Final moments with Jesus, Ascension, departure, a new presence, at the Father’s right hand, glorified. This Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord into heaven. In the Creed we confess our faith in Christ who “ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father”. But...
Jesus is saying goodbye to his disciples in today’s Gospel. He sees them sad and upset, because soon they won’t have him with them – and who can fill that void? Until now he has been the one who took care of them, defended them from the Scribes and Pharisees,...
The year 2017 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Marian apparitions at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal. Between May 13 and Oct. 13, 1917, three Portuguese shepherd children — Francisco and Jacinta Marto, and their cousin Lucia dos Santos — saw monthly...
Back in Jesus’ time everyone knew about shepherds, their sheep, and how they interacted with each other. The dynamics between them were well known. Not so today. Few of us have watched shepherds tending their sheep. So to understand the full impact of the image that Jesus used we need...
What a difference it makes to have Jesus in our life! With Jesus we have a positive attitude and enjoy life. How wretched our life would be without Jesus. Without Jesus we would be in a mess. With Jesus in our life we see everything in a new way. Such...
Did you ever have a bad weekend? Just think what kind of weekend the apostles had on that first Easter weekend. They must have been suffering from a severe dose of depression since Good Friday. Jesus was dead. The crowd that welcomed Jesus with palms as he entered Jerusalem turned...
It would have been very cold so early on that spring morning when the women left their houses laden with their spices and cloths. They had a job to do and they knew how to do it. Most probably they had done it many times before. The narrative of our...
The Gospel of our Lord’s Passion which we have just heard began with these words: One of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said: What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you? It all begins with a...
Jesus stands before the tomb of Lazarus: a cave with a stone to close the opening. There are tears in his eyes. Not long now and he will be the one in a cave and there will also be a stone to close the opening. That’s the thing about death,...
What a disturbing Gospel we have just heard! Jesus, the Light of the world, comes across a blind man whose eyes cannot see the light. He heals him; he opens his eyes not only to the light of the sun but to the light of faith. Almost immediately Jesus and...