6th Sunday of Easter - C (May 26, 2019)

“My Peace”

John 14: 23-29

“My peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”

We chase after so many things – power, control, wealth, possessions, gadgets….

None of these can ever give us absolute satisfaction lasting peace.

Jesus spoke these words to Jesus shortly before he was taken away from the disciples, tortured, and crucified.

We know the rest of the story – from the experiences of those disciples.

These same words that Jesus speaks to us today might serve as a good reminder.  Maybe I should reevaluate my value system. 

Do I allow Jesus and his peace reign in my heart and my life?

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5th Sunday of Easter - C (May 19, 2019)

“As I Have Loved You”

John 13:31-33a, 34-35

We are familiar with the commandment “Love your neighbors as yourself.”  In this Gospel, however, Jesus sets a new standard, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

Jesus gave this new standard during the Last Supper, “when Judas had left them.”  This details gives us the context of “the hour” of the crucifixion.  It is also the hour when one of Jesus’ friends betrayed him, and the others abandoned him. 

The moment of the cross is the climax of Jesus’ love for us.  Jesus loves us not because we deserve his love. 

And that is the standard of love that Jesus gives us: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

4th Sunday - Good Shepherd Sunday - C (May 12, 2019)

“I Know Them”

John 10:27-30

“I know them, and they follow me.”

This verse from the Gospel for this Good Shepherd Sunday tells us much about the Christian vocation.  The call to follow Jesus is a gift of love from the God who knows me. 

Thus, following Jesus according to my unique vocation is my response to his love.

In so doing, I “may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth” (First Reading). 

Today, we thank God for our mothers – by living their vocations, they bring God’s love to us and the world.

On this Good Shepherd Sunday, please pray for priests and religious, and for more vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.  

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

3rd Sunday of Easter - C (May 5, 2019)

Jesus Reveals Himself

John 21: 1-19

The risen Christ revealed himself to the disciples then and still to us “in this way,” which actually is more than one way.

-       He is present to them in their struggles & shows them the way

-       He speaks to them, calling them “children”

-       He gets them to work together (they cast the net at his command)

-       At his instruction, they pull in all sorts of fish

-       He feeds them

-       He invites Peter to know his love and to love him more deeply

-       He commissions Peter to “feed my sheep”

Image source:  www.agnusday.org