REFLECTIONS TODAY The basic nourishment for the human body is food and drink. People, Jesus says, ask, “What are we to eat?” or “What are we to drink?” (Mt 6:31). These are legitimate concerns, but life is more than food and drink that satisfy the body. Here in the Gospel, Jesus offers to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Luke 24:35-48 The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them 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...
REFLECTIONS TODAY “I am” is how the Lord God refers to himself in the Old Testament, especially when he makes his presence felt by his people to help them overcome fear. When God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush, he tells him, “I am who I am… This is what you will tell the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY To “believe” (Greek pisteuein), one of John’s favorite expressions, does not just mean to hold on to some opinion or truth; it connotes total confidence in Jesus. Its Hebrew equivalent is AMAN which has to do with trustfulness. Jesus is “the AMEN” because he is faithful...
REFLECTIONS TODAY “For God so loved the world, he gave us his only Son, Jesus Christ our Savior, his most precious one”—this line taken from today’s Gospel opens Tell the World of His Love, the official theme song of World Youth Day 1995 in Manila. The song continues to be sung in Masses...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In their conversation, Jesus is addressing not only Nicodemus, but also Judaism which Nicodemus represents. Contrast is made between Jesus and Nicodemus who is a teacher of Israel who teaches people the Torah (Law) which Moses received from God on Mt. Sinai. But Jesus is far...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The “immaculate conception,” whi ch makes Mary, the young woman of Nazareth, “highly favored” (kecharitomenē) by God, does not dispense her from natural human reaction before the divine revelation. She is greatly troubled at what was said by the angel, like Gideon when...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • John 20:19-31 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus’ resurrection was something new to the disciples, or to anyone else. It is not coming back to life as in the case of Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, or the son of the widow of Nain. When Jesus first intimated that he would rise from the dead, the disciples were...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Those who deny the reality of resurrection of the body claim that Jesus rose from the dead in a spiritual sense and that he showed himself to the Apostles only in a vision. They say that the memory of Jesus is so alive among his disciples that they would think of Jesus as...
REFLECTIONS TODAY John dramatizes the encounter between the risen Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Even though Jesus stands plainly in sight, Mary does not recognize him. He asks her, “Whom are you looking for?” (v 15) — a question that probes discipleship (Jn 1:38- 39, where the early disciples...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Money is very much involved in the plan to destroy Jesus. The chief priests paid Judas Iscariot 30 pieces of silver to hand Jesus over to them (Mt 26:15). They thought they have succeeded in getting rid of Jesus by having the Romans crucify him. But God frustrates their evil plan....
