A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

Hand over the Body and Shed the Blood

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...

Sap of Life, Strength and Fruitfulness

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...

Ruler and Savior, Lord and Messiah, Good Shepherd

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...

Catch the Good News of Jesus Christ

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...
Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Jesus is the peace between natives and foreigners, whites and blacks, men and women.  One, then, need not be upset by the other. Jesus says good-bye at length to his disciples.  For he wants them to keep their faith in him; he does not want trials to upset them. No,...

Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Distinctive Mark of Christ’s Disciples

Jesus is the proof that God loves us.  Sent by God, he teaches us to love.  He makes love the Christians’ distinctive mark and the means of salvation. Judas leaves so as to carry out fully the betrayal.  And this treasonous leave is a distinctive sign that Jesus’ hour...

Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Mind and Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus and the Father are one and of one mind and heart.  And to be a Christian means to have Christ’s mind and heart. Jesus walks about in the temple area on Solomon’s Porch or Colonnade.  It is a place many people go to, especially in winter.  For there, due to a...

Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Palpable, Touchable, Visible, True

Jesus makes palpable God, whom no one has seen or touched.  True disciples do not rest till their Teacher is palpable to them. Jesus knows that when he shows up risen, his disciples will think they see a ghost.  They will want him to be palpable.  That is why he has...

Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Live and Die as Jesus Christ Did

The risen Jesus is at God’s right hand and intercedes for us.  His love enables us to live and die as he did. There are in the New Testament paradoxical teachings.  These ideas, for instance, strike us as odd:  to die is to live, loss is gain, to serve is to rule,...

Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Palms of Martyrdom, of Witness

Jesus is the faithful witness and the King of martyrs.  To welcome him means to follow him to the end with palms in our hands. Of the four gospel writers, only John mentions palms.  Matthew and Mark speak only of “branches.”  Luke, for his part, says nothing at all...

Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Holy and Just in the Sight of God

Jesus ushers in the new creation. He comes to make all things new. Hence, he wants us to be just and holy. The prodigal son goes back home. He stands for those who are not holy: robbers, evildoers, adulterers, tax collectors. But as it turns out, the older son should...

Upset, Dismay, Annoy, Distress

Come to Our Senses about Our Sins

Jesus is divine mercy in person.  Hence, he is ready to forgive us if we come to our senses and decide to turn back to God. We have all to come to our senses and return so as not to perish.  For we all stray, those from Galilee or Jerusalem.  Those of us who are older...

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