Anyone who looked, he lived

March 24, 2015 8:32 am

“‘Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.’ Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” (NM 21: 8-9)

We covered the crosses in our churches to prepare ourselves to see again, in a fresh way, the beauty of God’s love revealed on the cross. “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.” The cross helps us to understand how much we are loved, how important we are to God, and the price Our Lord paid to bring us freedom, dignity and the ability to love more and more, like He loves us.

“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.” (Gospel Acclamation)

The one without sin

March 23, 2015 9:21 am

“‘Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.” (JN 8: 7-8)

Where there is no sin, there is no place for mercy. Our Lord—a Merciful God—came to sinners, weak and sick, to bring them hope and give them freedom. “The one without sin” could be “the first to throw a stone at her.” A strange paradox: those who are sinners are less threatening to others than those without sin.

“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)

We would like to see Jesus

March 22, 2015 2:11 pm

“Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we would like to see Jesus.’” (JN 12: 20-21)

They were Greeks, not Jews, but “had come to worship.” Without coming to worship, they would never have asked to see Jesus. The less we pray, the less we see the need to be with Him. The more we pray, the more we see the importance of Our Lord’s presence in our lives, homes, work and relationships. When He is invited into our homes, worship becomes part of our lives too.

“Whoever serves me must follow me, says the Lord; and where I am, there will my servant be.” (Gospel Acclamation)

Like this man

March 21, 2015 5:56 am

“The guards answered, ‘Never before has anyone spoken like this man.’” (J 7:  46)

We have to wait until we go to Heaven where we will be able to listen to Our Lord. Now we have testimonials from the guards: “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” When we are in trouble or in a bad situation, we can think about His voice and listen to how He communicates with us to remember how much we are loved by God.

“Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.” (Gospel Acclamation)

Proof of his gentleness

March 20, 2015 7:12 am

“With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience.” (WIS 2: 19)

We know when a person is gentle or not. We like gentle people, and when we have an option, we prefer to meet with that kind of person, not with the opposite. Our Lord’s gentleness was put to the test “with revilement and torture… that we may have proof of his gentleness and his patience.” We need His gentleness absolutely, and we have to know that He will be, always andin any kind of situation, patient and gentle. We need it so much because the more we lose patience and gentleness, the more we need it.

“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Gospel Acclamation)

He did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him

March 19, 2015 9:00 am

“‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.” (MT 1: 20.24)

This amazing saint was so close to the Mystery of the Holy Family, true father to Our Lord and husband to Our Lady and at the same time so far from himself. Never concentrating on himself, he always focused on others—the perfect example of the gift of self. He is called in the Litany by many different names: Joseph most just, most chaste, most prudent, most strong, most obedient, and most faithful. St. Theresa of Avila used to say that we should “go especially to Joseph, for he has great power with God.” He is never forgotten in the Church but always hidden; there is nowhere his words are written in the Bible, but the lives of Our Lord and Our Lady depended on him. He is regarded as a very special protector not only for carpenters, home buyers, workers and patron for the dying, but also especially for families.

“Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord; they never cease to praise you.”

I will never forget you

March 18, 2015 7:13 am

“But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” (Is 49: 14-15)

“Can a mother forget her infant?” asks the Bible today and answers: yes, it could happen, but there is always our God, Who “will never forget you.” This is truly Good News—there is always hope because we are His beloved children.

“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die.” (Gospel Acclamation)

No one

March 17, 2015 8:59 am

“When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be well?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.’” (Jn 5: 6-7)

This is the saddest message: “I have no one to put me into the pool.” He was ill for 38 years and was totally alone, even surrounded by many like he: “a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.” Maybe, in the beginning of his illness, there was someone who took care of him. Maybe friends visited him regularly, but now—he is alone. Jesus’ love is always with us; we are never alone, and He is never tired of asking us: “Do you want to be well?” Did you answer Him?

“A clean heart create for me, O God; give me back the joy of your salvation.” (Gospel Acclamation)

New heavens and a new earth

March 16, 2015 8:45 am

“Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people.” (IS 65: 17-19)

Redemption means a new creation, and new creation needs “new heavens and a new earth.” Redemption causes us to rejoice and “to be a delight.”  Whatever we do for God, we should do it with joy and happiness. We are invited to seek God’s creation and to be focused on the good.

“Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the LORD will be with you.” (Gospel Acclamation)

We are His handiwork

March 15, 2015 7:00 am

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;  it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” (EPH 2: 8-10)

God’s incredible love for us takes care of everything: our past, when we were sinners: He saved us and “it is the gift of God”; and our present, when we are believers: we are “created in Christ Jesus for the good works,” and “God has prepared” them in advance. His grace gives us salvation and good works “that we should live in them.” He wants for us only one thing–that we will have in Him eternal life.

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.” (Gospel Acclamation)