Reflecting Him

Daily Reflection – 4/15/2025

Sacred Scripture

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’s side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus’s chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So, he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So, Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast, or to give something to the poor. So, Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.” Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.” (John 13:21-33, 36-38)

Reflection

The darkness of that night seemed pervasive. Jesus has his last supper with those he loved. Among them were two who would betray him. Judas would hand him over to his death, Peter would betray him as well. The two betrayals were quite different though. Judas’ was one of calculation, Peter’s one of weakness. 

Every betrayal of Jesus betrays ourselves. We hand ourselves over to the night, betraying our life to death, our love to self-interest, and our hope to despair. We turn away from the light, the source of our life, and once again Jesus is troubled in spirit.

Yet, there is so much in the actions of Jesus that brings us hope. Even knowing that Judas would not turn back to Him and repent, Jesus still gives His life for him.  We would think that someone who is so evil and who will not repent, should be cast off and destroyed, but even for such a person, God still loves him.  That is because God does not compartmentalize His love.  Even for those who reject Him, God’s love remains.

Just think, if you knew ahead of time that someone was going to betray you, would you invite them in for an intimate gathering—as your friends, no less?  And this is not even just an intimate gathering, but it is the last supper!  Jesus is giving His life to His Apostles in this first Eucharistic meal. 

That should bring us a lot of hope, if we ever think that we are so marred by our sins, that we might wonder if God could ever love us.  Even if we do not repent like Judas, God still loves us with all of His heart.  We can have the confidence to know that, no matter what, God will always receive us back into His loving arms, because even if we are not willing to lay down our lives for Jesus, He has already laid down His life for us.

Jesus is calling us out of the dark and into the light. Even though there is darkness all around, God’s light still abides. Come out of your dark tomb. Whatever shame is in your heart, whatever guilt you carry, however dead you feel, nothing you have done or ever could do can separate you from the love of God. Come into the light, even if it hurts your eyes. Come into the light, even if it blinds you at first. Come into the truth. Walk in the light of God’s love. Take a deep breath and live the new life, the resurrection life that God is giving you today.

Prayer of The Day

“Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart which no unworthy thought can drag downwards; an unconquered heart which no tribulation can wear out; an upright heart which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon me also, O Lord my God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. “(Prayer of Thomas Aquinas)

Daily Note

When you and I look at our lives, we see many things we would like to change. We would like to believe more deeply, forgive more easily, love with fewer conditions. But when we try to move in that positive direction, we often fall short. This is why it is crucial for us to believe that God can change us, that God is able to alter the terms of our relationship, that God can make us new.

God is calling us to a new relationship. We enter into that new relationship when we entrust ourselves to God, when we admit our weakness and inability to change, and ask God to transform us. When we say Lord, “I have been so hurt by that person that I cannot bend to forgive. I need you to bend me, so that I can let go of this hate. Lord, I am so quick to judge others because of their race, sexual orientation, or political viewpoint, and that fills me with anger. Lord, I need you to quiet those prejudices, so that I can live in peace again.” He lives for us and beckons us to a new life with him.

Daily Reflection – 4/14/2025

Sacred Scripture

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So, the chief priests planned to put Lazarus also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. (John 12:1-11)

Reflection

Gathered around the dinner table, Lazarus’ family seems to know what is coming. They are about to lose their dear friend. They may even know that Lazarus’ new life is at stake. The time is short and the grief is plentiful as they break bread together in Bethany.

In gratitude for her brother’s life, in grief for her friend’s life, in total fear for the future, words fail Mary. So, instead of speaking, she lavishes her Lord with an absurdly abundant gift: perfume that would cost as much as a year’s total wages. To many, it is an act of extravagant giving. For those who measure their lives by accounting terms, there is absolutely no cost benefit analysis in her actions.

But Mary’s action was motivated by one thing, and one thing only, namely, her love for Jesus and her gratitude for God’s mercy. She gets it. She understands the enormity of the love that has been poured out by God.

