Daily Gospel Meditations - Saint John Society

The openness and strictness of Christ - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Can you trace that activity of the Holy Spirit in your own soul before you came to Christ? Do you know people who are not walking in faith yet, but are being prompted by the grace of God to take good steps? And then, are there things that Jesus is asking you to avoid or separate yourself from, so as not to...

Understanding the significance of the cross - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Are there areas of faith or areas of your heart in which you don’t want to enter? Why would Jesus want you to learn about the wisdom of the cross? What is his purpose in teaching you about it?

Why doesn’t God change things more forcefully? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Do you recognize in our world the signs of the same impatience Christ had to deal with? Why did God choose to do things the way He did? How are you faring with God’s patience, with the fact that He will give you the light you need, but won’t immediately remove the obstacles you find around you and...

The ambivalence of the human heart - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Why do you think Herod wanted to see Jesus? In what sense do you think Herod was and wasn’t free? How do you see yourself reflected in the ambivalence of Herod’s soul?

The careful formation of the disciples - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Do you see this dynamic at work in your own life? Who were your mentors and guides? How have you been formed and sent? What is Jesus showing you through these lines of the gospel?

Bonds arising from new life in Christ - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Is Jesus inviting you to assert the precedence of his calling in an area in which that precedence is challenged by others? How can you tell whether you follow some lifeless principles, or the living Law that is the person of Jesus?

Why are we asked not to hide our faith? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. In what situations are you tempted to hide the light? And how could you shine your light before others? Have you noticed in your own experience that virtuous cycle, of being receptive to God’s word, sharing it, and growing from it?

Why it’s not wrong to seek greatness - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Do you sense at times there’s a disconnect between your priorities and those of Jesus? What does it mean for you to seek greatness? Are you seeking the kind of greatness that Jesus wants for you, or greatness according to the world?

When did Matthew discover his real self? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. How does this account illumine your own conversion? In what ways Jesus’ calling revealed to you your true identity? Was some bridge person instrumental in your own faith journey? Do you think Jesus may have called you because you are meant to be a bridge person for a specific group?

The possibility of living for God as a new reality established by Christ - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Has something new been enabled in your life, or in people around you, because of Christ’s proclamation? What has the Lord provided for you through the presence of consecrated people in your life?

The difference between shame and contrition - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Have you experienced the difference between shame and contrition? In what situations would Jesus challenge your pride, and invite you to have a truer view of the big picture? How would Jesus want you to express your love for him and for others?

God’s case against fallen humanity - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Have you been tempted to find fault with God’s ways? Why do you think God may have emphasized one side of the coin or the other, in your own case? What was key for you to recognize his ways in your life?

Miracles that go beyond natural outcomes - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What traits of the heart of Jesus do you perceive in this account? Can you think of an instance of a spiritual resurrection? What is the Lord trying to convey to you through these miracles?

Why Jesus praised the centurion’s faith - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What calls your attention about this story and especially about the character of the centurion? What is the Lord trying to tell you, by setting the centurion as an example of faith?

How Jesus revealed his identity - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Have you experienced how God leads you to gradually understand one thing after another, that you now understand things that would have been hard to get at the beginning of your journey? Is the Lord encouraging you in a certain area to think the way He does, not the way human beings do? In what ways have you reali...

How to understand the cross - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What does the Lord want to show you through the mystery of the cross? How could some trials become the occasion for God’s light to be manifested? What crosses have resulted from your faithfulness to Christ?

What is spiritual blindness about? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What are some of your blind spots? How has Jesus helped you see more clearly in the past? What are some of the disciplines that help your vision remain unclouded?

Replicate the love you have received from God - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. When have you experienced God’s love in your life? Have you ever witnessed this kind of love in others, or even received it from someone you treated like an enemy? What are the steps that Jesus would encourage you to take to imitate this higher love?

The significance of the beatitudes and woes - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Where does your heart usually go? What are the things you think about the most? What does usually cause changes in your mood? What is it that you most admire in people who live by the beatitudes? What step could you take today to draw closer to that ideal?

Why did Jesus establish the Church? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What calls your attention about this election of the Twelve? In what ways do you think that Jesus wants to shine his light through you? What would the Lord want you to do to be faithful to the mission He has for you in this life?

How to apply the law of the sabbath in today’s context - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. If there’s a capacity that Jesus would want to restore in you today, what would that be? What are the voices that Jesus would oppose, so that you can regain the balance you need? How can you recover the sense of purpose in what you do?

The healing of our capacity to connect with others - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. How does this story relate to the transformations the Lord has done in your own life? How has He enabled you to communicate with others in a deeper way? Is this an area in which Jesus wants to help you grow even more?

Does the sabbath have significance for a Catholic? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. How are you honoring the Lord’s day? How could you use it better? How should you set boundaries around the demands of work? How can Jesus’ interpretation of the law help you, in the way He teaches us to balance things, and to see them in their right proportion?

Why didn’t Jesus’ disciples pray and fast as much as others? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What would it feel like to walk with Christ? In what ways do you imagine that that interaction with him would resemble prayer and fasting? In what ways would it be different? How would that ongoing interaction with Christ accomplish the fruits of prayer and fasting even more intensely...

The calling of Simon - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. How does this passage illumine your own encounter with Christ? Have you perceived in your own life how it is that knowledge of Christ and self-knowledge grow together? Have you seen the miraculous fruitfulness that takes place when you act at the Lord’s command? What’s the mission field Jesus has in mind for you?