan. The reality is that is why Jesus Christ died. He died for our sins, and he died to show us the need to allow God to be the driver of our lives. When we do that, the Holy Spirit grows exponentially in our lives.  Thank God that it does.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord, today I pray for the grace and the depth of love to be loving with my loved ones and my friends, to be kind and gentle with the people I struggle with and may I strive to be the face of Jesus to the people we meet today!”

Daily Note

God finds many ways to speak to us so that we will understand. For example, when feelings of peace or hope or expectancy well up as you read Scripture, that is God speaking to you. When creative ideas or resolutions to issues you are dealing with come to mind while you sit in prayer, that is God speaking to you. When you are filled with wonder and praise for the Lord as you watch a glorious sunset, that is God speaking to you. The important thing is to expect that God will speak to you. You will learn to recognize his voice as you spend time carefully listening to him. Sometimes his voice is loud or booming, but so often it’s gentle, simple, and quiet. God is good and patient, and he will keep speaking until you understand what he is saying.

Daily Reflection – 4/28/2025

Sacred Scripture

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”( John 3:1-8)

Reflection

The concept of being born anew, at times, can be misunderstood.

The concept of “being born again” is given to all of us through our baptism. It is a continual journey and one which is lived day after day. In fact, it is the root of the Christian faith.

Scripture is clear that we must receive a new birth in Christ. The old self must die and the new self must be reborn. This is what it means to become a Christian. We take on a new life in Christ.

When we are baptized, we enter into the waters and die with Christ. As we rise from the waters, we are reborn in Him. This means that baptism does something truly amazing in us. Some learn that through living a life centered on Christ. While others experience it through an event or a revival of the dormant gift that is within them.

What is so powerful is not how it happens but rather what happens.

This new birth Jesus speaks of is a spiritual birth to a new life and an experiential relationship with God as his sons and daughters. Recognizing and accepting that we are God’s sons and daughters puts our life on a totally different trajectory.

We enter a society in which God is honored and obeyed. We take ownership of a life which comes from God himself, and calls us to a never-ending life of love, peace, joy. A life where we recognize that sin will separate us from God. A life where we are free from the fear of death and a life that brings us to God’s kingdom.

It is that mysterious presence of God which moves us to acts of generosity and kindness when we could just as easily walk away. That presence helps us forgive a long-standing hurt even though the wound still stings. His presence gives you courage to share our faith with a neighbor despite an inner reluctance.

Every time you follow these promptings, you become a little more mysterious to the people around you—and a little more attractive. That’s because with each act of kindness or faithfulness, you become more like Jesus, the most mysterious and attractive person who ever lived.

It is that conversion which cannot be a one-time event. It is an ongoing, never-ending dynamic process, one that can easily be interrupted and even destroyed. It is the Holy Spirit who inspires that process of conversion and gives it new inspiration and vitality. It is the Holy Spirit finally who changes us from mere professed followers of Christ into mature, enthusiastic adults in the faith. It is this conversion that Jesus is talking about in the gospel. That conversion is the most powerful event in our lives.

Praise the Lord for that gift, live that gift and know what it is to truly be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord Jesus Christ, you offer us a new birth in the Holy Spirit. Renew in me the gift of faith and new life in your Holy Spirit. Help me to draw near to you and to believe in your life-giving word.  May your kingdom come and may your will be done in my life today, tomorrow, and always.”

Daily Note

It is essential for a person to be baptized and to live out that faith in order to be saved. This means that we must study, understand and live out our faith and develop our own spiritual lives. We, as baptized people, have an obligation to proclaim the Risen Lord as Peter and John did.

((Today, we are embarking on another chapter in these reflections. As people of faith, we know that we not only support each other but often grow as we share.

We suggest that if you have a thought or question about this reflection that you post it as a comment. We will always answer any questions as well)).

Daily Reflection – 4/25/2025

Sacred Scripture

Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. (Mark 16: 15-20)

Reflection

Here it is. The Gospel that we hunger to hear.  After his death. Jesus is taken up into heaven and sits at God’s right hand.  This great ascension is Jesus’ final victory, when he leaves behind all of the pain and imperfections of this life and enters into glory.

The good news for you and me is that just as Jesus had a great ascension, one is promised to us.  For we believe that we who are faithful to Christ after our death will ascend into the embrace of a loving God to be with Christ forever.  So, the good news of the great ascension is that our life is moving upward, that despite all the pains and troubles of life, we are not ultimately descending, but ascending, that you and I are bound for glory.

