5th Week of Lent 2025 - Wednesday - Growing hostility toward the Truth

 Our late Lenten scripture readings continue to help us understand the hostility Jesus faced culminating in his arrest and Passion. 

In the first reading from the Book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar becomes livid when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship the golden statue he erected. Their refusal to worship his false god leads him to rage and violence. Their refusal is not simply an afront to the King’s pagan god, but also to his ego. They refused to bow to him, to his will, to his demands, to his concept of reality. 

In the Gospel, Jesus explains to his opponents that they are trying to kill him because his “word has no room among” them. The rage of Nebuchadnezzar mirrors the hostility encountered by our Lord. 

The Jewish leaders conspire to kill Jesus because his word challenged their pride, self-righteousness, and ego. His truth exposed their spiritual enslavement to sin, and their blindness to the truth about God. "If God were your Father, you would love me”. But exposing their lack of love, they sought to silence the Word permanently. 

Genuine faithfulness to God inevitably brings believers into conflict with the values and priorities of the world. The world's prideful and self-centered systems resist the message of humility, truth, and freedom that Christ brings. 

Like Nebuchadnezzar, who demanded absolute allegiance to his concept of reality, so many in our culture today do not tolerate challenges to their worldview. Consider the rage on social media when Judeo-Christian values are promoted. 

The readings help us to understand the hostility of the world toward the truth of God, but they also offer powerful encouragement. The three young men in the fiery furnace were not abandoned; God stood with them, protecting them. Likewise, Jesus trusted deeply in the Father's presence, even when His word was rejected and He faced crucifixion. The Father vindicated His Son’s faithfulness through the Resurrection.

As we approach Holy Week, let us consider where Christ’s word may find resistance in our own hearts. May we remain faithful, even when confronted with hostility, opposition, or temptation. Trusting in God's presence, may the truth live in us richly that we may bear it witness, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in God’s steadfast presence and protection, let us present our prayers and petitions.

For the Church throughout the world, that she may courageously proclaim the truth of Christ, even in the face of opposition and hostility. Let us pray to the Lord.

For world leaders, that they may act with humility, justice, and openness to the truth, resisting the temptation to impose self-centered agendas or oppressive ideologies. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who suffer persecution or hostility for their faith, that they may find strength, comfort, and encouragement in God’s unwavering presence and protection. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all who resist the truth of the Gospel due to pride or spiritual blindness, that their hearts and minds may be opened to God’s transformative and liberating truth. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those facing challenges, temptations, or struggles in their spiritual lives, especially the chronically ill, that they may experience God’s sustaining presence and grace, enabling them to remain steadfast in faith. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our deceased loved ones, that through the mercy and faithfulness of Christ, they may enter into the joy and eternal peace of God’s kingdom. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear the prayers of your faithful people. Grant us the grace to remain steadfast in your truth and faithful in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

4th Week of Lent 2025 - Wednesday - Growing opposition to the Truth of Christ

 In yesterday’s Gospel, we heard how following Jesus’ healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute Him.

There has been a change in focus of our Lenten readings. We’ve gone from readings where the Lord teaches us about the importance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to stories of the mounting hostility toward Jesus.

He came to the attention of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem by curing on the Sabbath. For this, they began to persecute him. This means that they likely spoke against him publicly, warned the people against his teachings, and publicly discredited him as a religious authority.

But in today’s Gospel, things escalate. St. John tells us, “For this reason, the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but he also called God his own Father, making himself equal to God.”

According to the Jewish leaders, Jesus was now guilty of the greatest blasphemy imaginable: he claimed to be God. He wasn’t simply an irreverent rabbi who shirked the law about the Sabbath. Rather, from his own mouth, he claims to be one with God.