God, the source of all love gave us Jesus Christ. Jesus is the overflow of love into the world. It’s a divine moment when Jesus comes to earth. It is God beyond God. It is an overflowing of God’s divine love. That is profound in itself. But think of this. Jesus then lived out another love. He gave his body, his very self to and for others.

As humans, we have been confronted with two loves of a magnitude that we almost can’t comprehend. The overflowing of the most complete love, the most profound love which takes place in the flesh of Jesus Christ who then magnifies that love by giving his very self for all.

How do you price that?

Someone once said, “Love expressed is not sufficient; it needs to be heard to have any meaning.” In other words, it is not adequate for you to say you love your wife or your husband or your partner or your children; though that’s a good start. You must get into the mind of the beloved and find out what is most meaningful to him or her in receiving love and then give love in that way. How do you do that for God?

God doesn’t need your most valuable possession, but you need to give it, or at least make it serve a greater purpose. How extravagant is your love? Is it extravagant at all, or do you simply go through the motions? You sing the hymns. You utter the prayers. You listen to the preacher. But then do you love others in the way that Jesus loved–as much as you love yourself? Do you make a place for the outcast, the rejected, the oppressed, the homeless, the victimized and marginalized souls whom Jesus loves? Remember, love expressed is not sufficient. It isn’t good enough to say “I love you” by singing hymns and attending church. As good as those things are, love expressed is not sufficient. It has to be heard to have any meaning. “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Prayer of The Day

“Lord Jesus help me to be more aware of all the good you have worked in my life. Help me to look with the eyes of faith that will bring me to an unshakeable belief in you, a faith like that of those who witnessed your raising of Lazarus.?

Daily Note

The Lord Jesus showed us the extravagance of his love in giving the best he had by pouring out his own blood for our sake and by anointing us with his Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39). Do you allow the love of Christ to rule in all your thoughts and intentions, and in all your words and deeds?

Daily Reflection – 4/11/2025

Sacred Scripture

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods’? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power. He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him. (John 10:31-42)

Reflection

In just one week, we will look at the cross and meditate upon the death of Jesus Christ. What it meant in His time, what it means today and what it will mean for the generations that follow us.

It’s a somber time for all of us. For me, it has always been a painful time. The enormity of pain the human Jesus suffered for us is beyond anything I can imagine. The ridicule and the rejection seared his mind. We know that Jesus was fully human and fully God. We know from the Gospels that Jesus did experience the full range of emotions: joy, sorrow, sadness, fear, pain, etc.

Today’s Gospel points to that day and reminds us of the rocks we hold in our hands. How do we do this? When we cease to acknowledge the dignity of human life, when we encounter an immigrant and falsely presume he or she is a threat, when we do nothing to address the widening gap between the richest and the poorest in our world, when we tolerate exploitation and human trafficking, when we see the rise of dictators around the world and stand silent, and  all the other personal and social sins that lead to dehumanization.

 In short, we have the opportunity to gaze upon the eyes of Christ on a daily basis, but do we discover Christ in those eyes, or do we look away, turn inward, and lock ourselves in the prisons of our own desires? Worse yet, do we pick up a rock when we put the values and teachings of today’s society over the words of God? If the values of the world outweigh the teachings of Christ then that person is holding one of the rocks to stone Him.

Jesus knew that he was not alone. His Father sent him, and his Father is with him. Jesus places complete trust in his Father. Ultimately, Jesus also believes that good will come from his suffering.

And this above all is the time we need to internalize that.

We need to remain deeply convicted about all that God has said and revealed to us.  This deepens our ability to trust God in all things. We need to hold on to the fact that it was our Father’s love that sent His son to us. It is our Father’s will that we live eternally with Him. It is our Father’s strength that will get us through difficult times. Pray that we put the rocks down and recommit to the love of God for all.