Our faith also teaches us the great ascension also feeds the small ascensions of our lives.

Those are the movements away from limitation and pain, small steps which we take towards glory.  These small ascensions occur every time that you and I rise above a want or an expectation.  We want a lot of things.  A good deal of our energy and frustration in life is involved in trying to gain what we want. We often confuse the things that we want with the things that we need.  But we can in fact survive without them.  When we realize that we can, it is a small ascension.

When we realize that we can live with less, that we can live even though we do not have complete financial security, then we are not taking a step backwards; we are taking a step forward.

When we realize that not all people will like us and yet know that we still have reason to live and rejoice, that is not moving downward but upwards, upwards to realistic living. 

When we realize that even though we are sick and we have to deal with pain and medical procedures, there are still people who love us and there are still more than enough reasons to live, that is not delusion; that is a small ascension, a step towards glory.

Some expectations that can at times enslave us.  We expect that everybody in our family is going to understand us.  We expect that people will deal fairly with us.  We expect that the people we love will stay with us.  But when we realize that there is nobody in our family that will completely meet our expectations, but that we still can love them; when we realize that people will hurt and betray us, but that we can still forgive them; when we realize that the people we love do at times leave us, because they need to relocate, or because of divorce, or because of death, but that leaving does not mean that our life is over; each time we realize any of these things we have undergone a small ascension—leaving behind the expectations that enslave us, taking a step towards the God who embraces us. 

We cannot ascend above our wants and expectations simply by choosing to do so.  Like the great ascension that we celebrate today, ultimately the upward movement is because of God’s power and God’s strength, not our own.  But we can pray for such ascensions, and we can open our hearts and minds to them.

We are people who know that after our death, we have been promised a great ascension.  We should pray that God will grant us smaller ascensions today.  We should ask our Lord to lift us up above our wants and expectations, and draw us a step closer to his presence at the right hand of God.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord Jesus, through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you fill us with an indomitable spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can subdue. Fill me with your resurrection joy and help me to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for your glory. May I witness to those around me the joy of the Gospel and the reality of your victory over the grave and gift of everlasting life.”

Daily Note

The great ascension is Jesus’ final victory, when he leaves behind all of the pain and imperfections of this life and enters into glory.

The good news for you and me is that just as Jesus had a great ascension, one is promised to us.  For we believe that we who are faithful to Christ after our death will ascend into the embrace of a loving God to be with Christ forever.  So, the good news of the great ascension is that our life is moving upward, that despite all the pains and troubles of life, we are not ultimately descending, but ascending, that you and I are bound for glory.

Daily Reflection – 4/24/2025

Sacred Scripture

The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:35-48)

Reflection

We return to the scenes in the upper room where the disciples are reflecting upon what had just happened. Behind closed and locked doors, the disciples are trying to sort out the events of this past week and even the past three years in light of what they thought, believed, hoped, and expected.

Jesus appears to the disciples and asks them to act as judge. He shows them his hands and feet, he eats fish before their eyes, and asks them to believe, to judge, that he is truly risen in the flesh. They move from fear and doubt to peace.

 Peace seems to be an elusive commodity these days. Think of all the things that cause you to lose peace. Think of all the things that test your trust and confidence in God. Think of events or circumstances that make you feel sad and hopeless. Think of all these things and you put yourself squarely in the midst of these earliest Christians. Jesus has the same message for all of us: “Peace be with you.”

He is asking the questions that disarm all of our turmoil and untangle every knot: “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?” We have no good reason, Lord. No good reason. The question itself imparts peace. Jesus stands in the midst of our excitement, our fear, our foolishness, our lack of faith, and says: I am risen. Why do you continue to agitate yourself with these things? I am risen and with you always.

The fullness of Christ’s victory over sin and death is communicated to us by the one word “peace.” When this greeting, even this command, comes from the lips of Jesus it scatters all of our darkness, suspends all of our fears, and sets us free to rejoice in His triumph, because it is also ours.

With that strength the disciples had to go forth as witnesses to the peace that Christ has bestowed on them—not as the world gives it, but as Jesus does. Worldly peace depends entirely on circumstances. It is contingent on things going well for us. God’s peace means that even if the whole world is against us, it really doesn’t matter. He has overcome the world. He is with us, for us, defending and advocating for us.

