27 May 2026 - what about us?

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be handed over

What indeed was the right thing to say in response to something like that? Peter tried to express concern by responding "This shall never happen to you", and was famously shot down with the rebuke, "Get behind me, Satan" (see Matthew 16:22-23). The right answer was by no means obvious. It was not to tell Jesus has was wrong. After all, charging headlong into Jerusalem, the seat of power for his opponents, was fraught enough to make it all together likely. It was not to tell Jesus that there might be another, better plan. That was what Peter had attempted. It was hard for the disciples to respond well because they had not yet purified themselves "by obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love" and thus could not yet love Jesus "intensely from a pure heart". Such a heart would have able to listen with compassion to what Jesus said, clarifying what it meant for Jesus and for itself, without the need to look away or seek distraction. Such a heart could have remained present with Jesus, as Jesus always invited his disciples to do. But before his crucifixion they failed at every turn, falling asleep in the garden, and fleeing from him at his arrest. 

"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him,
"Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."

In the case of James and John in our Gospel this morning we see another failure to stay present and take seriously what Jesus was telling them. It was as though their egos responded to fear and uncertainty by trying to make sure there would still be something left for them when the dust settled. Maybe it wasn't so unbelievable a response as it first appears. Peter himself had just asked about what rewards awaited those who gave up everything for Jesus. So James and John were simply shifting back to that topic, trying to ensure maximum results for themselves. Yet in doing so they ignored the fact that even in Jesus's answer to Peter he included persecutions in the content of the reward. And yet there was truly a reward awaiting the disciples. They would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (see Matthew 19:28). But the path to the throne was always the cross. In fact, in a certain sense, the cross was the throne. And to sit on his right and his left on that throne was not yet what James and John had in mind.

Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."

What is so reassuring for us about the selfish bravado of the sons of thunder was how Jesus did not dismiss it entirely, but redirected it. The chalice they were to drink was not the one they imagined. But their eager energy could still be directed to seeking it out. Their desire for power and position could be put into service. That service would teach them to be servants. Only then could they be the leaders Jesus knew they could be.

When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.

The power play of James and John had the cascading negative effect of arousing jealous and ambition in the others, a microcosm of the way the world works. None of them understood the necessary consequences of Kingdom power that Jesus had implied. So he spelled things out more plainly.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

Instead of trying to climb to the top by stepping over others and using the misfortune of leaders for our own gain we are meant to begin our ascent by descending, by stooping down to help as many others as possible. The point of power is not to exist for its own  sake, but rather for the sake of love. We tend to cynically dismiss such an idea as hugely impractical. And for humans it is. But it works for Jesus. And he can show us how.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.

 

Brotherhood of Hope - To Love You And To Make You Loved

 

26 May 2026 - what about me?

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Peter began to say to Jesus,
"We have given up everything and followed you."

Peter and the other disciples had already done, basically, what the rich young man could not. Or had they? After all, they had less to tie the down to begin with. Had they really passed through the eye of needle so as to be saved? They were so impressed by what Jesus said to the rich young man that it sounded as though salvation wouldn't be possible for anyone at all. And indeed Jesus confirmed the fact that, "For human beings it is impossible". But Peter, perhaps recognizing he had given up less to follow Jesus than would have been required of the young man, asked for confirmation of the fact that he and the other disciples really had made the required choice. He left his net and his livelihood and chose treasure in heaven. But how could he have done so if it was impossible for human beings? Yet Jesus did not deny that he had done so. It must have been grace. Grace enabled Peter, James, and John to leave their nets. Grace enabled Matthew to leave his post as a tax collector. The same grace had been offered to the rich man, when Jesus looked upon him with compassion, but was not accepted or embraced. 

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel 

For the disciples it was not only a matter of what they gave up. What mattered more was their reason for doing so. It was not the negatives or the lesser positive things that they left behind. It was the greater good, the one thing necessary, that they chose to replace them that made all the difference. Thus it was insufficient to merely sell one's property to the poor, for instance. It was not noble to leave brothers or sisters or mother or father for something less than Jesus himself. The invitation was not to be apart from others and have nothing. It was to be with Jesus and therefore to have everything. Peter and the others had made an initial choice in that direction. But to reap the fruit of the promise they had to continue to live for Jesus and the Gospel. The blessings promised to those who did so were not greater material blessings, but rather spiritual. They were such as would not even register to those with earthly priorities. But to those who sought first the kingdom they would amount to much more than whatever was left behind.

who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.

