Jesus Assures that God Cares About You                   Matthew’s Gospel should be read in the context of Matthew’s intended audience, a Jewish-Christian community. The Gospel alludes to the dangers and persecutions that this community has most likely already faced and will continue to face. To reassure this community, Matthew recalls for them the encouraging words…

            Jesus Sends the Twelve Apostles to Proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven                               In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares his mission to proclaim the kingdom of heaven with his disciples. The signs of the kingdom’s presence consist of the work that Jesus has already been doing: the sick are cured, lepers are cleansed, demons are driven…

The feast and its objectives                   Today, we celebrate the solemn feast of Corpus Christi. It is three feasts in one: the feast of the Eucharistic sacrifice, the feast of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the feast of the Real Presence of Jesus in this Sacrament.  Corpus Christi is a doctrinal feast established for three purposes:  1)…

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity                 The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 234) teaches that the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God Himself — the source of all other mysteries of faith and the light that guides…

             Pentecost Feast                   Pentecost Sunday is one of the most important feasts of the Catholic Church, known as the “Birthday of the Church,” because it celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the Virgin Mary fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The word Pentecost means “fiftieth day.” Pentecost…

The Feast of Ascension of the Lord                 Forty days after Jesus’ Glorious Resurrection, Our Lord ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:6-11). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 665)  says, “Christ’s Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus’ humanity into God’s heavenly domain, whence he will come again (cf. Acts 1:11); this humanity in the…

                  To fully appreciate this week’s gospel reading, we must consider the context in which Christ spoke these words: to his disciples at the last supper. This context is important to fully embrace what Jesus means when he emphasizes that if we love him, we will keep his commandments. Jesus washed the feet of his…

The disciples in today’s gospel: Shaken, but together, returning to that long Holy Thursday conversation, reaching to recall every word from their last time together when he was alive. In all that grief and fear and uncertainty, came a call they struggled to understand: “Where I am going, you know the way.” They heard that…

OUR FASCINATING FAITH                 Jesus, the Good Shepherd, tells us that he calls his own sheep by name and those sheep respond by following him. Unlike the early disciples, we do not have the benefit of hearing the Lord Jesus call us by name. Or do we? Through the centuries countless men, women, and children…

In today’s Gospel, we may be surprised to learn that these friends of Jesus could walk and converse with him at some length yet not recognize him. We learn that the first community met and recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, just as we meet Jesus in the Eucharist. We can imagine the…