It doesn’t mean our troubles will cease, that there will be no further cause for sorrow and worry, but that we will have the peace to take it all with the strength that comes from His victory. We will hear the Lord’s voice come across our troubled waters, through locked doors, through fear and trembling, saying: “Peace, be still. I am risen and with you always.”

Prayer of The Day

“Lord Jesus, open our minds to understand the Scriptures that we may fully comprehend the truth of your word. Anoint us with your power and give us joy and boldness to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed”.

Daily NoteThe centrality of the Gospel message is the cross – but fortunately it does not stop there. Through the cross Jesus defeated our enemies – death and Satan and won pardon for our sins. His cross is the door to heaven and the key to paradise. When the disciples saw the risen Lord, they disbelieved for joy! How can death lead to life, the cross to victory? Jesus shows us the way and he gives us the power to overcome sin and despair, and everything else that would

Daily Reflection – 4/23/2025

Sacred Scripture

Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:13-35)

Reflection

We all have walked the road to Emmaus. Sometimes it leads to our very homes. Sometimes it leads us to a different city. But the reality is that the very road is the same. It’s the road of doubt, the road of despair, the road of emptiness, the road of confusion, the road of self-doubt . . . regardless of the emotion, it’s the road when we could not see God walking beside us.

We doubt and despair in times of sickness or when someone we know has a terminal disease. That’s when we travel the road of doubt asking why this would happen to such a person. If there is a God, why does he permit such things to happen? Then somehow, sooner or later, God breaks through into our lives. We come to accept our human limitations, learn how to share in suffering, toss aside our anger with God, and see how God is at work in our lives through this sickness.

We travel this same road when we experience a death in the family. The death of a loved one brings on doubt and despair. As death is dealt with and accepted, and as people work through their grief, they gradually come to life again. They travel the road from doubt and despair to belief as did those two disciples walking to Emmaus.

We spend our whole lives making this trip over and over again. We are constantly taking this trip from doubt and despair to faith. But along the way, we experience the Resurrection of Jesus. We discover Jesus alive and with us. Sometimes we are so caught up in our doubt and despair that we cannot see Jesus as he travels with us. The very moments of doubt and despair are themselves a sign of God at work in our lives. God works through us, just as he once did with Jesus.

Too often we think that our Lord is present only in extraordinary ways.  But that is not true!  He is constantly present to us in very ordinary ways. 

When we look back and remember the way God has worked in our own lives, we can cherish what he has done on our behalf.

When that addiction you had was broken, God worked in your life. When you had a broken heart that you thought would never heal or the love of your life died, God was right beside you the whole time, sustaining you. When you didn’t recognize your own talents, mentors came alongside to encourage and guide you. When you thought you messed up so much that God could never love or accept you, he did…and he does.

Jesus’ words for his disciples today are the same as they were for those disciples on the road to Emmaus. The risen Christ is with us, walking right beside us, talking to us, even during those tough times when we can’t recognize his presence. And when we recognize that, we will also understand more fully how we should glorify God- even in the midst of our present circumstances. The reality is that we have hope, we have victory, and we have a God who loves us for who we are and for who we ever hope to be.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord, thank You for loving me so much that You are always with me.  Help me to see You and to recognize Your gentle and still voice.  Give me the eyes of faith to see You present in my life and help me to discern Your presence in every ordinary event of my day.  I love You, dear Lord.  Jesus, I trust in You.”

Daily Note

What blinds us to our risen Lord? What keeps us from seeing God clearly? Is it disappointment, when life’s events don’t meet our expectations, that clouds our vision? I think there’s a threat that we become so familiar with the general storyline of God’s redemption through Jesus Christ, that we forget that His resurrection was so that he would bring all of his sons and daughters to His Father. That’s why He promises to be with us always.

Daily Reflection – 4/22/2025

Sacred Scripture

But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her. ( John 20:11-18)

Reflection

I relate to this Gospel because it reminds me of a time when I was at the same point as Mary Magdalene.

There was a time when, I too searched for God. I looked in a lot of places. I sought Him in the Word. I looked for him in the faces of people I met. I watched and listened for him in the churches I attended. I looked inwardly to try and see the spark that I could fan and find God. But I could not find Him.

