[The following is a reflection by Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, though I forget where I originally found it. I saved it for future reference (and edification), and it seems to have its application in the present time—and probably at all times!] It happened one day in Möttlingen, where my father stood in a fierce struggle with [...]
Christ is risen! We’re continuing the Good Shepherd theme in our post-paschal Liturgies. In today’s Gospel (Jn. 10:27-38), talking about his sheep, that is, his faithful followers, Jesus says: “I give them eternal life.” This is something only God can do, so it is a testimony to Jesus’ divinity. This entire verse is, for me, [...]
I’d like to offer a few random reflections from chapter seven of St Matthew’s Gospel, since I recently re-read it and prayed for some fresh insights. The first thing that caught my eye was: “the measure you give will be the measure you get.” The context of this is in Jesus’ famous (and sometimes misunderstood) [...]
Christ is risen! Jesus said that his mission was to seek and save the lost, and we see a prime example of this in today’s Gospel (Jn. 4:5-42). It is characteristic of the lost that they are not even seeking salvation, so Jesus has to take the initiative to rescue them, as He does with [...]
Christ is risen! In [Saturday’s] readings we hear of the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:1-9) as well as one of his lost sheep that He went to extraordinary lengths to rescue (Acts 26:1-5; 12-20). This was one of the most famous rescues in history, and it has borne much spiritual fruit even to this day. In [...]
We often hear it said that those who end up in Hell are those that really want to go there. If this is true (and in a certain sense it is), we ought to discover how this can be so. It seems to me that no one really wants to go to Hell insofar as [...]
Christ is risen! “My Father is working still, and I am working” (Jn 5:17). These words of the Lord help explain today’s Gospel (Jn 5:1-15), even though for some reason they have been excluded from the prescribed reading. They follow immediately upon the event proclaimed, which is the healing of the paralytic in Jerusalem. In [...]
As we continue celebrating the Resurrection of Christ, the readings today [they are for Saturday, actually] speak to us of threats and persecutions (Acts 9:20-31; Jn. 15:17 – 16:2). That should serve to notify us, among other things, that the joy and grace of the Resurrection do not insulate us from suffering for Him who [...]
I’ve had it in mind for some time to do a little series on the Beatitudes, and I still might get around to that before too long, but I think I need to jump to the middle of the list today to say something about this one: Blessed are the pure of heart, for they [...]
Christ is risen! We sing the following in our Resurrection Matins: “Pious women ran in tears to You, O Christ, bringing myrrh to you as dead; but instead they adored You in joy as the living God and announced your mystical Passover to your disciples.” That is a concise summary of the meaning of this [...]
