A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

Jesus states he is a prophet with the same destiny as the other prophets rejected by their own people. He explains that he is God’s good and amazing Word to the poor. And right away he is revealed as a prophet. That is because, notwithstanding their initial expression...

Jesus has been sent to evangelize the poor. God anointed him with the Spirit for this mission. But to evangelize is not something “spiritual” in the sense of “unreal” or “useless” even. To evangelize is not just to announce the Gospel by word and in an abstract...

Changing water into wine, Jesus is manifested as the Author and Perfecter of the new thing prophesied in Is 43, 19: “See, I am doing something new.” Jesus makes use of “six stone water jars … for Jewish ceremonial washings.” Could this be another way of saying that he...

By being in solidarity with us, Jesus equips us for solidarity that will lead us to accept those we find difficult to accept. All the people come to John to be baptized. In solidarity with them, Jesus, without knowing any sin, submits humbly and prayerfully to the...

God reveals himself to the Gentiles who seek him with all their heart. He offers them the opportunity to be “coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” The Magi, wise for knowing how to recognize humbly that...

God’s gaze is on the lowly. He wants to turn slaves into adopted children. But how do those favored with God’s glance prove themselves? Possessing a penetrating gaze, God bypasses someone with an impressive appearance. He takes from the pasture the youngest, the last,...

God wants us, who belong to his family now, to love to the end. Interestingly, bêt’āb in Hebrew, literally “the father’s house,” is translated too as “family,” which indicates the patriarchal character of the Hebrew family. But, of course, there is in God no male...

The Savior comes with a great light to save us in an unexpected way. Now appears the grace of God. Though he may dictate to the whole world, Caesar Augustus does not save, nor does governor Quirinius, an opportunist among many, not even king David, who gives renown to...

Jesus is the only blessing we need. He becomes our blessing, our consecration, by doing God’s will to the end. Elizabeth blesses Mary. For this, she does not depend on either Zechariah’s priesthood or his maleness. He hardly figures in the scene dominated by two women...