But then it changed. I realized that He was in all of the places, people and things in which I looked. But what was missing was me. I was searching for God but he was already there. The difference was that I had not formed the personal relationship with Him. I was so busy looking that I did not see Him standing beside me. Beside me because He was searching for me as He does you.

We may not always succeed in finding what we have lost, but we will always find Jesus if we really search for him… because he is in fact searching for us. He is the good shepherd who calls his own by name. He knows our name, even before we begin to search for him. Our finding him is because he is searching for us. He came to seek and to save the lost, and we are all lost to some degree. The Lord seeks us out in his love. All we need to do is to put ourselves in the way of his searching love, as Mary Magdalene did. She has something to teach us about seeking the Lord in our pain and loss.

What I needed to do, and what we need to do in our lives, is let God be God. There are no limits on God, and we should not be trying to limit Him or reduce Him to anything or find him in a specific place. Because He is everywhere at all times at the same time. He is there as we delight in our family. He is there when we contemplate Him in prayer. He is there when we are joyous. He is there when we know sadness. He resides in the Word. He lives in others. But most of all, he lives in me and you. We need to find that Jesus in each of us.  We need to allow Jesus to live through us. We need to step aside and let God be God. He died and rose so that he could live within us and be close to us at all times. But just as Mary had difficulty recognizing Jesus in the garden, we often fail to notice that the Lord is with us in concrete, real-life ways.
He is in charge, we will never fully understand Him. The reality is that God is a mystery, and will never be fully revealed to us while we are on earth. Our simple intellects cannot even begin to grasp all that is God. The sooner we realize that we are the ones who are limited, and Jesus is Lord, the better. Let Him in. He is waiting.

Prayer of The Day

Lord, may I cling to You as You cling to me.  May my heart, mind and soul be Yours.  Come live in me so that I may live in You.  I give my life to You, dear Lord, help me to offer You all that I am.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Daily Note

Mary’s message to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, is the very essence of Christianity. It is not enough that a Christian know about the Lord, but that we know him personally. It is not enough to argue about him, but to meet him. In the resurrection we encounter the living Lord who loves us personally and shares his glory with us. The Lord gives us “eyes of faith” to see the truth of his resurrection and victory over sin and death (Ephes. 1:18).  The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our hope — the hope that we will see God face to face and share in his everlasting glory and joy

Daily Reflection – 4/21/2025

Sacred Scripture

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers  and said, “Tell people, `His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’  And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. (Matthew 28: 8-15)

Reflection

The mood of Easter is very well captured at the beginning of today’s gospel reading, ‘Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.

 Easter is a feast that fills us with great wonder and joy because it tells us that God’s love is stronger than human sin, and the life God gives is more powerful than the death humans often inflict on each other. Easter also tells us that we do not walkthrough life alone. As the risen Lord went ahead of his disciples to Galilee, so he goes ahead of us to all the places that we journey to and find ourselves in.

Yet, there will always be people who will try to deny Easter and all that it means. That was so from the very first Easter Sunday. But as Thomas Aquinas once wrote, if the Resurrection didn’t happen, then the fact that a bunch of barely literate fishermen and nobodies from Galilee could convince so many down-to-earth people throughout the ancient world falsely that it did and all be willing to lay down their lives for that invented reality would be a greater miracle than the miracle of the Resurrection itself!

And there is still another miracle that awaits you and I. It lies in the answer to the question how would you or I behave today if today were the day of Jesus’ physical resurrection.

Most of our lives would change dramatically if today we the day of the Resurrection. That’s the type of transformation we are supposed to experience because the risen Lord Jesus is still very much alive and seeks to come to meet us every day. Christians should be people who seem always to be coming from encountering the Risen Lord!

The type of response that God wants us to have to Jesus’ resurrection we see in the women today and in St. Peter. Mary Magdalene and Mary the wife of Clopas ran away from the empty tomb both “fearful and overjoyed,” fearful because they had never confronted a reality like that and overjoyed because they sensed that it meant that Jesus had in fact risen.

We are invited to savor the good news of the Easter season which lasts for 50 days. During these weeks we have an opportunity to keep on absorbing the momentous good news of Easter. The news that gives meaning to our living and to our dying because it assures us that we are brothers and sisters of the Risen One who is also the Life Giver for all who seek him.

