A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings
Fill Our Life with Jesus Christ
Jesus is the bread of life. Those whose life is full of him have their fill. To go to him and to believe in him is...
Homage to the King of the Jews and of All Nations
Jesus is the Prince of peace and sovereignty rests on his shoulders. We get to him, so we may do him homage, by the...
See and Hear the Word Made Flesh
Jesus is the Word made flesh and he is in our midst. Those who do not fail to see and hear him, and do what he says,...
Save What Is Lost, This Is What It Is About
Jesus, the Son of Man, has come to seek and to save what is lost. No, there are no lost cases for him. St. Luke tells us that Zacchaeus is a chief publican and a wealthy man. This means that, in the eyes of others, no one can save him. For he is a publican, that is...
Just Servants of the Holy Lord
Jesus is the image of the all-just God who alone is good. Before him and before God, no one is just. Last Sunday’s theme on prayer is back today. For Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. The two are in the temple to pray. And St. Luke lets us...
Cries of Those Who Are Poor for Justice
Jesus is the help that comes from above. He is at once the unflagging prayer for the poor and the saving answer to their cries. Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the widow and the judge. He wants to teach them how they should pray to the one who hears the...
Thanks to God through Jesus Christ
Jesus it is who teaches us by word and by deed to give to God the right thanks that we owe him for the gifts we freely receive. The Samaritan, who sees that he is free of leprosy and goes back to give Jesus thanks, breaks the mold. For he is a foreigner that Jews...
Freely You Receive, Freely Give Also
Jesus has redeemed us by his blood. We do not pay, nor can we pay, for our redemption; we receive it freely. Faith is a divine gift (Rom 12, 3; Phil 1, 29; 2 Pt 1, 1). Those who believe only have it by God’s grace; they receive it freely. And it is safe to say that...
Crucible That Tests Our Hearts
Jesus is the only one that his disciples need to know and speak of. From the cross, he proclaims that those who are his go through the crucible. They thus get to be just like him. “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the one that tests...
Cut off from Us All Self-Sufficiency
Jesus is “God-with-us.” And that is why disciples should not cut off God and their neighbor from their lives. The man whose life is one of luxury and show is very rich: stylish clothes, lavish banquets. He is cut off, for sure, from the beggar; the two are worlds...
Money That Is Not Deemed Righteous
Jesus teaches us to worship the Father in Spirit and truth. He also warns us that we cannot serve God and money. Jesus frets till he serves to the utmost and gives up his body and sheds his blood to save us. Those who trample on the poor, on the other hand, fret...
Bother Those of Strict Observance
Jesus shows us God who is rich in mercy. He welcomes sinners and eats with them. This does bother not a few folks. Maybe the Pharisees and the scribes think Jesus likes to bother them since they are the guardians of the law. For he stands up to them when they tell...