Audio Divina

Seed is sown. Will it bear fruit?: Jesus begins to tell a series of parables that will be received by some and rejected by others. The leaders of Israel remain "outside" the Kingdom because their hearts are hardened and yet, the seed is sown, and whatever its reception, an abundant harvest will follow. The growth and spread of the Kingdom cannot be stopped. Turning to his disciples, he explains th...

The necessary yoke and burden: As the Gospel of Matthew moves away from the description of Jesus as a preacher and a healer, he will begin to encounter opposition. Before that begins, we are told that Jesus is so crucial because only He can make God known to those who are open and receptive to his teaching. Once members of his family, we must take on the family discipline: a yoke and a burden that...

The costs and rewards of discipleship: Today's Gospel is dominated by the expression "anyone." That means all of us! We are first challenged by need to put the love of Jesus Christ before all loves, without playing down the centrality of love in our families and elsewhere. Then we are told that there is only one way to find true life, and that is by giving it away. The Gospel closes with examples...

Do not be afraid: Sent out as missionaries of Jesus, he instructs us that we must not fear. There will be difficulties, but we are to trust in God, who cares for the smallest and simplest creature. But we must be prepared to courageously witness to Jesus in society. He will then speak up for us when we come to meet our heavenly Father. Sisters and brothers of Jesus, we must show our preparedness t...

To be Missionaries of Jesus: After a long story of Jesus as a teacher on the mountain (Matt 5-17) and a worker of miracles for the less fortunate (Matt 8-9), Jesus turns to his disciples and commissions them to be missionaries as he is a missionary: dependent upon him, receiving without charge and giving without charge. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney...

We are the eucharistic presence of Jesus Christ: All of the Gospels tell of Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and fish by the Lake of Galilee. John reports Jesus' words to his audience who cannot accept that his gift of bread is greater than the gift of manna, a body broken and blood spilt for the life of the world. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney S...

The oneness that Love creates: This brief Gospel is one of the most famous texts from the Bible. Behind these few famous words of Jesus lies the secret of what we call the mystery of the Trinity. Try as we may, and many have tried over the centuries, the inner workings of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not known to us. We do know that God the Father so loved the world that he sent his...

The gift of the Spirit puts and end to fear: In the Gospel of John's account of the encounter between the risen Jesus and his disciples, they gather again in the upper room. Before he suffered and died he promised them that he would give them the Holy Spirit. After his resurrection, he comes to them, but they are gathered in fear, the doors firmly locked. Jesus sets them free. The gift of the Spir...

I will be with you always! The celebration of the Ascension of the Lord marks the end of an era. Jesus is no longer with us. The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles tell of a departure of Jesus through an ascension. But the Gospel of Matthew reads this period between Jesus' presence and his final return differently: It will be a time when he will be with us. He is Lord of all, calling all...

To love Jesus and to keep the commandment of love: Anyone who claims to love Jesus must live according to his commandments. We all hope to love Jesus, but wonder if we can keep the commandments. But we are not alone. As Jesus was the "first Advocate," teaching and showing us what love is all about, his return to the Father will lead to the gift of "another Paraclete who will equally journey with u...

I am the way, the truth, and the life: Last week, we heard Jesus present himself as "the gate," and now we hear why - he is the way, the truth, and the life. On the night before he died he delivers a long discourse to the disciples. He is about to leave them, and they must continue on in the world in his absence, calling on them to have faith so that they might continue his "way" in the world, unt...

I am the gate!: The tenth chapter of the Gospel of John eventually identifies Jesus as the Good Shepherd, as do other passages in the Gospels (see John 10:11-18; Luke 15:3-7; Matthew 18:12-14). However, the opening ten verses to John 10 that we use in the Liturgy today do not identify Jesus as the Good Shepherd. He is presented as the gate. This is surprising, but the Gospel passage on Jesus as th...

