24 May 2026 - he breathed on them

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."

We read about an encounter of the disciples with the Risen Lord in our Gospel this morning. We read this same Gospel on Divine Mercy Sunday to learn what it teaches about the gift of forgiveness. But the reason we do so today is that it also teaches us about the giving of the Holy Spirit, and what marks his coming. When we think about receiving the Holy Spirit we often think of situations where Jesus was apparently absent, on the morning of Pentecost itself, or at our own Confirmation. And yet, we always receive the Spirit from the Father through the Son. Jesus is always present when the Spirit is given. At Pentecost the strong driving wind was the same breath with which Jesus breathed on the disciples in the reading from the Gospel. The tongues of fire that descended on them were different manifestations of the one tongue of the Body of Christ. It was precisely for that reason that they could speak to all those gathered and why the Church can speak her message to all the nations. The tongues were manifestations of the Spirit working through the many parts of his one Body. His breath united them to himself and equipped them to continue his mission. But before they went out into the streets it is clear that they received a more full measure of the peace that Jesus gave them in his resurrection greeting in our reading from the Gospel. His giving them peace when he was still present and the peace they received on Pentecost were the same fruit of the Spirit. It was, perhaps, from the perspective of heaven, only one event of giving forth the Spirit, even if it had an initial and then a more complete fulfillment from an earthly point of view. Thus we can see that the coming of the Holy Spirit is always marked by this fruit of peace.

We suggest that our own Confirmations were also a participation in the one breathing forth of the Spirit from heaven into the Body of Christ on earth. Jesus was present in a myriad of ways on the day that happened for us, particularly in the person of the bishop or his representative. Thus, in a way, Jesus himself breathed forth his Spirit on us, just as on his disciples. Bishops in particular make this greeting, "Peace be with you", there own, whereas priests tend to use the familiar "The Lord be with you", reminding us of their special role in imparting the Spirit. But it is Jesus himself who gives the Spirit to us, no matter who administers the sacrament. And along with it it is his peace, not that of the bishop as an individual, that we are meant to receive. It is meant to be a peace that both empowers us with charisms for mission and casts out the fear that holds us captive. Without peace as a fruit of the Spirit in our lives we remained locked in the upper room for fear of the Judeans as surely as did the Apostles.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Jesus breathed on his disciples, giving them an initial experience of the Holy Spirit, along with the power to convey the central Gospel blessing of forgiveness, and yet there was more they needed before beginning their mission to the nations. They truly received the Spirit at that time, for who could deny the the verity of the words of Jesus? But they needed to have another more powerful experience of receiving him in order to experience the fullness of peace that was initially promised, and to be transformed and equipped for mission. So too with us, especially if we did not experience the grand majesty of Pentecost on the day of our Confirmation, it is not too late. We can open ourselves to more just as the disciples on whom Jesus had breathed opened themselves to more, precisely because he told them there was more, and that they were to seek it. He told them to do it first and only then go forth, saying, "stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high" (see Luke 24:49). It's not just any one of us, as though we in particular failed at Confirmation or a Life in the Spirit seminar, and now need to make up for it. Rather, it is for everyone because there is always more. Our openness to receive never measures up to the generosity with which Jesus himself desires to bestow blessings. This, no doubt, is why Pentecost is an annual event. So we should pray with great expectation, "Come Holy Spirit", and never grow tired of that prayer or let it become more routine. Can't we feel the wind of the breath of Jesus even now, just thinking about it?

Paul Wilbur - Let Your Fire Fall

 

Matt Maher Featuring Martin Smith - Come Holy Spirit

 

23 May 2026 - what about him?

Today's Readings
(Audio)

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?"

Peter was still not thrilled at the prospect of his own martyrdom. If it was necessary for Peter to die for the glory of God, what about the others? In particular, Peter wasn't going to let John, the beloved disciple get off easy. If Peter couldn't settle for less than giving his life for the Lord he would ensure that his friend/rival John wouldn't either. Or so his motivation seems to us.

Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours? 
You follow me."

Jesus responded to Peter that it was no business of Peter's how he worked in the lives of others. Comparison of what the Lord asked of one person to what he asked of another would be unhelpful. He could purify a soul through a long life or a short one. He could receive glory through a death bearing witness to him or a long life of hidden fidelity. If Peter fixated on forcing others into a certain mold it would be unhelpful for them and a mere distraction for him, a detour from the purpose that was now before him. We are often like Peter in this way, using other peoples' business to distract us from our own unique path with the Lord. We do want to be known and loved by him as individuals. But we often hope that means he will let us off easy rather than challenging us to rise to the level of our potential. So when we see others who seem to have it easier than ourselves let us say, 'What concern is that of mine? I will follow Jesus', and all will be well.

