REFLECTIONS TODAY To “remain” (Greek menein) with Jesus is an important Johannine theme. It does not only mean to stay with Jesus, but to “know” him, to have a close relationship with him. The intimate union between the Father and Jesus is the model for the disciples’ relationship with...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The three most important agricultural plants in Israel are the wheat or barley (for grain), the vine (for wine), and olive trees (for oil). Metaphorically, Israel is compared to the vine (Ps 80:9). It was brought out of Egypt (the Exodus story) and planted in the promised land. It...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Discipleship is a union of intimate love with Jesus, but love is not to be interpreted merely as emotion. It is also a matter of human decision and action. The one who truly loves Jesus is he who keeps his commandments, or better, the “new commandment” of love, and this is to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY John 14:1-12 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Greek term monai (singular, mone), here rendered as “dwelling places,” is related to the verb menein, which means “to stay, remain, or abide with.” By mone, John refers to the place (state or situation) where the disciples can abide with the Father and with Jesus....
REFLECTIONS TODAY In allusion to the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, Jesus quotes a passage from Scripture, “The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me” (v 18). This is from Psalm 41 (v 10), a psalm of lament of one who is sick. He is visited by people who speak without sincerity,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The people cannot grasp the meaning of Jesus’ miracle in feeding the multitude because of their overly materialistic concern. Here they are after food which Jesus can give; they expect another multiplication of bread. He tries to raise their thoughts to a higher level by telling...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In his apostolic letter Patris Corde, Pope Francis presents St. Joseph as a working father: “St. Joseph was a carpenter who earned an honest living to provide for his family. From him, Jesus learned the value, the dignity and the joy of what it means to eat bread that is the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Many people, including Jesus’ own disciples, cannot accept that Jesus is the life-giving revealer sent by God, that he is the bread of life come down from heaven. The test of faith is set before all the disciples, and “as a result of this, many of his disciples returned to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the Hebrew’s understanding, “flesh and blood” is their idiomatic reference to the whole person. Therefore, when Jesus insinuates in giving his flesh as food and his blood as drink, he actually indicates that his very person, the incarnated Son of God, is the life-giving...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In today’s Gospel, the evangelist John proposes two themes: Jesus is the bread from heaven, and this bread of life is prefigured in the Eucharist. At the very start of John’s Gospel, in the prologue, Jesus is already presented as the incarnate Logos—the preexistent Word of...
