30 May 2026 - tell us what you really think

Today's Readings
(Audio)

“By what authority are you doing these things?
Or who gave you this authority to do them?”

They made it sound like they actually cared about authority or about truth. But they were not concerned with either of these in the abstract or for their own sake. Sure, they probably sincerely believed that Jesus didn't have the right to do what he did or claim what he claimed. They probably believed that Jesus was the one telling people what they wanted to hear and was thus only interested in his own popularity. But they wanted to exploit this, not for the sake of divine law or truth, nor for the sake of bystanders who might believe him, nor to correct him, but instead to sully his reputation. They attempted to exploit the truth in service of ensuring their own popularity to his detriment. 

Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 
Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”

If they were really concerned about truth they could have answered truthfully with the fact that they considered John and Jesus both to be of human origin. If authority mattered to them they could have also tried to undermine the perception of the authority of John along with Jesus. But John was apparently already too popular for such an attack. They would not say what they really thought for the sake of how it would be perceived. They imagined it was Jesus who was trying to appeal to the crowds but it was in fact they themselves. Jesus was the one speaking truth based on the authority of the Father no matter how others felt about it. We see that he never held back merely to ensure that he was popular. A particular instance of this occurred in the Bread of Life discourse when he refused to compromise on the realism of the Eucharist even though many disciples left him as a consequence (see John 6:66).

They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”– 
they feared the crowd,
for they all thought John really was a prophet.
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”

The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders were in a state of mind that prevented them from perceiving the truth about the identity of Jesus. They had convinced themselves that truth and proper divine authority were their top priorities. But they were in fact manipulating the truth for the sake of public opinion and popularity. In other words, their egos, and not the truth, were running the show. This is a trap to which it is easy to succumb. It is easy to manipulate the truth to generate feelings of self-righteousness as those religious leaders did. It is easy to use it to project a self-image of ourselves as pious religious individuals. But do we have a genuine concern for the truth? Or is our real goal controlling how others see us? If we can't set our egos aside we won't be able to perceive reality clearly or discern truth from falsehood. Giving priority to the truth means that it stands in judgment on us, and not the reverse. Truth is true whether or not it is popular or profitable. This is why Jesus was such a breath of fresh air. People who tell it like it is often are in a world of people telling us only what they think we want to hear. When they do this selflessly and without ulterior motives they naturally come across as highly credible. 

Then Jesus said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

We often hold back from fully owning up to the false things which we believe so that others can't critique them. But if we can't at least be honest about where we stand forward progress will remain elusive. Yet for us, because of what we have been given, it should be different. Because we strive to build ourselves up in our most holy faith and remain in the love of God our weakness does not lead to despair. Rather, it should help us be sympathetic to others who struggle, just as was Jude in our first reading.

On those who waver, have mercy; 
save others by snatching them out of the fire;
on others have mercy with fear

Newsboys - Not Ashamed

 

29 May 2026 - making room

Today's Readings
(Audio)

The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry.

Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf,
he went over to see if he could find anything on it.

Jesus hungers and thirsts for righteousness, and knows that he can find that fruit in season or out of season since the one who trusts in the Lord "is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit" (see Jeremiah 17:8). Thus the Gospel is preached in season and out of season, since it always has the power to bear fruit (see Second Timothy 4:2). There are, however, real consequences, for those who fail to bear fruit. "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away" (see John 15:2). But who are the ones who fail to bear fruit? They are the ones that choose not to abide in Jesus as branches on a vine. They fail to trust in the Lord and put their trust in lesser things such as money, power, or pleasure. They fill the temples of their souls, intended for the worship of God, with idols, making them dens of thieves.

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples?
But you have made it a den of thieves.

There is a subtle implication that the people who had surrendered to these base desires did so partially because they failed to make room for others in their hearts. It wasn't only that they failed to make room for God directly, but also failed to share his priorities. Each time they encountered another person who was marginalized or excluded they could have chosen to love him and invite him in to the worship of the one God. Or instead, they could close their eyes to such people, passing by on the other side of the road. But when they ignored what God wanted, what was left but to fill the void with things to assuage their egos? They had to fill that absence with something, and the didn't fill it with what God had offered.