This belief that we choose to possess means that our lives should radiate Jesus’ risen life. There may be days when this is more challenging — like on the ugliest days of a brutal winter or at the bedside of the interminable sufferings of a loved one — but if we’re ever going to be living signs of Jesus risen then, we have to begin by being risen signs of Jesus on Easter, and Easter Monday, and throughout the Easter Season and beyond. And we need to let that risen joy overflow naturally toward others, just as the women did, just as St. Peter did.

He has risen. He has risen for you and me. He lives in and for you and me. Alleluia.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord Jesus, may we always live in the joy and hope of the resurrection and never lose sight of its truth for our lives.”

Daily Note

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the source of hope for all Christians. May the Lord strengthen our faith in this central mystery of our faith. May our faith inspire us to a greater love of God and neighbor. Pray that through our deep faith in the Resurrection we may radiate this hope to others who are in despair.

Daily Reflection – 4/20/2025

Sacred Scripture

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb but when they went in they did not find the body.4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles; but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home wondering what had happened. (Luke 24:1-12)

Reflection

Easter is the most important event in the history of the world. Other events are marked by annual observances, both civic and religious.  Once a year we celebrate Christmas, once a year we celebrate Fourth of July, our Independence Day.  But Easter is different, we have a weekly observance, we celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection each Sunday as a reminder that it is the most important event in our history and in our lives.  If the whole Bible were lost but the Easter Gospel were saved, we would still have the Good News.

How did 12 uneducated fishermen did this. A tax collector and peasants from backwater villages in a conquered country, without smartphones, established a religion that embrace billions of people, one-third of the inhabitants of the world.  

The answer is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

His Resurrection has changed everything. The Resurrection has divided history, not just our calendar into BC and AD.

On Easter, the Lord is inviting us to emerge from the tomb to walk in the light to know that the world can never be the same because he has conquered sin and death for all of us.  

In our own lives no matter how far we are from the Lord, Easter is an invitation, to draw near to gaze into the empty tomb, to put our fingers in the place of the nails, to renew our baptismal vows and know that we are part of Christ’s family. Easter is an invitation to new life, to a new beginning, Easter means that life and love are forever, nothing else matters.

When the risen Lord meets anyone in the Gospels, they are given a task, the task is to join the announcement, to be witnesses to the new life that is offered by Jesus Christ, even when persecuted the Church bears witness in its joy, overcoming fear in worship, in the midst of war, in famine, and during a pandemic.

Today in the Ukraine, Christians find both perseverance and strength in the midst of a savage war. In churches, they gather in small groups to lift their voice in prayer because in the face of death and destruction their faith in the risen Lord gives them hope and joy.

At Easter we celebrate that new life that Jesus gives us. We witness to it when we insist that money isn’t our ruler, that self-promotion isn’t our King, that pleasure isn’t a fulfilling aim, that the ruthless individualism of our age can never bring happiness and that the love and peace of God must be our daily message, not strife and discord.

Today as we hear the Easter bells throughout our communities, they are a call to solidarity among all Christians that in the face of inhumanity to others, we are called to respond to witness to the power of the Resurrection, the power of love that is stronger than death, and faith in a God who can always bring good out of evil. 

To know the risen Lord, is to know his love, and his invitation to lead a better life, to treat each other with greater respect and concern. To know Jesus’ Resurrection is to begin to understand that we too are going to live forever. In the light of the Resurrection, our lives must change. We must move beyond the materialism and individualism of our culture and embrace our mission to witness to the good news and make God’s kingdom more visible by the way that we love, forgive, care for each other and serve one another especially those who are sick and suffering. The Resurrection assures us that there is life beyond the cross, there is meaning to suffering, that love is stronger than death. If Easter is about being surprised by Joy, it’s also about sharing the good news and the joy that our Redeemer lives. Mary Magdalene ran to tell the people, let’s stop dragging our feet, we too must share the good news. Jesus Christ is risen today.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord Jesus Christ, you have triumphed over the grave and you have won new life for us. Give me the eyes of faith to see you in your glory. Help me to draw near to you and to grow in the knowledge of your great love and power.”

Daily Note

One thing is certain, if Jesus had not risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples, we would never have heard of him. Nothing else could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with joy and courage. The reality of the resurrection is the central fact of the Christian faith. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord gives us “eyes of faith” to know him and the power of his resurrection. The greatest joy we can have is to encounter the living Lord and to know him personally.