“What is truth?” Pilate was the Roman king almost 2,000 years ago who asked this question of Jesus Christ.

People all over the world are seeking for truth. Who is the source of truth? Jesus Christ said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” He said, “In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Do you want to know truth? Study Jesus. Learn God’s Word. Be a person of truth. Speak the truth to people; speak the truth in love, but do not lie. God loves the truth.

This week, can you please pray that

• God’s truth will be known all around the world
• God will help you speak the truth in your every day life.

“Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.” Psalm 43:3

Gospel of the Day (Luke 4:16-30)

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.

He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?"

He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"

And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."

When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury.

They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.

But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

***

Reflections:

Be healed through faith and enter into true life

Namaan was a Syrian who had leprosy and was unable to be cured of it by anyone... He journeyed to Israel where Elisha commanded him to bathe seven times in the Jordan. Then Namaan started thinking to himself that there were rivers with better water in his own country where he had often bathed without ever being cleansed of his leprosy... Nevertheless he bathed and, being at once cleansed, understood that purification comes, not from water but from grace...

This is why you were told [at your baptism]: Don't believe only in what you see since you, too, like Namaan, might say: Is that all this great mystery is about? The mystery that «eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and that has not entered the human heart»? (1Cor 2,9). I see water just like the water I see daily! Is it able to cleanse me seeing how often I have gone down into it without ever being cleansed? Learn from this that water without the Spirit does not cleanse.

That is why, too, you have read that in baptism there are «three that testify, the water, the blood and the Spirit,» (cf. 1Jn 5,7-8). For if you leave out one of them the sacrament of baptism is no longer present. For what is water without the cross of Christ? Just an ordinary element without any kind of sacramental significance. In the same way, without water there is no mystery of new birth since «no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit,» (Jn 3,5). The catechumen is someone who believes in the cross of the Lord Jesus, whose sign he has received, but if he has not been baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he cannot receive the forgiveness of his sins nor amass the gifts of spiritual grace.

Namaan, the Syrian, went down into the water seven times according to the Law; but you have been baptized in the name of the Trinity. You have confessed your faith in the Father; you have confessed your faith in the Son and your faith in the Holy Spirit. Keep hold of this succession of events. In this faith you are dead to the world, raised up for God.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Mark 6:17-29)

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.

John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.

Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.

She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.

Herodias's own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."

He even swore (many things) to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."

She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."

The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."

The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.

So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison.

He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

***

Reflections:

"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness" (Mt 5,10)

The death of Christ stands at the head of an innumerable crowd of believers. Through this same Lord Jesus' power, and thanks to his goodness, the precious deaths of his martyrs and saints have given birth to a great multitude of christians. Indeed, never has the christian religion been wiped out by the persecution of tyrants or the indefensible murder of the innocent. Rather, it has drawn greater increase from them each time.

We have an example of this in Saint John, who baptised Christ and whose holy martyrdom we celebrate today. That faithless king, Herod, true to his oath, wanted to wipe out completely the memory of John from men's minds. Yet not only was John not destroyed but men in their thousands, inflamed by his example, have welcomed death with joy for the sake of justice and truth... What Christian is there worthy of the name who does not venerate John today, he who baptised the Lord? All over the world Christians honor his memory, all generations proclaim him blessed and his virtues suffuse the Church with their perfume. John did not live for himself alone and he has not died for himself alone either.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 24:42-51)

Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.

So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.

But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

***

Reflections:

Watching in prayer for the coming of God

To pray we have no need of gestures, cries or prostrations. A prayer that is both wise and fervent is one that is a waiting for God to come and visit our souls through every point of entry, in all its ways and through all its senses. Enough of our silences, groanings and weepings: let us seek nothing in prayer but God's embrace.

When we are working, don't we make use of every bodily fibre in the effort? Don't all our limbs take part in it together? Let our soul also devote itself wholly to prayer and love of the Lord; may it not allow itself to become distracted or pulled about by its thoughts; may it be focussed on Christ. Then Christ will give it light, will teach it true prayer, will give it that pure and spiritual supplication that is according to the mind of God, an adoration «in spirit and in truth» (Jn 4,24).

