The books that have been our main companions throughout the Easter Season end with the committed, enthusiastic witness to the good news of Jesus: Paul in his captivity, and Peter, whose martyrdom is predicted, and John, the beloved apostle, who has given a true testimony of Jesus in his gospel. What is the witness we […]
Many today refuse to accept the shepherd image which God attributes to himself (for example, Ez 24), which Christ claims for himself and which he gave to the apostles. Are the faithful no more than docile sheep? Are the pope, bishops and priests who “dominate in the name of truth, repress in the name of
“May they all be one… May the love with which you loved me be in them, so that I may be in them.” There is perhaps no stronger witnessing than the world would believe that Jesus is the one sent, than that those who believe in Christ would also be united in one love by
One of the songs used much in church today says, “There’s joy in giving.” In his farewell address, Jesus told his apostles he wanted to share his joy with them to the full. And Paul, speaking from his own experience, says that there is more happiness in giving than in receiving. The Lord and the
In strikingly parallel ways, both Paul and Christ speak of their mission they have carried out – Christ with absolute certainty, Paul, knowing his limitations, to the best of his abilities. Paul knows that trials await him, but, led by the Holy Spirit who guides his life, he will go ahead, even when he does
As Christians baptised in the name of Christ, we have received the Holy Spirit of fortitude. With his help, we should be able to give a place to pain and suffering in our lives. It is a part of all human life. But to Christians, it makes even more sense: it was Christ’s way, and
Greeting (see the readings) Be my witnesses to the ends of the earth, says the Lord. Know that I am with you always, till the end of time. May the Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And also with you. Introduction by the Celebrant Absent, Yet Present Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the
When we pray, what do we want God to do? Do we want to transform God with our prayers and bend him to do our own will, or do we seek his will? Do we have time in the dialogue of prayer to listen to him? Do we realise that he speaks to us in his
Jesus was going to pass through his passion and death on the way to the joy of his resurrection. In him, a newly risen and glorious life would be born from his sufferings. The disciples would have to pass through the pains of separation from Jesus, and so their faith would be violently tested, giving
Matthias was elected by the apostles to replace Judas, the traitor, because he had been a disciple of Jesus from the very beginning, from the time of Jesus’s baptism by John until the ascension. His qualification was, then, that he could witness to the risen Christ. And so should we. The 12th Apostle: His selection
