Reflection for the Week

After feeding the spiritual hunger of a vast crowd, the Lord multiplied five loaves and two fish for the people to eat, although the Disciples did not fully understand the meaning behind the miracle. Jesus then sent the Disciples and the crowd on their way so that He could pray by Himself for a while. Terrifying His friends by walking through waves on the Sea of Galilee to rejoin them in their boat, the Lord then calmed things down. As Jesus continued to preach, heal, and Baptize people, news about Him spread. John the Baptist sought to magnify

After seeing the newborn Savior cradled in a lowly manger, shepherds returned to their labors while praising God. When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, a prophetess gave thanks to God and spoke about the Christ Child. John the Baptist preceded Jesus in public ministry. God had revealed to John that he would see the Holy Spirit descend like a dove upon the One to come. After that, John recognized Jesus and publicly proclaimed Him as the Son of God-the One who would Baptize with the Holy Spirit. Andrew and another follower of John t

An angel appeared to Joseph to reassure him after He learned of Mary's expected Child. Away from home, with no comfortable lodging available, the Holy Family still welcomed shepherds who arrived after receiving heavenly tidings of the Savior's birth. To keep Jesus safe from King Herod, the family fled to Egypt. John the Baptist, not much older than Jesus, later preached a baptism of repentance and hope of salvation through the One who came after him. Even if we cannot imagine what to say to someone in need of spiritual reassurance, do we trust

Anyone could pray in the outer Temple area, and Jesus ransacked a marketplace inappropriately set up there. He offered to tell priests and elders where He got the authority, but only if they answered whether the baptism offered by John the Baptist had heavenly or human origin. Scripture traces Jesus' family tree. Although Divine, Jesus shared in humanity through His birth to the Virgin Mary. When two miraculously expectant mothers greeted each other, Elizabeth called Mary the Mother of the Lord, blessed for believing. When we question why God d

Mary wanted to understand how she could give birth to the Son of God, but accepting the angel Gabriel's answer still required great faith. Like children wanting people to sing or dance to whatever tunes they played on their flutes, people criticized John the Baptist and Jesus for ministering in their own ways. God, who never tires, can renew people's strength. Jesus showed the kind of meekness that means patient endurance; it takes inner strength! Like a good shepherd, the Lord does not abandon one sheep gone astray. During Advent, do we recogn

When Jesus invited the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him, they did not hesitate. Observing a poor widow placing two small coins into the Temple treasury, the Lord compared her sacrifice to contributions made by others with wealth to spare. Jesus foretold destruction of Jerusalem, including its richly adorned Temple, and people wanted a warning sign to expect. For the Disciples, He advised looking toward redemption, not destruction. Scriptural letters of Saint Paul pointed out that Jesus came for everyone, but no one can bel

Jesus healed a blind beggar, who saw the glory of God in what Jesus had done for him. Onlookers in a crowd saw no reason for Jesus to favor Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector, by staying at his house. In a parable, Jesus described profitable servants handsomely rewarded when a nobleman became king. In anger, the Lord ransacked a marketplace set up in the Temple area meant as a place of prayer open to everyone. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God at hand. Fantastical symbolism in the later Book of Revelation conveyed the writer’s historical time of