A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

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...

No one feels more for us in our needs than the one who lays down his life for us. Those who, seeing signs, go to him and believe in him will never hunger. The crowd finally finds the one they are seeking.  But he does not seem to be as welcoming as when he fed them. ...

Jesus feeds us.  He wants us to do for others what he does for us, giving him the little we have, so that we all may have our fill. The disciples think that to answer for those who have nothing to eat means not to answer for them at all. That is because, according to...

Jesus is the shepherd that God has raised up in these last days.  He responds to the needs of those who are like sheep without a shepherd.  Are we that responsible? The rulers of the people are not responsible.  So, they are condemned by the one who has appointed them...

Jesus, though without sin, embodies what it means to repent.  He calls us to preach repentance and become the visible and effective sign of what we preach. Jesus begins his public ministry, proclaiming:  “The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe in the...

Jesus is the definitive answer to the prayers of those who bemoan that there are no prophets.  That is how wanted prophets are. That prophets are that wanted is clear in the lament, “Now we see no signs, we have no prophets.”  We read something like it in Lam 2, 9. ...

Jesus wants to bring light to those who live in the shadow of death. If we just have faith and Jesus’ sensitivity, his wish for us will come true. Neighbors and relatives rejoiced with Elizabeth. But they did not really experience her sensitivity to the merciful God....

Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person.  It is fitting, then, that his Forerunner has John (“God has shown favor”) for a name.  Fitting, too, that Scripture accounts about John instruct us. Neighbors and relatives are going to name Elizabeth’s son after her husband. ...

Jesus is the Sower of the seed of the kingdom of God.  This Teacher wants his disciples to imitate him and be sowers who put their trust in God and are persevering. Our own failures and opposition from people can easily discourage us and make us tire of doing good. ...