We receive a new land and a new spiritual family. But this seems like a tedious obligation to those with an earthly mindset. Only followers of Jesus realize the treasure we have been given in the Church. It is in fact the case that even persecutions are not only part of the plan, but, in a sense, genuine treasures, since they help to refine us like gold in the fire, equipping us to follow Jesus ever more closely, and to choose the one thing necessary above other things with more and more of our whole hearts. When we do so we realize that we really have been granted the great privilege of seeing "things into which angels longed to look". Knowing what lies ahead for us makes us sober, but compels us to set our "hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ". We can't be holy without God's help. But if we choose Jesus we will have all the help we need.

Songs In His Presence - Prayer Of Augustine

 

25 May 2026 - behold, your mother

Today's Readings
(Audio)

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved,
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”

It is of course touching that among the last acts of Jesus was to ensure that his mother would be cared for by the beloved disciple. To the very end he was a faithful Jew who kept the commandment to hold his parents in honor. More than that, he clearly loved her with love beyond all telling, just as she did him. Yet this event was about more the next few years or decades of her earthly life. It was also archetypal. He addressed her as Woman because she was to be the fullness of what womanhood was meant to be, as Eve had been meant to, but failed to achieve. Eve was meant to pass on her maternal blessing to all subsequent generations, she the mother of the living, and they her children. But to do so required faithfulness to the promise and plan of God, faithfulness which she rejected. But things did not end there. The blessings that were meant to come through Eve were not so much negated as they were delayed.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.

Jesus not only gave Mary to be the mother of John, but also to every beloved disciple, in whom all of us are meant to see ourselves. This was clearly about more than ensuring that she would be comfortable for the rest of her earthly life. She was to convey maternal blessings, far exceeding those vouchsafed to Eve, to all of her children. In a real way she would be a mother to them, helping bring to birth the image of her son in them. Eve chose death when prompted by the serpent and thus was never truly the mother of the living she was meant to be. But Mary chose to be faithful to the call of the angel and to the mission of her son and thus became the mother of those who truly live, who "keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (see Revelation 12:17). Her motherhood is not merely decorative, or a saccharine story we tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better. Jesus decided that it was through her that the blessing of life would be given to the world. And he still chooses her to convey to us the blessings with which he intends to fill his Body, the Church.

Jesus said, “I thirst.”

There appears to be a connection between the gift to the Church of the Mother of God and that of the Holy Spirit. We remember the other time Jesus said he was thirsty to the Samaritan woman at the well which led to his promise of streams of life-giving water (see John 4:1-36). Here on the cross, after giving Mary as mother to John, he mentioned this thirst again. And it was not long that his thirst would be sated, not so much by the wine he was offered, as by the flow of water unleashed from his side. Whereas the pierced side of Adam brought forth Eve who, together with him, chose death, the wounded side of Jesus unleashed the Spirit upon the world and brought forth the Body of which Mary was both mother and exemplar.

All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women,
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

As the disciples prepared to receive the gift of the Spirit themselves they did so together with Mary, who had already experienced being overshadowed by the Spirit. She knew how to welcome him and could convey that to those in one accord with her. We may know have a sense of the way that bringing a spirit-filled individual with us to a prayer gathering of those with less experience can elevate the atmosphere. This would be like that, but infinitely greater. This gift was not just for John, nor for those early disciples, but is meant for us well. Like John we are meant to make room for Mary in our lives and in our homes. Like the disciples we are to join ourselves to her in our prayers so that we may be as open as possible to receive the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus, we are to prioritize our love for her above almost everything else, knowing our love for her won't stop with her, but redound to the glory of God and the good of our neighbor.

And of Zion they shall say:
“One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD.”

Songs In His Presence - Bright As The Sun

 

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