REFLECTIONS TODAY Jn 20:19-23 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 and his side. The...
REFLECTIONS TODAY After receiving his mandate from Jesus to feed the Lord’s flock, Peter asks Jesus about the Beloved Disciple. Given the context of Jesus’ prediction that Peter will die a martyr, Peter most probably asks about the fate of the Beloved Disciple. Jesus does not directly answer...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The human person is known in the first place by the name given him or her. The name does not just point out the person but stands for his personality, his character, and even his mission. A Latin saying goes, “Nomen est omen” — The name is power or luminous sign. In the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The world (Greek kosmos) means the totality of God’s creation, including the whole of humanity. God saw that it was “very good” (Gn 1:31). In John, the world may also stand for those who oppose God’s will and purpose. This world, though created through the Word, is ruled...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Mt 28:16-20 The Eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The figure of a woman in labor is a traditional biblical metaphor used for the sufferings that will herald a new age. God says to the first woman, Eve, “In pain you shall bring forth children” (Gn 3:16). Speaking of the great tribulation at the end of the age, Jesus refers not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Greek mikron (“a little while”) refers to a brief period of time. This expression of Jesus, which appears only in John’s Gospel, is a veiled reference to his approaching death and resurrection. He would be quickly taken from the disciples by death. This event would...
REFLECTIONS TODAY When he comes, the Spirit of truth will reveal to the disciples “the things that are coming” (v 13)—not new revelations but the “new order of things” that will come with Jesus’ death and resurrection. The mystery of God has already been revealed by Jesus. The Holy...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In John, “sin” refers to the unbelief that Jesus encounters among the Jews; they do not believe in him. They reject his mission of “righteousness,” that is, of proclaiming God’s saving plan for men and women. This message includes judgment or “condemnation” of the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,...
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 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...