Someone employed in business transactions is not simply trying to make a profit. He also tries, by every means in his power, to increase it and make it grow. He undertakes even more trips and abandons those that seem to him to be fruitless; he does not set out unless in hope of a transaction. Like him, let us know how to conduct our soul along the most diverse and opportune ways. Then – O true and greatest profit! – we shall gain that God who teaches us how to pray in truth.

The Lord places himself within the fervent soul; he makes of it his throne of glory; he takes his seat within it and dwells there.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 23:27-32)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.

Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'

Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!

***

Reflections:

Lord, remove my heart of stone

It is for us to love Christ as he loved us. In this he left us an example so that we might follow in his steps (1Pt 2,21). This is why he says: «Set me as a seal upon your heart,» (Sg 8,6). It is as if he said: «Love me as I love you. Have me in your mind, your memory, your desire, your yearning, your sighing and your sobbing. Remember, mankind, how I made you, how I put you before all other creatures, how I ennobled you with such dignity, how I crowned you with glory and honor, how I made you only a little less than the angels, how I subjected all things under your feet (Ps 8, 6-7). Remember, too, not only the many things I made for you but what harsh and undeserved things I endured for you... If you love me, show that you love me! Love me in deed and truth, not with the word and tongue... Set me as a seal upon your heart that you may love me with all your strength»...

Take from me, O Lord, my heart of stone. Take away my hardened heart. Take away my uncircumcised heart. Give me a new heart, a heart of flesh, a pure heart! (Ez 36,26). You who purify the heart, you who love the pure heart, possess my heart and dwell within it.

Source: Daily Gospel

Faith is incredibly important in the Christian life. It is how we are saved -- “You are saved by grace through faith.”

How does this work? In our human minds, we may think that religion is just trying to be good enough. But Jesus Christ came and died on the cross in your place — and my place. He took our sins. So whatever your sins are, Christ died so you could be set free.

The Bible says, “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” So God does not love us because we are so good; He loves us because that is His nature.

By faith we believe that Christ died for our sins — and our faith is what brings the righteousness of God. This is what makes us a Christian.

So this week, let us pray that

• Millions of people will come to accept Jesus Christ as savior — by faith!
• You will be strengthened in your faith and your knowledge that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior

Faith is a wonderful freeing message — because none of us is perfect. God loves us and forgives us in Jesus Christ. “Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’”

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Galatians 3:26, 27

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 23:23-26)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. (But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others.

Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.

Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.

***

Reflections:

"Cleanse first the inside"

O my God, how wonderful is your love for us! You are infinitely worthy of being loved, praised and glorified! We are without either heart or spirit sufficient to this but your wisdom and goodness have given us the means to do so. For you have given us your Son's Spirit and heart to become our own spirit and heart as you promised us through your prophet: «I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you» (Ez 36,26). And that we might know what this new heart and new spirit are, you added: «I will put my spirit,» namely my heart, «within you» (v.27). Only the Spirit and heart of a God could be worthy of loving and praising God, able to bless and love him according to his measure. That is why you have given us your heart, the heart of Jesus, your Son, as well as the hearts of his divine mother and all the saints and angels who, together, make a single heart just as the head and members make a single body (Eph 4,16)...

So, my brothers, set aside your own heart, your own spirit, your own will, your own self-esteem. Give yourselves to Jesus so that you can enter into the depths of his heart, containing that of his mother and all the saints, and lose yourselves in that abyss of love, humility and patience. If you love your neighbour and have an act of charity to perform, love him and act towards him as you ought to do from within the heart of Jesus. If it is a case of humbling yourselves, let it be with the humility of that heart. If you should praise, adore and give thanks to God, let it be in union with the adoration, praise and thanksgiving bestowed on us through that great heart... Whatever you do, do all things in the spirit of this heart, renouncing your own and giving yourselves to Jesus so that you may act in the Spirit that animates his heart.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 22:34-40)

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them (a scholar of the law) tested him by asking, Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?

He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the greatest and the first commandment.

The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

***

Reflections:

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart"

We have received from God a natural tendency to carry out what he commands us to do and so we cannot rebel as though he were requiring something altogether unusual of us nor boast of ourselves as though we were giving out more than what has been given to us... By receiving the love commandment from God we have automatically come to possess from the first the natural faculty of loving. We did not find out about this from outside ourselves; each of us can realise it for themself since we naturally seek the beautiful...; without anyone needing to teach us, we love those who are related to us by blood or by marriage; and, finally, we show kindness to those who are kind to us.