As we near Holy Week, our Lenten readings help us to understand what happened and why. They draw our attention to why he suffered and what he suffered. They shift our focus from the works that we do in our Lenten penances to the work that he has come to do: to save us from our sins. He is one with the Father who raises the dead and gives life. What to the hard-hearted Jewish leaders appeared as the greatest blasphemy is actually the most important truth because he’s telling the truth. He is the truth, and to prove it, he’s willing to suffer and die, so we can know the truth, and the truth can set us free—that we who hear his word and believe in Him might pass from death to life.

As we continue our Lenten journey, let us reflect deeply on Christ’s willingness to suffer rejection, persecution, and death out of love for us. It will certainly help us stand firm in the opposition we face in the Christian life. If you can’t get to mass every day, please at least read through the daily Gospel, to grow in appreciation, understanding, and humble gratitude for what Jesus undergoes for us for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in Christ, who willingly embraced suffering and death out of love for us, we now offer our prayers and petitions.

For the Church, that during this Lenten season, Christians everywhere may reflect deeply on Christ’s sacrifice, growing in humility and gratitude for His redeeming love. Let us pray to the Lord.

For world leaders, that they may recognize the dignity and sanctity of human life, promoting peace, justice, and respect among all peoples. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing persecution and hostility for their faith, that they may draw strength and courage from Christ’s own perseverance in suffering and rejection. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those struggling to believe or who have hardened hearts, that they may be moved by the truth and love revealed in Christ’s willingness to suffer and die for humanity. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the sick, suffering, and those experiencing difficulties, that Christ’s loving and compassionate presence may bring comfort, healing, and hope. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all who have died, especially our loved ones and members of our parish community, that they may experience the fullness of eternal life promised through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, in your mercy hear these prayers and help us grow ever closer to Christ through our Lenten journey. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

4th Week of Lent 2024 - Wednesday - Divine Sonship of Jesus Christ

 Following the fourth Sunday of Lent, we read during the weekdays predominantly from the Gospel of St. John. 

Like each of the evangelists, St. John details the miracles and teachings of Jesus, culminating in his self-sacrifice on Calvary and his resurrection. Compared to Mathew, Mark, and Luke, however, St. John often emphasizes the divine nature of Jesus, his consubstantiality with the Father, how he and the Father are united in nature, and also in their desire to save humanity.

Why did St. John convey this unique perspective? While the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, and Luke were written to explain the life and teachings of Jesus to a more general audience, including Jews and Gentiles with varying degrees of understanding of Jewish traditions, John's Gospel seems to address a community that was already familiar with Jesus' life and teachings. John’s intent was to deepen the understanding of Jesus' divine nature and to reinforce the faith of the believers. Since, John was writing a little later than the other 3 gospel writers, around the turn of the 1st century, his audience was already facing the spready of heresies about Jesus’ divine identity, prompting John to emphasize the spiritual and divine aspects of Jesus.

Today’s Gospel passage is emblematic of St. John’s high Christology, as scholars say, an example of St. John emphasizing Jesus’ divine nature and the consequences for his teaching.  The passage begins with Jesus claiming to share his Father’s work—his work and his Father’s work are the same. And immediately, St. John tells us that the reactions to this bold statement were dramatic. “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.”

Jesus then doubles down, and claims that he can do nothing apart from the Father and does whatever the Father does, indicating a unity of action and will between the Son and the Father. That the Father has granted the Son authority to give life and to execute judgment, and goes so far to say that they should all should honor the Him with the same honor as they give to the Father. And then the real kicker: Jesus claims power to resurrect the dead and give eternal life.

This passage is helpful for us to understand the reasons for the hostility Jesus experiences, but also it offers several good lessons for Lent.

Lent is a time to deepen our understanding and appreciation of who Jesus is. He is the Divine Savior sent by the Father out of love for us, to do what we could not do for ourselves, save us from our sins. Jesus models perfect obedience and submission to the Father's will. And during Lent, we are called to imitate Christ's example by aligning our own will with God's and seeking to do what pleases him. Jesus emphasizes that he can do nothing apart from the Father. This reminds us of our own need to rely on God's strength and guidance, especially as we seek to grow in holiness during Lent. As Jesus speaks of the coming judgment, we are reminded of our own accountability before God. Lent is a time for self-examination, repentance, and seeking to live a life pleasing to God.

