FEAST OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA “When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you to the full Truth.” Jn. 16:12-15 In his farewell, Jesus spoke insistently of the Holy Spirit. He has defined Him

“If I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you.” (Paraclete, Defender) Jn. 16:5-11 The announcement of his departure filled the hearts of the disciples with sadness. Jesus insists that another “gift” is coming,

“The Spirit of Truth, which proceeds from the Father, shall bear witness to me.” Jn. 15:26, 16, 1-4b How we long to know Jesus! Today’s text gives us the key: it is his Spirit in us

“I will ask the Father to give you another Defender.” Jn. 14:15-21 Let us enter a little into the hearts of the disciples. Jesus that night does not look like his usual self; He has said things that

“A servant is not more than his master.” Jn. 15:18-21 Following Jesus and making his friendship the driving force in our lives sometimes brings difficult consequences. Living in this world according to the Master’s teachings is

“Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends…, you are my friends.” Jn. 15:12-17 Jesus continues to let his deepest feelings flow out of his heart: “I have loved

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” Jn. 15:9-11 How much outpouring of tenderness there is in the words of Jesus that night of his farewell. He opens his heart to show

“Without me, they can do nothing.” Jn. 15:1-8 How many times would Jesus see the branches of the vines, broken by the wind or by the action of the vinedresser. It occurs to Jesus then to

“Peace I leave with you; I give you my peace.” Jn. 14:27-31Another gift from Jesus: peace. The one that nothing and no one in the world can give or take away. Anything can happen, but that

“And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father.” Jn. 14:21-26 A popular saying is: “Actions speak louder than words”.  Jesus insists forcefully: “He who receives me and keeps my commandments, loves me.” To love

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jn. 14:1-12 Jesus begins by giving peace and security to his friends: “Do not be anxious.” That peace comes from faith in God, from faith in him. As

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name.” Jn. 14:7-14 The text proposed today ends with an announcement: “he who believes in me will do the works that I do, even greater ones”; and

FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”  Mt. 13:54-58 Jesus returns to his village, teaches in the synagogue, but leaves with disappointment in his heart. Those neighbors, relatives and acquaintances have heard about

“The servant is none other than his master, nor is the messenger more than the one who sends him.” (Jn 13:16-20) We close this month by returning to that moving scene: Jesus with the towel around

“I have come into the world as a light, that whoever believes in me should not continue in darkness.” (Jn. 12:44-50) Today, remembering the courageous Saint Catherine of Siena, Jesus invites us to come out of

“My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…” (Jn. 10:22-30) To recognize the voice of Jesus among so many noises and notifications of the day, we need to be somewhat

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (Jn. 10:11-18) A hired shepherd runs away when he sees the wolf, but Jesus does not. He stays, takes charge and

“I am the door of the sheep. He who enters through me will be saved.” (Jn. 10:1-10) On this Sunday of the Good Shepherd, Jesus tells us that He is “the door.” There are so many

“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me, and I in him.” (Jn. 6:52-59) “He in us and we in Him”… what a beautiful and profound intimacy! To receive Communion is not

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” (Jn. 6:44-51) Many people had a hard time understanding Jesus because He broke their calculating schemes. A God

“This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life.” (Jn, 6:35-40) Today, the Gospel proposes to us a great reversal in the face of

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.” (Jn. 6:30-35) We all carry within us emptiness, a thirst for love and

“Work, not for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life.” (Jn. 6:22-29) Today a good part of humanity lives running all day, chasing achievements, recognition, money… And at the end of the

“Did not our hearts burn as He spoke to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” (Lk. 24:13-35) We return to the road to Emmaus. When we flee disenchanted because things didn’t go

“It is I, do not be afraid… Immediately the boat touched land where they were going.” (Jn. 6:16-21) The night is dark, the wind is blowing brutally, and Jesus’ friends feel the boat sinking. How many

“Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that for so many?” (Jn. 6:1-15) In front of a hungry crowd, the easiest thing to do was to cross your

“He who comes from on high is above everyone. He who is of the earth is of the earth…” (Jn. 3:31-36) We live in a world that makes a lot of noise, that pushes us to

“God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that none of those who believe in him should perish.” (Jn. 3:16-21) This is the heart of the Gospel: God loves for us is beyond

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent … the Son of Man must be lifted up.” (Jn. 3:7-15) To look at Jesus lifted up on the cross is not to look at failure, but to contemplate

“Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn. 3:1-8) That evening talk with Nicodemus is an invitation to reinvent ourselves, to be born again. Sometimes we become