Now, what could be more beautiful than the beauty of God?... What other desire is so burning as the thirst God stirs up in the purified soul who cries out with heartfelt emotion: «I am faint with love»? (Sg 2,5)... This beauty is invisible to bodily eyes; only the soul and the intellect can grasp it. Whenever it has shone on the saints it has left within them the dart of such a great desire that they cried out: «Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged» (Ps 120[119],5), «When shall I go and behold the face of God?» (Ps 42,[41],3) and «I long to depart this life and be with Christ» (Phil 1,23). «Athirst is my soul for the living God» (Ps 42[41],3)... This is how people naturally aspire towards the beautiful. But the good is also supremely lovable. Now, God is good; therefore all seek the good; therefore all seek God...

If children's love for their parents is a natural feeling that manifests itself in both animal instinct and in the human disposition to love the mother from babyhood, let us not be less intelligent than children nor more stupid than the wild animals! Don't let us stand before the God who created us like loveless strangers! Even if we haven't learned what he is from his goodness, yet we should love him above all else simply because we have been created by him, and hold fast to the remembrance of him as children do to the remembrance of their mother.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 22:1-14)

Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.

He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come.

A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."'

Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.

The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come.

Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.'

The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests.

But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.

He said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence.

Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'

Many are invited, but few are chosen."

***

Reflections:

«Come to the wedding feast»

In the visible world, if a very small people rise up against the king to make war on him, the latter doesn't bother to lead the operation himself but sends his soldiers with their captains and it is they who engage combat. But if, on the other hand, the people who rise up against him is very powerful and capable of ravaging his kingdom, the king feels he must undertake the campaign himself, together with his court and army, and lead the battle. See, then, what dignity is yours! God himself set out on campaign together with his armies, that is to say the angels and his blessed spirits, coming to defend you himself and deliver you from death. Take heart, then, and behold the providence of which you are the object.

Let us take another example from our present life. Imagine a king who meets a poor, sick man and does not turn away in disgust but heals his wounds with health-giving remedies. He takes him into his palace, clothes him in purple, puts a diadem on him and invites him to his table. This is the way in which Christ, the heavenly king, comes to man in his sickness, heals him and makes him sit down at his royal table, and all this without violating his freedom but drawing him on by persuasion to accept so high an honor.

Indeed, it is written in the Gospel how the Lord sent his servants to invite those who should have been delighted to come, and he sent them a summons: «My dinner is ready!» But those who had been called excused themselves... Do you see what happened? He who sent out the call was ready, but those who were called made off. So it is they who are responsible for their fate. This, then, is the Christian's great dignity. See how the Lord prepares the Kingdom for him and invites him to come in; but as for those others, they refuse to come. From the point of view of the gift they are about to receive we could say that, if someone were to undergo trials from the creation of Adam to the end of the world, they would have done nothing by comparison with the glory they will receive as an inheritance, for they must reign with Christ through endless ages. Glory be to him who has loved that soul so much and entrusted both himself and his grace to it! Glory be to his majesty!

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 20:1-16)

The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.

Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.'

So they went off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise.

Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'

They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'

When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'

When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage.

So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.

And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.'

He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?

Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?

(Or) am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?'

Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

***

Reflections:

Each in his own time

«You also go to my vineyard.» My brethren, you may perhaps ask why all these laborers were not sent into the Lord's vineyard at the same time? I reply that God's intention was to call them all at once. But they hadn't wanted to come as soon as they were called at the first hour and this was the cause of their refusal. That was why God himself went to call each one individually... at the moment when he thought they might turn back and respond to his invitation.

This is what the apostle Paul clearly notes with regard to himself: «When it pleased God, he set me apart in my mother's womb,» (cf Gal 1,15). When was it that it pleased God if not when he saw that Paul would surrender to his call? God would have liked to have called him, to be sure, at the beginning of his life, but because Paul would not have responded to his voice, God opted not to call him until he saw that he would respond. In the same way, God did not call the good thief until the last moment even though he could have done so earlier if he had foreseen that the man would have surrendered to his call.

