Archive | Question of the Week

In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers the gift of the Eucharist, but He will not force people to accept it. Some depart because the acceptance of the Bread of Life and all that it entails is too challenging. It will cause them to have to change their lives in ways which they are not willing to […]

The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is indeed a mystery of faith. In a world where answers to questions and explanations of how things work can be researched in an instant, it can be difficult to sit with such a mystery. Jesus becoming man, raising the dead, healing the sick, multiplying loaves and […]

Today’s Gospel focuses our attention on our faith in Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist. Jesus is the bread of life. He gives us his Body and Blood as bread so that we may have eternal life. When we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, our lives begin to reflect the reality […]

How many times have you said “prove it to me”? This is basically what the crowds are saying to Jesus today – “Prove it to us. Give us a sign that we might believe in you.” Every day God gives us signs that he loves us, cares for us, forgives us, and is with us. […]

Just as Jesus transformed the small boy’s simple gifts of five barley loaves and two fish into a feast for thousands, so he transforms our simple gifts of bread and whine into a spiritual feast for all, the bread of life and the cup of salvation. The way the Lord works in the Eucharist is […]

The Gospels often refer to Jesus’ going to quiet places in order to pray – and this is a habit that he obviously wishes to inculcate in his disciples. They are sent out to preach and to heal – but in order to sustain that, they need themselves to be refreshed and, where necessary, healed. […]

In the opening of today’s Gospel, Jesus expresses amazement at the unbelief of those close to Him. What amazed Jesus was the lack of faith among people. In spite of the rejection He experienced, He did not hesitate to continue what He felt His ministry was. We need to have that same determination, knowing full […]

The crowd represents the Christians of today who are close to the Master. They have the opportunity to listen to his word and “touch him” in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. If their life is not transformed, if their “diseases” are not cured and the vices, sins always remain the same, if the cantankerous character […]

Even before he was born, John was aware of Jesus’ identity as Scripture tells us “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” John spent his adult life pointing others toward Jesus the Christ. He was a fiery evangelizer urging others to repent and […]

Today’s reading challenges us to find the potential and the beauty in the little things. Just as a mustard seed grows into a large, beautiful plant, the smallest of actions and occurrences may be the beginnings of something much bigger. The Kingdom of God exists in the smallest of seeds: a child’s laugh, a sunshine-y […]