And finally Jesus' discourse highlights his authority over life and death and his role in the final resurrection. Lent is a time to focus on eternal realities and to live in light of the resurrection hope we have in Christ.

By reflecting on Jesus' divine identity and his relationship to the Father we honor Jesus as the divine Son, submit to his authority, depend on his power, and live with an eternal perspective as we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery of his death and resurrection for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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As the Solemnity of Easter approaches, dear brethren, let our prayer to the Lord be all the more insistent:

That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and those to be fully initiated in the coming Paschal Solemnity

For Peace throughout the nations of the world most threatened by hatred, division, and violence, for the protection of the unborn and the safety of the men and women in our armed forces.  

That all families will commit themselves to fervent prayer this Lent so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  

For the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing of all people, especially the spiritually blind and hard of heart.  

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for…  

Have mercy, O Lord, on the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in the divine mystery may never be left without your assistance. Through Christ our Lord.

5th Week of Lent 2021 - Friday - "You are gods"

 One week from Good Friday, with Holy Week looming on the horizon, our Gospel today begins in  dramatic fashion. The opponents of Jesus are ready to stone him to death. The violence, the plotting, the hostility toward Jesus is all starting to mount and come to a climax.  

It was the festival of the Dedication of the Temple—what today is called Hanukah, and Jesus stood in a sacred place, one of the porticos of the Temple, preaching the truth about how he has been sent by the Father as the promised Messiah, the Son of God.

This enrages the people who weren’t ready to believe in Him, and certainly weren’t ready to give him the authority as the Messiah.  So they plotted against him, and were prepared to carry out that plot by stoning him to death as the Gospel opened today.

Jesus then speaks up and asks them, “why” are they persecuting him? They claim Jesus has committed blasphemy, but Jesus asserts, “I have simply been restating to you what is in your own scriptures.”  Jesus says, “you are trying to kill me for claiming to be the Son of God, while your own scriptures make that claim about all God’s people”  And he is right, of course.  Psalm 82 speaks about how the children of Israel can rightly be called “gods”—not because they have any claim on Divinity—but because God speaks to them as his own children—and calls them into a filial relationship through justice and sharing his divine life.

While Psalm 82 certainly calls Israel to filial love of God, it also stands as a powerful indictment of Israel’s failure to love and bow to God’s authority. “How long will you judge unjustly and favor the cause of the wicked?” God asks the religious leaders in Psalm 82. Not ironically, that is precisely what Jesus was doing in that moment. He was standing in the Temple, the dwelling place of God, passing a sort of judgment on Israel’s leaders. For failing to acknowledge that He comes from the Father, Israel’s leaders will be counted among the wicked and die. 

This certainly puts into perspective why the religious leaders want to arrest and kill Jesus right then and there. They aren’t so much concerned about Jesus’ supposed blasphemy, but that Jesus exposes their wicked, unbelieving hearts.

This dramatic event certainly helps us to prepare for Holy Week by helping us understanding some of the dynamics that were going on in Jerusalem leading up to Good Friday. And yet, like so many of our Lenten Gospels, they invite us to examine our own hearts: how does my pride keep me from loving Jesus as I should? How does my hardness of heart keep me from the fullness of life as a child of God?

May these final Lenten days help to humble our earthly pride so to help us live in the fullness of God’s children, for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For an increase in faith for the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity. And That the Church might be delivered and protected from all spirits of error, heresy, schism, and unbelief. Let us pray to the Lord.

That during this Year of St. Joseph, the Church may discover a deeper devotion to our Universal Patron. That through St. Joseph’s intercession families may be strengthened, priestly and religious vocations may increase, demons may be scattered, and the sick and dying may know the peace of Jesus. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or illness: may they experience the healing graces of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], for whom this Mass is offered.  Let us pray to the Lord. Let us pray to the Lord.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.