And so, if the laborers of the parable say that no one hired them, we must remember God's patience... He himself demonstrates well enough that, for his part, he had done all he could to make it possible for all to come to him from the very first hour of the day. Thus Jesus' parable makes us see that people give themselves to God at very different ages. And God desires before all else to prevent those who were called first from despising the last.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 19:23-30)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."

Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?"

Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

***

Reflections:

"We have given up everything and followed you."

You have heard, my brethren, that Peter and Andrew abandoned their nets to follow the Redeemer at the first sound of his voice (Mt 4,20)... Perhaps someone will say to himself under his breath: «What have those two fisherman abandoned to answer the Lord's call? They had practically nothing.» But in this matter we should think of their disposition of heart rather than their fortune. The person who has not kept hold of anything for himself has left a good deal; the person who has forsaken everything has left a good deal, even if it is but small. As for ourselves, we passionately hold on to what we possess, and what we don't have, we pursue with all our desire. Indeed, Peter and Andrew left a great deal since both forsook even the desire to possess. They forsook a great deal because, in giving up their goods, they also gave up their covetousness. In following the Lord they gave up everything they might have desired if they had not followed him.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 19:16-22)

Now someone approached him and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"

He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, " 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother'; and 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

***

Reflections:

«Happy the poor in spirit» (Mt 5,3)

We should not reject those goods that may potentially be of use to our neighbor. It is in the nature of possessions to be possessed and that of goods to spread good. God intended them for man's well being. Our goods lie in our hands like tools, instruments that we can put to good use so long as we know how to wield them... Nature has made a servant of wealth, not a mistress. So we shouldn't decry it since it is neither good not bad in itself but completely neutral. We ourselves are alone responsible for the use, good or bad, which we make of it. Our minds, our consciences are entirely set free from disposing as they choose of the goods entrusted to them. What we should destroy are not our goods but the covetousness that perverts their use. When we have acquired integrity then we shall know how to use them with integrity. Those goods we are told to get rid of we should understand to be the unregulated desires of the soul... You gain nothing from depriving yourself of your money if you remain rich in unregulated desires...

See how the Lord conceived of the use of external goods: we need to detach ourselves, not from the money that enables us to live, but from the forces that cause us to use it badly, namely sicknesses of the soul...We need to purify our souls, that is to say, make them poor and naked and, in that state, listen to the Lord's call: «Come, follow me.» He is the way along which the pure of heart walk... Here is a man who thinks of his fortune, his gold, silver, houses, as graces from God, and he shows Him his thanks by succoring the poor from his own resources. He knows well that he possesses these goods more for the sake of his brothers than for himself; he remains stronger than his wealth and is far from becoming its slave; he does not lock it up in his heart... And if, one day, his money is about to disappear, he accepts his ruin with just as joyful a heart as in the days of his prosperity. Now this man, I say, God declares blessed and calls «poor in spirit» (Mt 5,3); he is a certain heir of the Kingdom of heaven, which will be closed to those who could not look beyond their own wealth.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Luke 1:39-56)

During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.

He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.

He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

***

Reflections:

"He lifts up the lowly"

It was right that the Virgin should be associated with her Son in all that regards our salvation. Just as she gave him a share in her flesh and blood... so she shared all his suffering and pain... She was the first to be conformed to the death of the Saviour in a death like his (Rom 6,5) and that is why, before all others, she shared his resurrection. Indeed, when the Son had shattered the tyranny of hell, hers was the happiness of seeing him risen and hearing his greeting, and she accompanied him, insofar as she was able, until his departure into heaven. After his ascension, she occupied the place among the apostles and his other disciples left empty by the Saviour... Was not this position more fitting for his mother than for any other?

Yet it was necessary that this most holy soul should be separated from its most sacred body. Having left it, she was united to the soul of her Son: created light united to light without beginning. And after her body had remained some time on earth, it, too, was carried up to heaven. For indeed it was right that it should follow the same path the Saviour had traversed, that it should shine out before the living and the dead, sanctify nature in all things and then receive the place that belonged to it. And so, for a short while, the tomb gave her shelter, then heaven received this new earth, this spiritual body, our life's treasure, more worthy than the angels, more holy than the archangels. The throne was restored to the king, paradise to the tree of life, the world to the light, the tree to its fruit, the Mother to the Son: she was wholly worthy of all this since it was she who bore him.

