A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

Jesus encourages his followers as he bids them farewell.  He reveals that he is the way and the truth and the life. Jesus bids his followers farewell.  He knows it troubles them.  So, he says:  “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You have faith in God; have faith...

Jesus alone is the gate we cannot do without to attain salvation. He is the gate through which we come in and go out without arousing suspicion.  That is to say, coming in through him, we access lawfully and unquestionably the safety of the sheepfold.  And going out...

Jesus is the last word about unheeding, cold and uncaring hearts turning into hearts that listen, are burning and welcoming. The disciples heading toward Emmaus know that the word, like the flames shooting out of burning brush, spreads quickly.  Hence, the question of...

Granting us peace and entrusting us a mission, the risen Jesus makes the night shine as the day.  He thus arouses faith. As the night falls, the disciples look for safety in a house with locked doors.  That is because they are afraid of fellow Jews who sought the...

The risen Jesus is the dawn from on high.  When we love him and keep his word, our darkness fades. Mary Magdalen visits the tomb at dawn.  Seeing the tomb open, she worries just as the religious leaders do.  It worries them that someone may steal the body of Jesus....

Obeying God and keeping his word, Jesus dies on the cross.  Christians ought to die in the same way. We hear, not rarely, “Such life, so too the end.”  That is to say, we die as we live.  So, St. Vincent rightly teaches that to die like Jesus Christ, one has to live...

Jesus is the resurrection and life here and now for those who truly believe in him. We now experience in this earthly life anxieties, adversities, miseries and tragedies.  These things, however, should not worry us nor make us lose our peace.  In this regard, the key...

As he gives welcome to the marginalized, Jesus reflects the invisible God.  This God listens to the poor, executing justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriending the alien. Jesus is unlike those who walk around with blinders.  As he passes by, he sees a blind...

Meeting his thirst and hunger, Jesus gives us a model to follow, so that we may truly have our fill of water and food. Like us humans, Jesus gets tired and experiences thirst and hunger.  So, he sits down there at Jacob’s well in Sychar during the hottest part of the...