Jesus brings in the new creation. The paradoxes that he lives and teaches let us know what the new creation means....
A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings
Fears the Sent Ones Must Overcome
Jesus comes to his own people and they persecute him. This will also be the fate of his disciples. They waver due to...
Sheep Who Do Not Have a Shepherd
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, seeks the good of the sheep. He is not like those who steal, slaughter and destroy as they...
Attest that Jesus Is among the Living
Jesus has risen and has appeared to his disciples. He chooses them as witnesses who will attest that he is alive. The disciples have not seen Jesus rise from the dead. At first, Mary Magdalen can only attest that she has seen the stone removed from the tomb. And for...
Hosannas that Cry Out for Sense and Truthfulness
Jesus is the awaited Messiah from king David’s lineage. That is why, as he enters Jerusalem, the crowds cheer him with hosannas. Jesus does not turn down the hosannas of the crowds, which shows that he is quite aware that he is the Messiah. He shows no inferiority...
Enlighten and Glorify Men and Women
Jesus has come to enlighten the Gentiles and to give glory to Israel (Lk 2, 32). Hence, he cannot but draw all to himself. Scholars say that the accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke show Jesus as the Suffering Servant. In John, on the other hand, Jesus is kingly and...
Crucified Jesus: Despair and Hope; Death and Life
Jesus, crucified for the wicked is the best proof that God loves us (Rom 5, 8). It is enough for us to gaze on him to believe and live forever. It seems odd to me that the serpent that brings death is the sign of healing (Num 21, 4-9). But Jesus goes along with the...
Hallow, Honor the Temple of the Lord
Jesus is the final temple that we must hallow. For through him, God is in the midst of the people in the best way that no one can surpass. Zeal for God’s house gets the better of Jesus. That is why he is mad at the merchants and money changers in the temple area. ...
Walk before the Lord with Faith
Jesus gives us a model to follow so that we may do what he does. We only need to walk with him to learn to walk before the Lord. One can guess that Abraham cannot help to walk sometimes with nearby peoples. It would be odd, then, if he does not know that they make...
Moments of Trial and Fall, Triumph and Grace
Jesus is the Good News for all the moments of joy, light, sorrow and glory. Are we his followers such Good News? Matthew’s account of the temptation of Jesus has eleven verses; Luke’s, thirteen. But there are just two in Mark's. The two show that Jesus spends...
Hands Outstretched to the Quarantined
Jesus stretches out his hand to the quarantined, marginalized, excluded, unclean. His followers are to stretch out their hands to them, too. The law asks quarantine for those with leprosy, though this may be no more than a skin eruption. And others should not touch...
Persevere in the Faith and in Service
Jesus does not lose heart till he brings justice to the earth. As disciples we are to follow him and to persevere in the faith and in service. Job muses that life is but a drudgery. Hence, he seems to lose heart; it seems he is not going to persevere. Never mind...
