Audio Divina

The Cost of Discipleship: Jesus' challenging words on discipleship now seem to become more than challenging: they are harsh. Anyone who wishes to be a disciple much reckon their deepest and most intimate relationships, and all their possessions, as lesser than their following of Jesus and the gift of God's reigning presence among us. But as we plan for our ultimate future, it is crucial that we pu...

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled:  Within the setting of one of Luke's favourite scenes, a meal-table, Jesus turns the value-system and the way of judging one another on its head. We expect honours and privileges to be given to the significant people in out society. As Jesus has shown in his loving self-gift for us, this is not the way things work in the kingdom of God. Seeking the lower pla...

We have heard you preach and shared your table:  When asked who will be saved, Jesus responds that we must work hard to enter the narrow door. Many who regard themselves as having a privileged place because they have shared a meal with Jesus and heard his word might find that the door is shut on them ... because they do not do their best to enter the narrow door. The simple, honest, loving, Christ...

Fire on earth:  A fire burnt in the life of Jesus, his unconditional acceptance of what his Father asked of him, and it dominated his life- to the Cross. The same fire burns in all of us who follow him. However, as we know, the passionate living of a Christian life of love and self giving, or care and goodness to others, directed by the Word of God and nourished by the Church and our fellow Christ...

Servants of the Servant Messiah:  Jesus instructs his disciples on the need for them to be servants, ready for the return of their servant Messiah, so that he may serve them yet again. We only know that this moment will come. We do not know when that will be. Peter asks to whom this message is directed. Jesus responds by describing the qualities of the good and faithful servant, and the failure of...

Storing up treasure:  Jesus will not enter into a debate over who owns what. He insists that such concerns miss the point. It is important that we be good stewards of the treasures that come to us through our hard work, and our care for others. But the danger is that we come to thing that our lives are made secure by what we own. We know that this is not true, but we live as if it were. The parabl...

Teach us to pray:  Our reflection on Luke's Gospel has instructed us to care for others, and to learn from the word of Jesus. Today's Gospel tells us how to respond to our God, who is our Father, as Jesus responded to his Father. This much loved prayer calls us to place God's name and God's kingdom first. How hard that can be. It also asks that we be forgiven as we forgive others. That is risky in...

To serve, to listen - or both?  The famous episode of Jesus' presence in the house of Martha, accompanied by her sister Mary, must be interpreted in the light of immediately before this account, Luke tells last week's parable: the Good Samaritan. It is crucial to care for others, as does Martha in today's Gospel. But we must also listen to the word of Jesus, as does Mary. Indeed, we are invited to...

Who is my neighbour?   A lawyer wishes to get the better of Jesus. Is Jesus able to give one Law that gives eternal life? He provides that law of love of God and neighbor, but the lawyer insists - who is my neighbour? Jesus shatters his confidence with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan is the neighbour who cares, and the lawyer must do likewise. He must behave like a Samaritan, some...

To be a missionary of Jesus:  As Jesus set out for Jerusalem, he instructed his disciples on the cost of discipleship. However, there is more to being a disciple of Jesus. A disciple must also be a missionary: sent out to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom. In today's Gospel Jesus instructs missionary disciples how they are to behave whole on mission. Their most important method of proclaiming the...

Following Jesus to Jerusalem: Today's reading from the Gospel of Luke marks a turning point in his story of Jesus. After his ministry in Galilee, he sets his face to go to Jerusalem, where he will be received into heaven. He does this "resolutely." But a Samaritan village will have nothing to do with such a man, and his disciples do not understand. Jesus must instruct them on the radical nature of...

They all ate, and were filled: We resume the Year of Luke in his account of the multiplication of the loves and fishes. The story tells us of Jesus' ongoing eucharistic presence, always open in the baskets of pieces of bread that remain at the end of the meal. But the meal happens because the disciples do what Jesus asks them to do: "You give them something to eat." He continues to challenge us to...

The Father, his Word, and his Truth:  Easter Season closed with the celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The "Ordinary time of the year" begins with the extraordinary tradition of our triune God. Jesus always looked to his Father. He promised that after his departure, the Father would send the Spirit. We live Christian lives because God has so loved us that he gave us his Son. The Son saved...

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything: The Season of Easter closes in the celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit, perfecting the gift of the Law at Sinai. A new law, the Law of Jesus, now determines our lives. The role of the Spirit is to keep reminding us of that law, guiding, teaching, and protecting us. We "learn" from the Spirit as we continue to make the challenge of Jesus' person and...

The Ascension of the Lord:  But at the end of the Gospel of Luke, the disciples are full of joy. They have repented and their sins have been forgiven. Jesus gives them final instructions. They are to wait in the city of Jerusalem for the gift of the Spirit. They can now be witnesses to the ends of the earth to what they have experienced - repentance and forgiveness of sin. Jesus departs, and the m...

6th Sunday of Easter:  As Jesus moves further into his Last Discourse with his disciples before his passion, death, and resurrection, he tells them that he must depart from them. But he will come back to them, and dwell with them. There will, however, be a time of absence. In that in-between time, the disciples are instructed on the need to live by the word of Jesus, and promised that they will be...

5th Sunday of Easter: As Judas departs, Jesus cries out in triumph. His moment of glory, his loving self-gift on the cross is at hand. But he will soon be leaving his disciples. They must now face a time when he is no longer with them as he was during his ministry. They must continue his presence by following the new commandment: loving as he has loved. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar...

Listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd: Within the context of the Jewish celebration of the Feast of the Dedication, marking the return of the Jerusalem Temple to its proper place as a way to God, Jesus presents himself, his word, and his way of life as an authoritative way to God. He has such authority as there no longer need to go to a Temple to find Good; the Father and Jesus are one! Pres...

Do you love me? Feed my sheep!  The Gospel of John closes by drawing the two foundational disciples back into the action. Having given up on Jesus, Peter decides he is going fishing. However, recognised by the Beloved Disciple as "the Lord," Jesus enables a miraculous catch of many fish, a symbol of the universal Church. At the subsequent meal, Peter overcomes his three-fold denial of Jesus by his...

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

Easter Sunday: Neither Mary Magdalene or the two disciples recognise that Jesus has been raised, even though the see the emptiness of the tomb and the burial cloths. But the Beloved Disciples, even though he does not see Jesus, believes. "Blessed are those who do not see and believe." Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-D...

Holy Saturday: The attention in the account of Easter Sunday morning in Luke's Gospel is given to the fact that an encounter with the risen Jesus will not take place in a graveyard. He has been raised. Look for him elsewhere. The women, and all the disciples are asked to "remember the words" that Jesus had spoken to them about his resurrection from the dead during his ministry. As often in the Gos...

Good Friday:  A story of Jesus' lifting up and enthronement as King on the Cross. 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 Good Friday, Year C. Gospel Reading: John 18-19 This week's readers are Jennifer and Chris Narrated and Produced by Br Jeff Miller SDB For more information visit:...

Holy Thursday: 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 C. Gospel Reading: John 13:1-15 This week's...

Father, forgive them! … "This man was innocent":  Each of the four Gospels tells the story of the Passion of Jesus. But they each tell it in their own way, in an attempt to explain what Jesus' death means for us. Luke's story is highlighted by Jesus' compassion, forgiveness, the missioning of the Church, and above all, the message that Jesus is innocent, someone who does not save himself, but give...