Catholic Daily Reflections

Read Online Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” John 21:20–22 Just before today’s...

Read Online Meeting Us Where We Are At After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time…” John 21:15–16 Today’s resurrection appearance is the thir...

Read Online “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24 You are the Father’s gift to Jesus the Son. What an amazing reality to understand! This profound truth is at the heart of today’s Gospel in which Jesus speaks of the unique and intimate rela...

Read Online “Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.”  John 17:11 In the ancient world, a name was not only a means of identification but also an expression of the authority and power that the person possessed. For instance, when a king or ruler issued a decree, it was done “in the...

Read Online “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.” John 17:9–10 Though the Church has traditionally summarized sin under the seven capital sins, sin is also understood to arise from three primary sources: the flesh, the world, and t...

Read Online The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” John 16:29–30 Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus often speaks in allegories and metaphors that the disciples struggle to comprehend. Among these, He refe...

Read Online Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.” John 17:1–2 The entirety of Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel is traditionally referred to as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. This prayer concludes the Last Sup...

Read Online The Prayer of Divine Worship Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” John 16:23–24 During Jesus’ Last Supper Discourse, the theme of praying to the Father in Jesus’ name comes up repeatedly. Each time, Je...

Read Online “When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” John 16:21–22 When we live fully united to...

Read Online One of the Twelve “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles. Acts 1:24–26 Matthias, the saint we honor today, was named an Apostle to replace...

Read Online “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18–20 What a monumental task the Apostles were given! These are Jesus’ p...

Read Online Bearing All Truth Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.”  John 16:12–13 Even Jesus’ closest companions, who spent three years with Him during His public ministry, could not bear the fullness of Truth without the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. This is a significan...

Read Online Finding Hope in Grief Jesus said to his disciples: “Now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:5–7 Each of us experiences g...

Read Online Giving Bold Witness Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:26–27 The Last Supper Discourse spans from Chapters 13–17 in John’s Gospel, making it Jesus’ longest continuous teaching i...

Read Online “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” John 14:18–20 The feeling of being an orphan, of longing for belonging, reflects a deeper spiritual reality Jesus addressed with His disciples in...

Read Online Chosen Out of the World Jesus said to his disciples: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” John 15:18–19 No one wants to be hated. Yet our Lord makes it very clear that because He has “chosen you out of...

Read Online Increasing Your Capacity to Love “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.” John 15:13–15 Is it possible to know everything tha...

Read Online Eternal Love and Joy Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” John 15:9–10 Imagine being loved by someone with a perfect love. Perfect love has no bounds, and experiencing it would be the source of indescribab...

Read Online Bearing Fruit “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” John 15:4–5 Jesus is the source of life and fruitfulness. Yet, too often, we try to...

Read Online Jesus’ Transforming Peace Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 There are two types of peace we can enjoy. First, there is worldly peace. This peace is the absence of conflict, war, or external turmoil. Civil governments must work to ensure this...

Read Online Obedience—the Gateway to Intimate Love Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” John 14:21 Most people would not think of “love” as obedience to commandments. Yet, that is precisely how Jesus defines it. To understand the truthfulness o...

Read Online The Way to the Father “Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:4–6 In addition to His parables and moral teachings, Jesus revealed to His disciples deep mysteries in a direct way that t...

Read Online “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” John 14:12–14 Have you ever prayed repeatedly for something, only to feel your prayer was una...

Read Online Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” John 14:1–2 We all need hope, especially in the face of life’s uncertainties. The inspired virtue of hope is much more than wishful think...

Read Online When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.” John 13:16–17 Today’s Gospel comes from the Last Supper, just after Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. What an act of humility! By analogy, it would be as if...