A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

Jesus is the Christ.  To know him so makes us acknowledge that we are not worthy of him and spares us, too, of all disappointment. Those who come from Jerusalem do not receive John’s baptism; they are there to grill him and judge him.  The priests and the Levites...

Jesus is the beginning and the end, and the source and the summit of the Good News.  That is why we point to him by our words and deeds. Mark presents the beginning of the Good News.  But right away he speaks of Isaiah and John.  The last fulfills the prophecy about a...

Jesus is coming, but we do not know when.  So, we have to watch. It seems odd that we are to look to the end at the beginning of the liturgical year.  For we are urged to watch and wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.  He will come, yes, but we do not know...

Christ the King is not one to judge by the way we look.  And on the last day, his teachings, by words and deeds, will be our judge. The Church has been urging us, for two Sundays now, to watch and be ready for the coming of Jesus in glory.  And today the teaching is...

Jesus shares with us his anointing and mission to bring the Good News to the poor.  He gives tasks to each one according to one’s ability. By the grace of God, we have the ability to believe in Jesus.  But when he comes after a long time, will he find faith on earth?...

Jesus Christ will come at an hour that we do not expect.  That is why we must be ready and be among the bright, not among the dull. Four Sundays ago, we heard that among God’s guests were bad and good folks.  Today we hear that the bright and the dull make up those...

Jesus shows us by words and deeds what true happiness is.  That is because he wants us to be happy and glad to the fullest. Jesus proclaims happy the wretched in the eyes of the world.  That is to say, he breaks the mold:  he announces a counterculture; he fosters...

Jesus embodies the truth that good deeds are love and not good words and reasons.  Do we really live up to this truth? We are often encouraged to love God (SV.EN XI:32).  “But let it be with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brows.”  That is to say, love...

Jesus probes the heart and searches the mind.  That is why those who seek to catch him and set a trap for him fall into it themselves. The Pharisees and their followers are against the payment of taxes to Caesar.  The Herodians, on the other hand, are for it.  But it...