O blessed one! Who could find words to express the benefits you received from the Lord or those you poured out on all humankind?... Only on high can your wonders shine out, in that «new heaven» and «new earth» (Rev 21,1) where shines that Sun of justice (Mal 3,20) the darkness neither follows nor precedes. The Lord himself proclaims your wonders while the angels sing your praise.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 18:15-20)

If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.

If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'

If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.

Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

***

Reflections:

«I am there in the midst of them»

The Lord said: "If two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

These words prove that much is given not to the mere number but to the unanimity of those who pray. "If two of you agree on earth," he says, putting unanimity and peaceful concord first, teaching us to agree firmly and loyally. But how can one man agree with another when he disagrees with the body of the Church itself, with the whole brotherhood?... The Lord's words were spoken about his own Church and addressed to members of the Church. If they are agreed, if, as he commanded, but two or three are gathered together and pray with one mind, then, although they are but two or three, they can obtain from the divine majesty what they ask.

"Where two or three are gathered, I (he said) am with them." That means, of course, with the single-hearted and peaceable, with those who fear God and keep his commandments. With these, though but two or three, he declared his presence, as he was present also with the Three Children in the fiery furnace, and, because they continued single-hearted and of one mind, refreshed them with the breath of dew as the flames surrounded them (Dn 3,50); or as he was present with the two apostles in prison, because they were single-hearted and of one mind, and himself opened the prison gates (Acts 25,25)... So when Christ lays down with authority: "Where two or three are gathered, I am with them," he is not separating men from the Church which he founded and created. But he rebukes the faithless for their discord and with his own voice commends peace to the faithful.

Source: Daily Gospel

“My strength comes from the Lord.”

Where does your strength come from? If it comes from your bank account — or your education — or your emotions — then these things can fade.

“If God is for us, then who can be against us.” As a Christian, your true strength comes from Jesus Christ who lives within you. The good news is — you can never truly be defeated! If someone is stronger than you — they are not stronger than God. If someone is wiser than you — they are not wiser than God. Christ in you is the hope of glory.

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us.” So you can go into life victorious — because the God of the Bible lives in all those who have truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior.

This week, let us pray that

• God will help us reach even more people each week with the gospel of Jesus Christ
• God will help you know the power and strength that you have in Christ

God is in you! He is the source of the greatest power the world has ever known. “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”

“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31 - 39)

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 18:1-5.10.12-14)

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

He called a child over, placed it in their midst,

and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.

What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?

And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.

In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.

***

Reflections:

"It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost"

Come, Lord Jesus, seek your servant; seek your weary sheep; come, my shepherd... While you are lingering on the mountainside, see how your sheep is straying. Leave the ninety-nine that are yours, then, and come to seek out the one that has strayed away. Come, without finding others to help you, without heralding yourself: it is you I am waiting for. Don't take up your stick; take up your love. Come with the sweetness of your Spirit. Don't hesitate to leave behind on the mountainside the ninety-nine sheep that are yours; on the heights where you have set them, wolves cannot reach... Come to me who have strayed so far from the flocks up above, for that was where you had set me also until the night-wolves caused me to abandon your sheepfolds.

Seek me, Lord, since my prayer seeks thee. Seek me, find me, take me up, carry me! He whom you seek you can find; he whom you find, stoop down to take up; and he whom you take up, place on your shoulders. Your love's burden costs you nothing and you untiringly make yourself the toll-collector of justice. Come, then, Lord, for though it be true that I stray, yet «I have not forgotten your word,» (Ps 119[118],16) and I live in hope of cure. Come, Lord, you are the only one still able to call back your lost sheep and you will do no harm to those others you leave behind; they, too, will be happy to see the return of the sinner. Come! There will be salvation on earth and rejoicing in heaven (Lk 15,7).

Do not send your lesser servants; send no mercenaries: come yourself to seek your sheep. Raise me up in that same flesh that fell with Adam. By that action acknowledge in me, not the child of Eve but the son of Mary, virgin most pure, virgin by grace, without slightest taint of sin. Then hold me even on your cross, salvation of those who stray, only rest for the wearied, the one way for those who die.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 17:22-27)

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were overwhelmed with grief.

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"

Yes, he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?"

When he said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him, "Then the subjects are exempt.

But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you."