Prayer of The Day

Lord, as we draw near to the commemoration of Your own suffering and death, help me to unite my crosses to Yours.  Help me to see in my daily struggle Your presence and strength.  Help me to see the purpose you have for me in the midst of these challenges.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Daily Note

One key to holiness is that in the midst of persecution, suffering, hardship and sorrow, we stand firm in the truth.  It’s always tempting to think that we must be doing something wrong when things do not go our way.  It’s easy to be confused by the lies and calumny that the world throws at us when we try to stand for goodness and the truth.  One thing God wants of us, in the midst of our own crosses, is to purify our faith and resolve to stand firm in His Word and Truth.  

Daily Reflection – 4/10/2025

Sacred Scripture

Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. Abraham, your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So, they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the Temple area. (John 8:51-59)

Reflection

The notion of someone being stoned to death is abhorrent to us. It still happens in those few places where Sharia Law is operative. Yet, thankfully, we consider such behavior to belong to a past age. It wasn’t uncommon in the time of Jesus. You may recall that Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus’ opponents wanted to inflict the same fate on him, ‘at this they picked up stones to throw at him’, presumably with a view to killing him. It was a precursor of Jesus’ crucifixion.

What aroused such deadly anger from some people towards Jesus were the claims he was making for himself. There are two powerful claims Jesus makes for himself in today’s gospel, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the reading, ‘whoever keeps my word will never see death’, and ‘before Abraham ever was, I am’. Jesus was claiming to pre-exist Abraham and declaring that whoever believed in him would exist beyond this earthly life. They would never experience ultimate death. These claims, for believers, rather than arousing anger bring great consolation.

According to John’s gospel, Jesus pre-existed the universe. ‘In the beginning was the Word’. He came from another world, the world above, into this world. The Word became flesh. He offered the life of this other world, eternal life, to all who believed in him, to all who opened their lives to his coming. His journey from this world back to his heavenly Father was a journey that all who believe in him would also travel. This is good news which brings meaning and joy to our lives.

Any person calling himself/herself “Christian” understands that from our earliest years, we begin a journey with Christ. Each moment that we breathe is a moment when we choose to walk with Christ or walk away from Christ. The ways of the world work against that focus. It is only when we have encountered Christ in our life or when we grow old and contemplate the nearness of the end of our mortality do we realize that the journey has always been there. The incredible part is that the journey has no ending. The journey promises eternity. Faced with that, how can we ever choose to walk away?

Prayer of The Day

“Loving God, even though I cannot see you; I trust and believe that you are always present to me.  Give me the strength and the courage to always be present to you. Amen.”

Daily Note

Take these last days of Lent to really examine how God has been working in your life. Today, take a few minutes to remember a moment of consolation, a moment where you really felt the presence of God in your life, and sit with that moment embracing the closeness of our God even in the midst of great mystery. ​

Daily Reflection – 4/9/2025

Sacred Scripture

“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence; then do what you have heard from the Father.” They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father!” So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication. We have one Father, God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”( John 8:31-42)

Reflection

What’s it like to sin? We know the answer to that question? Or arer are we like the Pharisees in today’s Gospel? We don’t see the sin.

If I were to ask you to recite the ten commandments, most of you would be able to do so. If I were you ask you if a violation of those commandments was sinful. I venture to say that you would answer with a resounding “yes.”

But sin can be insidious. So insidious that we don’t see it. Or so alluring that we are charmed by it. That is the sin that enslaves us. So seductively that we fall into its arms and don’t recognize the cold embrace of its grasp.

You see it’s easy to see an overt betrayal of one of the commandments. But what about insidious sin? The sin of a person angered by life and who carries it throughout the day. Quick to protest. Quick to argue.  Quick to become enraged. Quick to brow beat someone else. Quick to poison the environment because they are always angry or discontented.

What about the person in a position of church leadership – the one who is a constant victim and needs that position of leadership to validate herself/himself and uses that platform to judge, to criticize and point out the wrongs of another. Ever so quietly and adroitly. Isn’t it ironic that a minister of God not only violates the word of God and, worse, tries to use God as his/her banner carrier?