From Jerusalem to Emmaus, and back again!:  For Luke, the centre-point of God's saving presence among us is Jerusalem. There all the Paschal events take place. There the community will begin. But two disillusioned disciples have had enough. They walk away from Jerusalem. The risen Jesus sets out to journey with them. They know everything, but they do not see Jesus. By explaining the Scriptures and...

Blessed are those who do not see, yet believe: Today's reading focuses upon the risen Jesus' gift of peace to his frightened disciples. Most importantly, it blesses all subsequent disciples who, unlike the first disciples and Thomas, believe without seeing. John wrote his Gospel for these subsequent disciples. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, A...

The Birth of Easter Faith: The empty tomb does not generate belief in Jesus as the Risen One for Mary Magdalene, nor for the two disciples, Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple. But they are drawn to the tomb. There they see that God has been victorious over death. The clothes of death have been emptied. Even though he does not "see" the Risen Jesus, the Beloved Disciples sees God's victory, and b...

The Risen Jesus Promises a New Era in Galilee: Matthew has already  reported earth-shattering events such as an earthquake, splitting of rocks and the resurrection of the dead at Jesus' death. He does the same in his account of the resurrection, marking the turning point of the ages. The women only find an empty tomb, are told to announce Jesus' resurrection and his future meeting with them all in...

The death of Jesus, and the birth of a new era: John's story of Jesus' passion is unique. Jesus is in control at all times in the Garden, before Jewish authorities, before Pilate, on the Cross, and is buried as a king. At the centre of the story, Pilate proclaims him as a King, and on the Cross he comes to his final glory, perfecting the task given to him by his Father. In dying, he pours down the...

The Foot Washing: Jesus symbolically shows his limitless love for his own in his self-gift for "his own." His loving care for others is the way all his disciples are called to follow. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for Holy Thursday, Year A. Gospel Reading: John 13:1-15 Read by...

The Death of Jesus, and the Birth of a New Era :  Matthew's passion narrative tells the story of Jesus' last night with his disciples, his arrest, trials, and eventual execution. Through this account of Jesus' unjust and violent death Matthew has insinuated a message central to his understanding of what God has done for us in and through Jesus: he has opened the way to God for all nations as all t...

Do you believe this? Instruction on true faith continues. The sickness and death of Lazarus is not "unto death," but to manifest the glory of God and set in motion the glorification of Jesus, the Son of God. The disciples, Martha, Mary, and the Jewish people all struggle to cope with Jesus' claim to be the resurrection and the life. His restoration of Lazarus to life is a sign that his claim is tr...

From blindness to sight - from sight to blindness: The story of the man born blind leads us further in our understanding of true faith. The man begins totally without sight. Gradually he comes to confess that "the man called Jesus" is a "prophet," possibly "from God," and falls before Jesus confessing that he is "the Son of Man." He has journeyed from blindness to sight. Another story is also told...

The Saviour of the World: Over the next weeks those to be baptised at Easter, and those of us already baptised, will be instructed on the nature of true Christian faith. The Samaritan woman is led by Jesus from total inability to accept his offer of waters that will produce eternal life, through the hope that he might be the Messiah. Summoned by their kinswoman, the Samaritan villagers come to Jes...

No Place to Pitch a Tent: Today's Gospel reminds us who it is that we are following to a cross. The transfiguration indicates that the suffering Son of Man is also the Messiah, the Son of God. Chosen disciples are witness to this truth, and they would like to bring Jesus' journey to death to an end by making tents,to hold this moment. Christian life cannot just "pitch a tent" - the journey to Jeru...

The testing of God's Son: Our Lenten Gospels begin with Matthew's account of Jesus' temptation by Satan. Immediately prior to this passage, a voice from heaven cried out that Jesus is God's beloved Son so Satan tests whether or not this is true. Using Israel's Scriptures, he challenges Jesus: "If you are the Son of God ..." but Jesus rejects the temptations by using the Scriptures against Satan, d...

Ash Wednesday: Jesus instructs his disciples to focus upon the God who makes sense of life and love, rather than themselves and their glory. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for Ash Wednesday Gospel Reading: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 This week's readers are  Julia and Dino Narrated and...