So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.
But Jesus had not told him that he would not die

There was some confusion after the statement of Jesus, as though he actually implied that John would remain until the second coming. But nothing about John's future was actually implied. The only point was that, to Peter and the others, it was of no consequence.

And yet, after a fashion, John is still present with us glorifying God to this day. He is present through the text of this, his Gospel. When we believe his words we receive life in Jesus's name and God is indeed glorified. Peter too is still present after a way. He speaks through his successors, the bishops of Rome, teaching us how to interpret the Scriptures and Tradition that have been handed on to us by Apostles, the deposit of faith. So rather than striving for the longest possible life, let us think of our legacy more in terms of glorifying God through every opportunity he gives us. What matters is not so much life here below but the life that comes from faith in Jesus, both receiving it, and then sharing it with others, as Paul never ceased to do.

He remained for two full years in his lodgings.
He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance
and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God
and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chris Tomlin - I Will Follow

 

22 May 2026 - do you love me more than these?

Today's Readings
(Audio)

"Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Peter was always one to insist that he had love greater than any of the others. He had said, "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away" (see Matthew 26:33). And yet he had betrayed him before a charcoal fire, just like the one he was at now. At the time he must have rationalized it, telling himself that they were just words, that there was no need to bring down any additional scrutiny on himself. But eventually he came to realize that he had fulfilled the Jesus's prediction of his betrayal. He may have thought that words didn't matter. But they represented choices that ultimately did amount to abandoning his Lord in his hour of need. Here after the resurrection Jesus asked about his love in such a way that it almost seemed like he was saying 'I told you so', in that he had always been correct about his perception of the weakness within Peter. Even referring to him as Simon seemed to put whether or not he was deserving of the title of 'rock' in question. In response, Peter tried to muster the old bravado, but to us he did not seem convinced. It seemed rather that he was going through motions ingrained by habit than that he was truly boasting about his indefectible spirit. 

Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
"Do you love me?" and he said to him,
"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."

Peter may have thought that Jesus continued to ask because Jesus was not convinced. But when he repeated the question three times it became more evident that it was because he knew that Peter was no longer convinced, no longer fully able to believe in himself. Jesus knew that Peter would need to again have certainty about his place in the mission. It would be a more realistic certainty, now with a built-in awareness of his fallibility. But it would in fact be a stronger certainty, because it was based now on the unwavering love of Jesus for him first, and his own response second. Even when his own response wavered and failed Jesus allowed him to fully repent. The threefold denial was erased by the threefold affirmation. And thus there was nothing, not even Peter himself, that could destroy the love of Jesus for him or prevent his plans for him from being fulfilled.

Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.

The words of Peter affirming his love for Jesus were more than just words, they were firm resolutions to begin again after his former failures. In the same way that his words of betrayal determined his actions opposing Jesus so too did these words determine his future of loving and serving him. The words themselves could not provide the comfort of knowing he was fully restored and rehabilitated. In order to know that for sure he actually had to live it out. His act of betrayal had to be erased with his love for the sheep. But the words were firm enough to ground him in the certainty afforded to him by the strength of Jesus, allowing him to believe that is was possible. 

Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; 
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.

Peter would indeed do what he had naively promised before he understood his own weakness and die for Jesus. But he would not do it through his own strength. Rather it was through grace that he would persevere, without running from his destiny. It did not ultimately depend on him, and would not be ruined by him any more than he had been able to ruin his role as rock or shepherd. All he had to do was to never give up on Jesus since Jesus, for his part, would never give up on him. Nor will he give up on any of us. So let us join Peter in showing him our own response of love by doing what we can in our own lives to feed his sheep.

 

Songs In His Presence - Song of Peter (Lord, You Know)

21 May 2026 - till all are one

Today's Readings
(Audio)

When we think of being in union with others we often have a thin or shallow conception of unity. We are typically content to act without interfering with one another, toward goals that are similar enough that we all benefit from our common effort. But it is not necessarily a deeply personal unity, unless we're talking about marriage or particularly strong friendships. And even these are often tactical, with each person pursuing the relationship for his own benefit, although also providing benefit for the other to enjoy.

so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.

The union that is possible and that is meant to characterize Christian relationships transforms the merely mercenary alliances that tend to define relationships outside the Body of Christ. It is built upon something more substantial than egos, and rooted in something deeper than individual neediness. It is a supernatural sort of unity, which is only possible because God allows us to share in the relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit, that is properly his. This union is possible when being-for-self is replaced with being-for-the-other, as with the Father, who loves the Son completely, and the Son, who gives everything for his Father, and for the Spirit who is the manifestation of the love between them. They are not three pieces of a whole that together yield a result greater than the sum of its parts. Rather they are both a true unity, and yet also real distinction. Their relationships don't ultimately collapse into a bland and monotonous oneness. There is space, yes, even necessity, for individual identity in the Trinity, because only thus can the love that exists from all eternity be received, only by Persons.