What about the person who uses sarcasm to belittle or demean but when confronted by its damage quickly claims that they were only joking (after the hurt is done to another).  Or the parent who measures one child versus the other and slowly wears down the self-esteem of the child who doesn’t measure up. These and more are the instances when sin enslaves. These are deep behavioral patterns that take control, envelop and bring a person to a darker place.

Jesus tells us that the moment sin is committed, we are bound by it, and it entraps us. We no longer can see the truth clearly but view a distorted version of it. We are blinded by our own sinfulness and cannot see the truth of happiness and love. The hold of sin is so profound, that we cannot lift its power from our life.

The good news of the gospel is that Christ has set us free from the power of sin, slavery of selfishness, freedom from the fear of what others might think or say about us, and freedom from hurtful desires and the power of sin.

Through the power of his Holy Spirit we can choose to walk in His way of love and holiness. A disciple is a follower and a listener.  If we listen to the words of Jesus, with a humble and teachable spirit, he will give us the grace and the power to follow in His way of holiness. 

Prayer of The Day

“Lord, write your words of love and truth upon my heart and make me a diligent student and a worthy disciple of your word.”

Daily Note

Perhaps you are like those in the Gospel, denying that you are trapped by sin; perhaps you don’t want to believe that you are enslaved. Examine your conscience and ask Jesus to help you return fully to His grace. Ask Jesus to help you love HIM and to be free.

Daily Reflection – 4/7/2025

Sacred Scripture

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. The Pharisees then said to him, “You are bearing witness to yourself; your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I have come and where I am going, but you do not know where I come or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone that judge, but I and he who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true; I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me.” They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me, you would know my Father also.” These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 8: 12-20)

Reflection

The French philosopher, Blaise Paschal, wrote:” In faith there is enough light for those who wish to believe and enough shadow to blind those who do not. “

And that brings us to consider a fundamental truth. Light is one thing, faith is another.

The light Jesus came to give is the light of God’s revelation – his beauty, truth, wisdom, and power. God’s light exposes the darkness of sin which is often hidden and sometimes even unknown to us. His light brings healing, pardon, and restoration. We need God’s penetrating light to shine into our innermost being so he can remove wrong patterns of thoughts, attitudes, and hurtful desires.

The question that stands before us is what will we do with the light which God gives? What shall we see? The gospel points to what we should be looking for: the presence of God in our lives and in our world.

That’s where faith comes in. Because an inherent part of those that are followers of Christ is that we try every day to live His word. We can be evaluated on the thoughts in our minds, the words we use, the actions we take, the very way we live our lives.

Believers are always on the look-out to see signs of that kingdom, signs of God’s presence in our world. Because Christians are looking for those signs, their lives are characterized by joy and hope.

Each time that we see a sign of God’s presence, we rejoice. Each time medical science takes another step forward, we rejoice because we recognize that it is God’s action and power directing that development. Each time warring nations put down their arms and establish peace, we celebrate because we see that action as one step closer to God’s kingdom. Every time that we survive a difficult period in our marriage, recognize a family member has moved towards reconciliation, or learn that our child or our grandchild is born healthy and safe, we celebrate. We see in all of these events the signs of God establishing the kingdom.

In addition to that joy, we are also people of hope, because when evil strikes, we do not give up. When innocent children die of a terrible disease, when thousands of people are killed in war, when greed and selfishness characterize our culture, we do not stop believing that God is present. Instead, we hope that God is active in a way that we cannot yet perceive.

All of these evils that are present in our world do not lead us to despair but to action. We give our energies towards building a more peaceful and just world. When someone we love is struck with cancer, when our marriage ends, when someone we trust betrays us, we continue to hope that God will still save us. We look forward to a future in which God’s action and love will become clear.

