“Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.” (JN 12: 1-2)
Counting down: “six days before Passover.” Our Lord’s life is focused on us: “Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was” and had a good time with friends: “they gave a dinner for him there.” This is all His life: focusing on others and looking for time to spend together. And after six days, He will offer His life for us–to make our eternity with Him possible.
“Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our faults.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.” (IS 50: 4-5)
One of our daily rituals is to listen to His words and His messages and to follow His directions. He knows how important it is for us to go in the right direction. This is only possible because “He opens my ear that I may hear.” Our Lord didn’t leave us His writings; He left us Himself—He is the Word— living and creative, joyful and hope-filled. He is the living Word, God the Son, and He—“morning after morning”— wants to speak to us, be with us, assist us and lead us to Heaven to be with us for eternity.
“Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.” (EZ 37: 27-28)
We belong to Him. We are His beloved children. Our Lord is happy to be with us: “my dwelling shall be with them, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” He makes us holy, protects us and assures us that His “sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.”
“Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (JN 10: 37-38)
In many places in Scripture, we can see how much Jesus loves His Father. Whatever He did, it was because He wanted to show us His “Father’s work.” Our Lord calls all His works His “Father’s work.”
“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.” (Gospel Acclamation)
Jesus said to the Jews: ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’” (JN 8: 51)
Every day we receive a small portion from the Bible: from the Old and/or New Testament. This is like the manna received daily by Israel when they traveled to the Promise Land. We travel also on our journey to Heaven, and we need daily nourishment to be strong, to be able to walk, to know how to fight difficulties and to protect our relationships. “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The easiest way to apply the readings is to remember one sentence or situation from the daily readings and to keep it in our hearts and minds. We will see how often these words will help us to understand why something happened or what God’s plan for it was. “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” (DN 3: 95)
We are never alone, we are always protected by our Guardian Angels. Every Guardian Angel is a unique person, who was asked by God to be a Guardian Angel: “Blessed be the God… who sent his angel.” One Guardian Angel for one person, forever. Without breaks, without offending, always with me, always protecting, inspiring and helping. We can ask our Guardian Angels to help us with difficulties in our relationships, in our spiritual plans for growing, to find better strategies in prayer or how to fight better with my temptations. He is always with me.
“Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“So they said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.’ They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.” (JN 8: 25-27)
One of the most crucial questions in our lives is: Who is He, Our Lord? Not just for me (because I can put everything here: a myth, a friend, a historic person), but Who is He really? When St. Peter recognized the truth about Our Lord: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (MT 16: 16), he received as an answer: “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (MT 16: 18). Only looking at Him, we can recognize the ultimate truth about us, our nature and our mission. The better we recognize ourselves, the better we serve.
“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“They said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?’ They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.” (JN 8: 4-6)
We can use hundreds of tools every day to achieve our ends; we can use, as a means to an end, everything, but not persons, because we are human beings, not human doings. “This woman” was used at least twice: first “in the very act of committing adultery” and second “they said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.” This contemporary culture tries to convince us that our happiness is based on things we can have and use and that it is ok to use others as a means to an end if the other person is ok with this.
We don’t like this approach. We respect people. People can’t be used as a means to an end. Women are not for bringing pleasure or delivering children. Women are for being loved and respected and for being wives and mothers. When there are some complications—we help, support, and cure. We do not give babies to women, using them as a means to an end (like IVF does); we respect their dignity and help them to become mothers with their husbands as the fathers.
“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live.” (Gospel Acclamation)
Homily for Education Phase II at Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study on Human Reproduction (for FertilityCare Practictioners and NaProTECHNOLOGY Medical Consultants)
“I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.” (EZ 37: 14)
St. Paul speaks today about two options we have: to be “in the flesh” or, on the contrary, to be “in the spirit.” Those who are “in the flesh” forget about their dignity; those who prefer to be only “in the spirit” forget that we are “an incarnate spirit,” “a soul which expresses itself in a body and a body informed by an immortal spirit” (FC 11). When we are focused on bodies, serving our patients or clients as doctors or practitioners, we need to remember whom we serve. We respect “bodies” because Our God “put His spirit in us that we may live.” Our patients or clients deserve the best service “in the flesh” to receive benefits “in the spirit” at the same time.
“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.” (Gospel Acclamation)
Homily for Education Phase II at Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study on Human Reproduction (for FertilityCare Practictioners and NaProTECHNOLOGY Medical Consultants)
“So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not bring him?’ The guards answered, ‘Never before has anyone spoken like this man.’” (JN 7: 45-46)
I believe that in Heaven we will be the happiest just listening to Our Lord. He is not only God, not only the Word, but also the One Who came to tell us about God’s love for us, and “never before has anyone spoken like this man.” For eternity we will listen to Him–about His love for us, about how important we were and are to Him, and we will “keep His words with generous hearts,” and we will praise Him forever.
“Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.” (Gospel Acclamation)
