A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

Jesus gives his body up and sheds his blood for us. He thus gives the greatest proof of love and is now the mediator of the new and better covenant. Jesus tells his disciples that the bread he is about to give them is his body. He, then, says also that the wine they...

Jesus has been given all power in heaven and on earth. So, he wants us to be teachers and baptizers of all nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  As they speak of the three persons in one God, Christian teachers and thinkers use...

Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit from the Father. This Spirit of truth is upon us to advocate for us who are weak but seek to fulfill our mission. Jesus knows that his disciples need an Advocate to speak up for them and defend them. After all, they show time and again...

Jesus has gone up to heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high as Lord.  He wants us to be as fully human and whole as he is.  On the Lord’s going up to heaven, we read that “to go up” means “to go down.” This matches another text that says Jesus...

Jesus gives us the greatest proof of love one can give. For he deigns to hand over his body and shed his blood out of love for us.  I can give away all I own to help the poor or even hand over my body to burn. Still, this does not always mean I love; I could do it for...

Jesus is the true vine.  He gives the branches that remain in him the sap that gives them life and strength and makes them bear plenty of fruit. Jesus uses the allegory of the vine and the branches. He does so since he wants to make clear how his disciples should...

Jesus is Ruler and Savior, Lord and Messiah.  Yet he lords over no one; he serves and is the Good Shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. A ruler among Jesus’ own should not at all be like a ruler among the Gentiles. The latter lords it over others. The former, on...

The one who has risen is the same Jesus of Nazareth that the disciples have known, loved and followed on the roads of Galilee.  To be his witness means to see to it that other folks catch the Good News.  Those who make up a group can easily catch each other’s fears or...

Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.  To believe in him means to know how to read, to grasp, his many signs in our midst.  We read, as we come to the end of today’s gospel, “Jesus did many other signs.”  So then, we can take it that his rising from the dead is one of...