Other people will look at the blessings of life and the heartbreaks of life and interpret them differently. It is only with the gift of faith and our willingness to accept it that we can see God’s action among us.

The gift of faith calls us to people of action. We need to open our eyes to the light around us, not to be blinded, but to see—to see God’s presence here among us and in the events of our world and then to live as Christ’s disciples in the joy and in the hope that only faith can bring. Once we have seen, it is our command to bring that light to those in darkness. It’s not the responsibility of another; it is the command given to each of us who profess our Christianity.

Reflect His love in all that we say and do. It is a treasure to be that light. Stand proud with kindness in your voice and love in your actions.

Prayer of The Day

“O gracious and Holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate upon you, and a life to proclaim you; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Prayer of Benedict of Nursia, 480-547 AD)”)

Daily Note

The light which the Lord Jesus offers produces in us abundant life and great fruitfulness. Just as natural life depends on light for energy, warmth, and growth (without it nothing could live or grow), so the light of God’s kingdom power produce in us new life in the Holy Spirit and the abundant fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). The light which the Lord Jesus gives enables us to walk freely and confidently without stumbling in the darkness of sin, ignorance, and unbelief. His light warms our heart to the truth of God’s love and it opens our eyes to recognize the reality of God’s kingdom at work within us. Do you walk confidently in the light of God’s truth and love?

Daily Reflection – 4/4/2025

Sacred Scripture

Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret. Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” So, Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come. ( John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30)

Reflection

Today’s scripture presents us with a panoply of human emotions . . . rejection, prejudice, uncertainty and rigidity. Not exactly positive expressions but certainly expressions that each of us have known and perhaps even expressed.

The Galileans rejected Jesus because He was not what they expected. They wanted certainty and He brought uncertainty to their beliefs. The Rabbis were not only guilty of that but they brought a prejudice. In their mind, he was from Nazareth, not Bethlehem.

Further, their teaching was that the Messiah would rise up as one would restore their dignity and rightful place as the chosen people of God.

In spite of these emotions around Him, Jesus perseveres. He continues to preach the Word of God. He continues to openly declare His relation with the Father. He continues to publicly affirm His mission and purpose on the earth. Jesus is the Epitome of convictions and passion! Nothing could make Him compromise His convictions. Nothing could make Him lay down His principles of life.

In this period of fear and uncertainty as we each seek to make sense of all that is occurring around us, we are forced inward. In these periods of introspection, we need to hold onto certainty. That certainty is Jesus Christ.  We hold on to Him and all He stands for. We hold on to Him who transcends history. We hold on to Him who promises us eternal life. He provides the strength, the peace and the constant through the centuries.

This is the time when we should deepen our passion for the Lord and His kingdom. This is the time that we should contemplate how we will emerge from this pandemic. There is one path forward from this place. We commit to living our lives as if our individual lives were the only Gospel that people “encounter, hear and experience.”

Prayer of The Day

“Eternal God, who are the light of the minds that know you, the joy of the hearts that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you; grant us so to know you, that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom, in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Prayer of Saint Augustine)

Daily Note

We cannot be indifferent to the claims which Jesus makes on us. We are either for him or against him. There is no middle ground. We can try to mold the Lord Jesus to our own ideas and way of thinking or we can allow his word of truth to free us from our own sinful blindness, stubborn pride, and ignorance. Let each of us accept all that Jesus has taught and done for us with faith and reverence. The consequences are enormous, both in this life and in eternity.

Daily Reflection – 4/3/2025

Sacred Scripture

Jesus said to the Jews: “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life. “I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.  I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:31-47)

Reflection

Can you hear the frustration of Jesus in this Gospel passage? Does its message possibly reflect where you are?

Jesus’ opponents refused to accept his authority to speak and act in the name of God. And they refused to believe that he was sent from the Father in heaven. They demanded evidence for his claim to be equal with God. Jesus answers their charges with the supporting evidence of witnesses: John the Baptist, the miracles that Jesus performed, the authority of God, his father, and the words of Moses.

