A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings
Breath that Creates, Gives Life and Renews
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has come so that his followers, his sheep, may have life and have it to the full. He passes...
Emmanuel, That Is to Say, God-with-Us
Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, is Emmanuel, God-with-us. He is...
Defend Those Who Are Poor and Helpless
Jesus lives. That is why they see him and live those who believe in him, and love him. The Spirit of truth does not...
Bright and Dull in the Eyes of God
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...
Happy and Glad Followers of Jesus
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...
Deeds, Indeed, and Not Just Words
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...
Trap Is All It Is, There Is No Doubt
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...
Guests at the Kingly Wedding Feast
Jesus is the fullness of God’s revelation. And so through him, we get to know fully that God wants us all to be his pleasing guests. As it turns out, those who are to be the guests at the start are not worthy. And that is why the king thinks it fit to turn into...
Trustworthy and Fruitful Tenants
Jesus embodies the trust to the extreme that God puts in us. And such trust lifts us up so that we become fruitful, trustworthy and ready to give God the fruit that is due him. God must surely take us to be trustworthy. Or he would not lease us his vineyard. That...
Bond with God and with Human Beings
Jesus Christ embodies the genuine bond with God and with humans. Through him, fully revealed and done is the will of God. Jesus tells a parable to the chief priests and the elders of the people. Even we who live today understand it easily. That is because it is...
Equal Treatment of Everyone in Need
Jesus is the one who reveals God. This God is good to all and makes equal those who do little to those who do much. The God that Jesus reveals is very good. Equal to the landowner who goes out five times to hire workers, God gives livelihood to those who need it....
Seventy Times Seven: to Live Is to Forgive
Jesus fulfills the law and the prophets. That is why he corrects Peter and says that we have to forgive seventy times seven. We say, “Three strikes and you are out,” though we hear, too, “One is enough, two is too much.” So, seven is not a mean thing. If it seems...