And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,

The glory of Jesus is a consequence of the fact that his existence is a revelation of the Father himself, that he himself is a perfect image of the Father's glory. He gives this glory to his disciples and to us precisely by enabling us to enter into relationship with his Father and himself. He goes beyond the normal forms of self-introduction that contain information about one's past, family, or other interesting anecdotes, and reveals the luminous inner life that is at the very essence of the identity of the Triune God. When we receive this revelation we are transformed by it. We have to be. Only by being rewired for this higher level of life and participating in it can we know it in any meaningful sense. Love that only reaches the level of talk amounts to no more than idle words. But the love Jesus reveals is a force that is poured into us by the Spirit and it does not leave us unchanged.

I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.

In general it seems fair to say that we have been inadequate witnesses to the glory we've been given. We barely even manage a political or utilitarian unity, even in the bounds of the Church. And this political agreement to which we tenuously cling is not often polite. It is not the result of a unified and selfless pursuit of God. It is rather the compromise of many conflicting agendas when absolute victory for any one of them could not be achieved. We are surely meant for more than this. And indeed, it must be possible, since Jesus prayed that it would be so. 

It may be a deficiency on the part of we, the members of the Church, that has rendered Christianity impossible for the modern world to believe. Our unity is no more impressive than that of the Sadducees and Pharisees in today's reading from Acts. They were ultimately prevented from achieving their common purpose in opposing Paul by their lack of true union. But we miss out on something much greater when we don't allow the glory of the Father and the Son to be the source of our union, the strength of the Church, and her truest identity. We are meant to live that union now, and to know a foretaste of the glory to be revealed, because that glory is also where we are headed, and meant to abide for eternity.

Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

John Keating - Come Holy Spirit

20 May 2026 - that they may be one

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Holy Father, keep them in your name
that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.

Jesus prayed that his disciples would remain spiritually united, precisely because he knew that the tendency of the Evil One was to separate and to scatter. His Church was meant to be a gathering force, drawing together women and men, Gentiles and Jews. It was to be compromised of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. It was to be a manifestation on earth of the love that united the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in heaven. The supernatural glue of love known as the Holy Spirit was to be its binding force. 

Unity was directly related to living out the commission of love. It was therefore to be the core identity of the Church. Obviously if the Church was to be the Body of Christ, severed limbs were antithetical to this identity. The Evil One sought to attack the unity of the Church precisely because he realized how essential unity was to its mission. If everyone was grounded in the same truth they would be, as a consequence, united. But if their unity was shattered so too would be their connection with the truth. They would be reduced to the postlapsarian state of Adam and Eve who lost their unity with God when they chose to decide for themselves about good and evil rather than consenting to the way things actually were in reality. 

In many ways that Evil One has been sadly successful in his efforts, both by causing heresies and schisms leading people away from the true Church, and even by the political divisions and personality cults dividing the Church from within. Yet the prayer of Jesus has not failed, nor has it ceased to be efficacious. It is still possible for us to enter and remain in the unity Christ desired for us. But to do so we must remain in the care of those consecrated to continue the unifying ministry of Jesus toward us. The bishops and priests who remain in communion with the ancient Church and the modern Magisterium are the ones who can protect us in Jesus name, and guard us, so that none might be lost.

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,
and they will not spare the flock.
And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth
to draw the disciples away after them.

Paul too realized that attacks on the Body of Christ would come from within as well as without. He commended the presbyters to vigilance, ensuring that they remained faithful to "that gracious word of his". It was not just an abstract word, but had the power to build up, both individuals, and the Church as a whole. This word is conveyed to us through the Scriptures and Apostolic tradition as authentically interpreted by the Magisterium of the Bishop of Rome and those in communion with him. As long as we remain under the protection of that powerful word we will be safe from the Evil One's attempts to undermine us. The result of preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (see Ephesians 4:3) is not merely synchronicity of movement, as though we all become marionettes dancing in harmony. External conformity is not in itself union. True union, of the sort for which Jesus prayed, can be recognized because it results in the genuine joy that only love can give. It is what happens when we live for the purpose for which we were created.

I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.

So let's allow the mighty word of Jesus to build us together in union with one another, and to build, even a little more, his joy within our hearts.

 

Matt Maher - Hold Us Together

 

 

19 May 2026 - what it's all for

Today's Readings
(Audio)

In the high priestly prayer of Jesus he imitated the prayers made my the high priests, first for themselves, then for the priests, and then for the people. But it wasn't as though the people came last because they were the least important. The priesthood existed at the service of the people. The high priest had the most important role in ensuring the fidelity of the nation to the covenant, the most critical role in the ritual atonement for sin. It was, in a way, the cornerstone of the edifice. The priests were pillars. But the people were the ones who put the structure to its intended use. Thus, when Jesus prayed for himself, it was not because he had unmet wants or needs of his own. No, his prayer for himself was that he could be the one whom the Father meant him to be, "so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him".

Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

The kind of knowledge that conduces to eternal life is not conveyed through data, but rather through glory. It was glory that was made manifest in the cross and resurrection of Jesus himself, and opened up a vision of the divine life he shared with the Father. Glory was the love of the Father for Jesus, and the obedient outpouring of the life of Jesus to the Father. This glory captivates those who witness it, but does not stop there. It is the glory of Jesus lifted up from the earth, drawing all to himself, uniting all those who behold it to both his dying and his rising. In short, one cannot truly see this glory and remain unchanged. The full effect of the change is to become so like Jesus that we become able holy; able and desirous to share in his life with the Father and the Spirit forever.

Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.

Jesus prayed for his disciples who shared in his mission in a way that was unique. They were the ones who would ensure that the grace of Jesus, and thus his glory, would be available after he returned to the Father. Their successors, the bishops, would have the duty of preserving the availability of that grace in all subsequent generations. But, like him, they would do so in a world that was ultimately opposed to his mission, hostile to the idea that any kind of change from the status quo was necessary. The clergy of the Church does face this world own its own strength. It is not run primarily on its own power. Nor does it succeed on the basis of the skills possessed by its members. Rather it has run and is still running on the power of this prayer of Jesus, which was not terminated when he finished speaking, but is still pleading and efficacious before the Father's throne.

We can see the way the high priestly prayer of Jesus had immediate consequences for the first generation of his Apostles in the way it impacted Paul. In his own prayer at Ephesus about which we read in Acts this morning we see desires that transcend what fallen, wounded, and selfish human nature would seek.

Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace.

Jesus cared about nothing more than accomplishing the work the Father gave him to do. And now Paul, because he belonged to Jesus, also belonged to the Father, and cared about nothing more than completing the task given to him by Jesus, such that he too was among those who "have kept your word". He tasted the glory of the Lord and could no longer turn back to the world for satisfaction. The mission did indeed look dire. The Holy Spirit warned him again and again of the suffering that he had to endure. But the revelation of glory, given by Jesus himself, assured him it was worth it.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (see Second Corinthians 4:17-18).

Vertical Worship - Open Up The Heavens

 

18 May 2026 - living in victory

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?

There are different degrees of belief. It is one thing to acknowledge that Jesus is from God and knows everything. It is another to live on the basis of that knowledge. There are the facets of belief that we accept. But they prove whether or not they are real to us when we are tested. When the hour comes, do we flee? Are we scattered? Or does what we believe about Jesus cause us to hold our ground and remain near him? We remember his exhortation, "Remain in me", precisely here, when we considering doing otherwise. In the moment of testing everything in our flesh tells us it is unwise to continue trusting Jesus. It may seem that he is calling us to persist at a hopeless task or to win and unwinnable battle. It may seem like Jesus alone is not enough to face the very real problems of our lives. 

But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

Jesus is not alone, because his Father is with him. It may seem as though Jesus is the one at a disadvantage, and if we believe this it will make us afraid. But if we believe that everything is in the hands of the Father, playing out according to their shared plan for the world, we can have peace. This is why Jesus tells us in advance that we will have trouble in the world. Not simply so that we can brace ourselves for it. But so that we can believe that his providence extends even so far as that. He is not surprised. The troubling circumstances of life do not put his plan at risk of failure. The victory is in fact already his. From the divine perspective he shares with the Father he already possesses it even before everything finishes playing out here on earth.

take courage, I have conquered the world.

Our beliefs may remain at the level of mere data, without practical consequences in our lives, without the Holy Spirit connecting our heads to our hearts by deeper revelation. We can be like the disciples in Ephesus who had done all of the proper preparation that could be expected of them, but had not yet experienced the power of the Holy Spirit. We have been baptized with a baptism of a different order from that of John. But even so, the full power of that baptism has probably not been fully unleashed in us, or, for that matter, in anymore. It is basically an infinite power source. There is always more. That is why the infilling of these disciples in Ephesus through the laying on of Paul's hands is supposed to be more than a pleasant reminder of our own experience of sacramental confirmation. Rather, we are meant to see how the Holy Spirit filled them in a way that clearly transformed them. And, we are meant to hunger and thirst for more of that transformation in our own lives. As we approach Pentecost there is no better time to seek it. The great feasts make the grace of the events on which they are based present again in a special way. Not that the Holy Spirit is limited to one weekend a year. But there is one weekend a year when he characteristically goes out of his way to make himself as available as possible to us. This is what we've been leading up to all Easter. Let's brace ourselves for his coming and expect to be changed by the wake of his drawing near.

Rend Collective - More Than Conquerors