But for some in his audience it was not enough. For too many today, it is not enough.

Jesus said: ‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’  He is the source of our light.  It is Jesus who turns the darkness of our judgements, pettiness, prejudice, and discrimination into light.  When we have Jesus in our hearts and our lives then our attitude changes.  Jesus, the light of the world, helps us to emerge from our darkness and to walk in the light of faith and truth.

Yet far too many view this as a challenge. Again, and again, we are confronted with the light and truth of love and yet we close our hearts. We stumble away into some blind alley, clinging to the darkness that seems safe and familiar. We fail to open fully to the life-force that confronts us in the beauty of creation or some tender word of kindness or act of generosity. We turn away from the honest admonishment in a word of truth that we need to hear but refuse to accept.

We are like the people to whom Jesus spoke in John 5. We are faced with light and life but choose darkness and death. The beauty of life calls us to embrace the light of love that is embodied in Jesus in whatever way that light is manifest in our lives.

We are into the fourth week of what should be the Lenten conversion that God wants to work in us.  We need to ask ourselves how indifferent we are to everything God has given us to strengthen our faith and help us to grow in our relationship with Jesus.

Do we still have hatred in our hearts for some long-ago hurt? Do we let words of discrimination – no matter how subtle – leap from our mouths? Do we take the words of Scripture and twist them to fit our personal perspective? Do we wrap the cloak of frequent trips to Church to hide the fact that our daily lives do not reflect the teachings of Jesus Christ? Do we have jealousy in our hearts for someone that has more, acts better, or simply and sincerely tries to live the Gospel?

In the end, the final end, it all comes down to this — we can say that we believed, that we loved God but was that reflected in our lives? For the works that we performed will testify on our behalf.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may listen to your word attentively and obey it joyfully.”

Daily Note

Scripture tells us that God reveals himself to the lowly, to those who trust not in themselves but in God alone. The lowly of heart listen to God’s word with an eagerness to learn and to obey. The Lord Jesus reveals to us the very mind and heart of God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, he opens our ears so that we may hear his voice, and he fills our hearts and minds with the love and knowledge of God. Do you believe that God’s word has power to set you free from sin and ignorance and to transform you to be like him?

Daily Reflection – 4/1/2025

Sacred Scripture

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.'” They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the Temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a Sabbath. (John 5:1-16)

Reflection

That question was asked in Bethesda, but it is still being asked today.

Do You Want To Be Well?

Are you so numbed by the violence of the world that you no longer react? Are you carrying a personal tragedy whose weight is getting heavier and heavier? Do you just wish that someone or something would happen in your life to change it? To refresh it? To make you feel alive again.

You’re not alone.

Jesus is still asking you – asking all of us – that question. But until we can answer the question “Do you want to be well?” honestly, we are stuck on the mat.

We are all the man on the mat, we are all at various times, left behind – or at least it feels that way. We are all pretty used to our mat, even if we hate our mat.

 The first essential step is the desire for change. If we desire that change in our lives, we must be aware of our true inner condition.

That means truthfully admitting that we are spiritually dry. Or that we have rote actions and responses that make us look like a Christian. We must be ready not to answer the question of whether we attend Church but rather that the Church is in us.

We can’t ask to be forgiven if we have not forgiven. We can’t ask to be filled with his love if we are not responding in love.

Jesus wants our response to be filled with thirst and enthusiasm, “He wants us to say, “Yes, Jesus, I trust in you!”  In each miracle, Jesus did not cure merely a physical paralysis but a spiritual one, and he does it in such a way that he wants us, in faith, to trust in his healing power and cooperate, however little, in the miracle. He wants us to participate in our own healing and set out more fully on the journey of faith.

It’s critical that this Lent to ask ourselves whether we are advancing in His Living Water, whether we’re allowing Jesus to raise within us whatever is dead. Jesus wants to cure us of our spiritual stagnation! But he wants us to want to be cured!

