“Come and see.” Nathanael comes to know Jesus through the invitation of another—Philip. At first, seemingly contemptuous of anyone from Nazareth, Philip convinces him to at least go and see for himself. The story takes an interesting turn as Jesus praises him at the first meeting because Jesus saw him under the fig tree. The …
“You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart.” Jesus is once again tested by a scholar of the law. He asks, “What is the greatest commandment?” Jesus responds that it is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind. He immediately binds love of God to love of neighbor. …
Invite to the wedding everyone you find. Jesus provides yet another parable about the Kingdom of heaven—the Messianic banquet. In this reading, it is likened to a banquet. Unfortunately, the invited guests chose not to attend and even attacked the servants bearing the invitation. The king thus sends his invitation to all. The history of …
“Are you going to be envious because I am good?” At first reading, the grumblers in today’s gospel have a valid complaint. The latecomers should not receive the same amount as they. Of course, when taking the context into account, Jesus is making it clear that the Gentiles, although latecomers, would be fully sons and …
“Come and see.” Nathanael comes to know Jesus through the invitation of another—Philip. At first, seemingly contemptuous of anyone from Nazareth, Philip convinces him to at least go and see for himself. The story takes an interesting turn as Jesus praises him at the first meeting because Jesus saw him under the fig tree. The …
“God indeed is my savior” Today’s responsorial psalm from Isaiah is one singing exaltation to God. In the previous chapter, Isaiah praises God for restoring Israel and bringing the remnant of his people back to their land. The Father chooses to make his dwelling with his people. God, through his Son continues to provide deliverance …
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” Mary’s words of praise in the Magnificat, prayed nightly, can cause us to forget how profound the words are; we forget what Mary teaches us through them. Mary takes no credit for anything. She only points to God. Mary proclaims God’s care of the poor and lowly. …
If your brother listens to you, you have saved him. St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, “If we have no peace, we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” Today’s gospel reminds us of our responsibility. In this case, it is to call one another to greater holiness by a willingness to confront when …
Who is the most important in the Kingdom of Heaven? All of us have self-esteem issues at one time or another—either too little or too much. Today Jesus teaches us to be like little children, the lesser ones in society. They are the greatest in the Kingdom. We are to be as humble as they. …
They will kill him, but he will rise again. This is an odd story with Jesus telling the disciples of his coming passion and resurrection followed by a tax question and a fish with money inside! In the previous chapter, Jesus tells the disciples the same thing regarding the coming passion and Peter reacts strongly. …