***

Reflections:

Set free by the Son of Man who was handed over into the hands of men

All peoples have been set free from the powers that held them captive by our Lord Jesus Christ. He it is – yes, he! – who has redeemed us. As the apostle Paul says: «Having forgiven all our transgressions, obliterating the bond against us, nailing it to the cross, he despoiled the principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph,» (Col 2,13-15). He has set the captives free and broken our bonds, as David said: «The Lord secures justice for the oppressed; the Lord sets captives free; the Lord gives sight to the blind.» And again: «You have loosed my bonds; to you I will offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,» (Pss. 146[145],7-8; 116[115].16-17).

Yes, we have been released from our bonds, those of us who have been brought together at the Lord's call by the sacrament of baptism...; we have been set free by the blood of Christ and the invocation of his name... And so, my beloved, we were washed by the waters of baptism once for all; once for all we were set free; once for all we were welcomed into the undying Kingdom. Once for all, «Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered,» (Ps32[31].1; Rom 4,7). Bravely hold fast to what you have received; keep it to your own happiness; sin no more. From henceforth, keep yourselves pure and without fault for the day of the Lord.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day ( Matthew 16:24-28 )

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.

Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

***

Reflections:

"Let him take up his cross, and follow me"

Christ does not ask you to carry the whole of his heavy cross during your life but only a small part of it, by accepting your suffering. You have nothing to fear. To the contrary, consider yourself happy to have been accounted worthy of taking your share in the sufferings of the Man-God. There is no question on the Lord's part of either abandonment or punishment; quite the opposite – it bears witness to his love, his great love for you. You must offer God thanks and accept to drink the chalice of Gethsemane.

Sometimes the Lord lets you feel the weight of the cross. This weight seems unbearable to you and yet you carry it because the Lord, who is full of love and mercy, holds out his hand to you and gives you the strength you need. Our Lord needs people who will suffer with him in the face of men's lack of piety. That is why he leads me along the painful paths you speak of in your letter. Yet may he be blessed for ever since his love puts sweetness into what is bitter; he changes the passing suffering of this life into merit for eternity.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 16:13-23)

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."

He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

***

Reflections:

The sacrament of reconciliation: "Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven"

Confession is a splendid act, an act of great love. Confession is the only place to which we take ourselves as sinners, as bearers of sin, and come away as sinners who have been forgiven, without sin.

Confession is nothing other than humility put into action. Formerly, we used to call it «penance», but the truth is that it is a sacrament of love, a sacrament of forgiveness. When a breach opens up between me and Christ, when my love cracks, all sorts of things may come to fill up the crack. Confession is the time when I let Christ take away all cause of separation, everything that destroys. The reality of my sins has to be the first thing. For most of us the danger of forgetting we are sinners, and must go to confession as such, hangs over us. We must go to God to tell him how sorry we are for all we could have done and that has wounded him.

The confessional is not a place for trite conversations or gossip. One subject alone holds sway: my sins, my sorrow, my forgiveness, how to overcome my temptations, how to put virtue into practice, how to grow in the love of God.

Source: Daily Gospel

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 17:1-9)

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid."

And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

***

Reflections:

"And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him"

«A bright cloud cast a shadow over them» and the disciples were seized with fear when they saw Jesus, the Savior, together with Moses and Elijah in the cloud. It is true that, when Moses saw God in former times, he entered into the divine cloud (Ex 24,18), thus making it clear that the Law was no more than a shadow. Listen to what Saint Paul says: «The Law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of them,» (Heb 10,1).

In those days Israel «could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory that was going to fade» (2Cor 3,7). «But all of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit» (v.18). And so the cloud that overshadowed the disciples was a cloud, not of darkness, but of light. Indeed, «the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past has been manifested» (Col 1,26) and endless, everlasting glory has been revealed. That is why Moses and Elijah, standing at our Savior's side, personified the Law and the Prophets. The one whom the Law and the Prophets foretold is, in truth, Jesus, the giver of life.

Moses also stands for the assembly of the saints who fell asleep in former times (Dt 34,5) and Elijah, the living (2Kgs 2,11), since the transfigured Jesus is Lord both of the living and the dead. And Moses has at last entered the Promised Land since Jesus is the one who takes us there. Whereas, formerly, Moses had only seen the promised inheritance from afar (Dt 34,4), today he sees it clearly.

Source: Daily Gospel