Jesus, as King, has the authority to command us to use our the temples of our souls for the glory of God. As the presence of God on earth, he wants us to make room in our hearts to worship him. But this worship not be self-serving. It must instead be God-serving, reaching out to and inviting others in rather than existing in some kind of isolated euphoric state. When we choose lesser things and fail to bear fruit he does not come at once to destroy the temple. He first casts out the money changers that represent our varied forms of idolatry. We can easily imagine the whip of cords he uses is not going to be a pleasant experience. But it is meant to open space for Jesus himself so that we can become who we are meant to be. In other words, the results are worth the price. But once the temple has been emptied of pretenders we need to fill it with right praise. Otherwise the gift of our being cleansed will be only temporary, and things will revert to an even worse condition than where they started.

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first (see Matthew 12:45).

If this seems like too much to consider all at once let us finish our reflection with Saint Peter's summary of what it is really all about.

Above all, let your love for one another be intense,
because love covers a multitude of sins.

Maranatha! Music - I Will Delight (In The Law Of The Lord)

 

28 May 2026 - that I might see

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.

Bartimaeus was blind and realized he was blind. He was not like the spiritual leaders Jesus criticized who claimed and even convinced themselves that they were able to see. Bartimaeus knew he couldn't discover the right path to take through life for himself. Unlike those with spiritual blindness the falls he would experience if he started imposing his imagination on reality were not merely metaphorical, but physical. But we imagine that he also realized something deeply spiritual as a consequence. The fact that he couldn't take the path ahead for granted was something he internalized both physically and abstractly. Others could guide him from one place to another. But few were qualified to tell him where he ought to go or what he ought to do. All he could really ask of others was to beg for temporary assistance to survive a little longer. Until, that is he heard Jesus of Nazareth was coming. 

“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 

Jesus offered something greater than the ability to get from point A to point B. But how did Bartimaeus, who was blind, realize what so many others failed to realize? It seems that his absence of ability to see anything else did not negate the ability of his spiritual sight to perceive Jesus, or at least a potential answer that went much deeper than anything else could. In the way a deaf person might more readily perceive the still small voice of God, so too might a blind person be more open to recognizing his presence. The privation of the worldly ensured space for the heavenly.

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”

The world couldn't see what he saw in Jesus, nor appreciate the possibility that Jesus might see something in him. They opposed him because they assumed Jesus had more important things to do, that his Kingdom was not about the poor, marginalized, or the disenfranchised. They opposed him because they underestimated both the blind man and Jesus himself. And the world is still like this. It tries to tell us both that we are not worthy of being helped and that, in any case, Jesus has no power to do so. If we're content to ask once and hope for the best it may not be enough. We need a firm resolution that calls out and keeps calling. The door is opened when we knock and keep knocking. The favor is given when we ask and keep asking. So it was for Bartimaeus.

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”

We see that the saving action of Jesus also had a pedagogical effect on the crowd. They seemed surprised to discover that Jesus did in fact respond, and told Bartimaeus he was doing so with the impression that it was something that seemed to them far fetched or impossible. But by seeing it they had to recon with the fact that the priorities of Jesus were different than their own. It was perhaps not Bartimaeus that needed courage to face this fact so much as it was they themselves.

Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”

Jesus knew what Bartimaeus desired, knew it before he asked, knew it before their paths even crossed. But he wanted to hear it from Bartimaeus himself. Jesus was indicating that what mattered to Bartimaeus also mattered to him. He didn't simply impose what he thought Bartimaeus would need, but gave him the thing he desired which they both agreed was good.

Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

Jesus left him free to follow his own path. But how could he, now that his life had been changed forever by Jesus? No normal path of life seemed sufficiently worthwhile to compare with just being near to one who was so good and beautiful as was Jesus. What would Bartimaeus do with his new gift of sight? Would he use it to go and see all of the sights he had missed thus far? Only secondarily. He chose rather to see more of the saving acts of Jesus. After all, what could be more beautiful?

Vertical Worship - I See The Lord

 

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