Today, let’s begin walking with the Lord through our souls and heal our paralysis.

What is waiting for us beyond our paralysis is truly amazing.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord Jesus, I look to you with faith, knowing that you are the Lord of all. I hope in your boundless mercy since without you I can do nothing. I want to love as you deserve, so I come to you in this prayer to console you and bring you the joy of this moment together. Help me to be humble of heart so you will heal me.”

Daily Note

That is a good question to ask ourselves as we travel through Lent.  Do we have any idea what God’s will is for our lives?  Are we learning to listen to Him a little more each day, through an active prayer and sacramental life?  If we have not grown very much closer to God during this Lenten season, then perhaps today’s readings could be taken as a reminder to seek the Lord in prayer and listen for Him in periods of silence throughout our day.  Self-will is a good thing, but God’s will is even better.

Daily Reflection – 3/31/2025

Keepers Of The Tabernacle

Faith Series

Sacred Scripture

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea. (John 4:43-54)

Reflection

Today’s Gospel is all about faith – solid, unwavering faith. The kind of faith that we all need.

Events around the world witness to the need for solid faith. A faith that cries out each day “Lord, I trust in you.”

We need to understand and believe that the grace of faith given to each of us is the rock unto which we need to moor the essence of our lives.

Too often we over-think and question how God is working in our lives and where he is trying to heal and love us. At one point we may believe wholeheartedly in his power to save and heal and a moment later we may completely doubt his love.

Our faith needs to be anchored in both our mind and our emotions.

We know that Jesus lived. Throughout the centuries, many have tried to debunk that and make it a question. But there is too much history that He lived. His life is proven by the thousands of his followers who died for Him as He does for us. Men, women, and children who went to their deaths because they believed.

And believe we must.

Our lives are richer, more powerful and more at peace when our faith is active. An active faith is simply one that is not only present but ALIVE in us. We walk with Jesus, we talk with Jesus, we trust in Jesus.

Faith is not contained in a prayer by itself. Faith is not practiced solely by going to Church. Faith is a constant companion each day of our lives.

Do we only believe in Jesus if He answers our prayers exactly as we request? Or do we trust that no matter the outcome, our God is there to strengthen us, to guide us, and to lead us home. Do we truly believe that Jesus does gift and grace us?

We need to be open and to listen deeply. Jesus WILL answer our prayer. We need to be open and trust Jesus to bless us and grace us, as we truly need!

We must hold on tightly to our faith in Jesus and never give up no matter what our present circumstances are. Our faith in Jesus is much bigger than any trial or problem that we may face. Our faith in Jesus is far stronger than any sickness that could kill our bodies but not diminish our rock-solid faith in Jesus. 

Jesus’ miraculous healings show his generous kindness and extravagant love – a love that bends down in response to our misery and wretched condition. Is there any area in your life where you need healing, pardon, change, and restoration? If you seek the Lord with trust and expectant faith, he will not disappoint you. He will meet you more than halfway and give you what you need. The Lord Jesus never refused anyone who put their trust in him. Surrender your doubts and fears, your pride and guilt at his feet, and trust in his saving word and healing love.

Today, right now, is a good time to reflect on your own level of faith and trust.  And work to discern the actions of God in your life so that those actions produce greater faith.  Cling to Him, believe He loves you, know that He holds the answer you need and seek Him in all things. 

He will never leave you.

Prayer of The Day

“Lord, please increase my faith.  Help me to see You acting in my life and to discover Your perfect love in all things.  As I see You at work in my life, help me to know, with greater certainty, Your perfect love.  Jesus, I trust in You.”

Daily Note

John concludes his Gospel by saying, “He and his whole household came to believe.” He helped his family grow to faith that it was precisely Jesus’ healing word that worked the miracle. The Lord Jesus wants us to help us to grow to a similar responsiveness, to walk by his word in faith, to trust in his word, to journey according to his promises.