A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

Jesus is a stronghold for the oppressed.  He wants us to shield the helpless.  And he commands us to count those who are nothing in the eyes of the world. One can suppose that women and children do not count in Herod’s world.  For he had no qualms about ordering the...

Jesus gives spiritual gifts to us who gather in his name.  He expects us to keep the wholeness and unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Right after Adam and Eve have given in to the serpent’s temptation, their personal wholeness starts to erode.  For they no...

Jesus saves and shelters those who are helpless as are children.  He puts his arms around them, heals them and feeds them with his body and blood. For the second time, Jesus announces to his disciples his passion, death and resurrection.  And no one among them dares...

Jesus is the Christ.  His mission is to bring the Good News to the poor.  He does not turn back in the face of hostility. After the disciples’ spokesman’s right confession that Jesus is the Christ, the latter warns them not to tell anyone about him.  That’s because he...

Jesus makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.  He wants us to hear clearly the word of God and to proclaim it rightly. Those who have witnessed the healing of a deaf-mute recognize that Jesus brings in the new creation.  They proclaim that the healer of the deaf and...

Jesus invites us to learn from him, for he is meek and humble of heart.  We show that we are true or false disciples by what comes out from inside our hearts. The Pharisees and the scribes question the religious observance of Jesus’ disciples.  And he, who...

Jesus has the words of eternal life.  True disciples hear and do his words, even though they may find them hard and painful to swallow. Those from Judea, who grumble against a Galilean from Nazareth and later quarreled among themselves, spread unbelief.  For, soon...

Jesus Christ offers us his flesh as true food and his blood as true drink.  If we eat his flesh and drink his blood, we have life within us. This time, Jesus does not spark murmuring but a quarrel.  They quarrel among themselves those who do not understand how Jesus...

Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven.  The hungry who eat him, the Word made flesh, will live forever. They murmur about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”  They behave as those hungry people who complained against God...