Daily Gospel Meditations - Saint John Society

Our circumstances don’t dictate who we become - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Are you giving too much weight to some circumstances? Are you allowing yourself to be simply carried away by some conditioning factors?

In what sense are human traditions wrong? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Why do you think it was important for Jesus to confront the Pharisees the way He did? What do you make of the fact that Jesus uncovered that, behind their strictness, the Pharisees weren’t really good observers of the Law? Have you incorporated habits that may be dissonant with the gospel in how you han...

The connection between salvation and healing - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What wounds have you come to recognize in yourself? Have any lies derived from those wounds become a criterion of judgment? How does Jesus want you to cooperate in your healing process, by undoing the lies of sin, by cultivating wholesome attitudes? What attitude or gospel criterion do you need to “t...

Salt of the earth and light of the world - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Where have you seen that distinctiveness of Christ in your life experience? In what situations could you be tempted to hide the light? What fruit have you seen when you or others let their light shine?

How did Jesus manage such an intense life? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What is most needed in your life right now? Do you need to incorporate more rest, prayer, reflection, time for others? Or to be more disciplined in your activity? Or to connect your activities with your purpose in life?

Sin and the loss of freedom - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Have you seen these dynamics of sin in your own life? Have you experienced the power it has to narrow down your choices and rob you of your freedom? How has Jesus set you free?

The instructions for the apostles’ mission - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What are the signs of authority that Jesus has given you to radiate his light? It could be your testimony, your faith, your love for Him, your peace, your eloquence. What have been the signs that drew you to Christ in the people that the Lord sent your way?

How come people in Nazareth didn’t believe in Jesus? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Have you seen someone go beyond what was naturally expected of them through the power of God? What is Jesus teaching you about the gift of faith? What is He teaching you about how to interact with those who do not yet share that same faith, and how to reach out to them?

Christ’s miracles are doors to higher gifts - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. With which of these characters do you identify? What do you learn from the way in which Jesus addressed the needs of each of them? How would you handle emotions in a situation like the one Jesus found himself in? Try to enter his mindset, his criteria, his feelings. How would Jesus guide you to manage...

The selflessness of Simeon and Anna – Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. How does this passage resonate with you? What is that big picture the Lord wants to remind you of? What is the Lord teaching you through the selflessness of Simeon and Anna?

The Beatitudes – Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What correspondences do you find between the beatitudes and the life of Christ and the saints? Which of these beatitudes applies to you in a special way? Which one is Jesus inviting you to pursue, and why?

Jesus calms the storm – Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What calls your attention about the rhythm of Christ’s life? What lesson do you draw from it? Has the Lord led you to face some storms, so that you could grow through that challenge?

The unexpected power of initial graces - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. How were the beginnings of your faith journey? Where did you find refuge and encouragement? Do you verify in yourself this disproportion between the beginnings and the outcome? What are the stages the Lord led you through in your growth?

The images of the lamp and the measure - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today's readings. How does Jesus intend that your light shine for others? Who are the people whose light, whose faith, love, example, have illumined your own path? What’s the measure you use to judge what you expect from others? Are you living up to those expectations yourself?

The parable of the sower - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Can you identify situations for each one of these soils in your life? Which is the prevalent one? What would the Lord ask of you, so that you can become good soil?

How did Jesus deal with family rejection? – Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings.

The mystery of willful blindness – Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Could stubbornness get the best of you in some moments? How is the Lord reasoning with you, so that you may always stay open to the light? How do you resist those who oppose you? And what would Jesus want you to learn from the way in which He confronted his accusers?

What is meant by the coming of the kingdom of God? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What do you think was most striking for people who encountered Jesus in those early days of his ministry? What are the characteristics of the kingdom Jesus brought? What change of mentality do you need to enter that kingdom more fully?

The double cross Jesus chose to bear - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What are the crosses you find in your path right now? Which of them are the result of your choices to serve Christ? How have you been strengthened or transformed by those crosses? Is the Lord inviting you to reconsider some of those choices, or to gain courage and go for more?

The task of calling and forming disciples - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Imagine Jesus forming his closest disciples. Then apply this to yourself: How has Jesus formed you? Who have been His human instruments in forming you in faith? He has called you to be with him. Are you nourishing this aspect of being with him? Where, to whom is He sending you?

How Jesus balanced an intense life - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What is the motivation that drives you to undertake the different responsibilities you have, or may have, in your career, family, or ministry? What are the boundaries that the Lord is inviting you to set, so as to guard that important balance that you need?

How Jesus handled hard situations - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What calls your attention in these emotions we notice in Christ? How do these sentiments of Christ resonate with you? In what ways is He inviting you to imitate him?

Keeping the sabbath in perspective – Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What would Jesus say to you? Would He encourage you to be more observant of Sunday as a day of rest? Would He say to you what He said to the Pharisees: don’t make one single principle absolute when you need to balance it out? How would Jesus encourage you to achieve a better balance in your life?

Why were the disciples not supposed to fast while Jesus was with them? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. What are the things you need to fast from, so as to reconnect with Jesus? Is Jesus inviting you to grow from an identity centered on disciplines and customs, to an identity centered on your relationship with him?

Why did Jesus come into the world as a sacrifice? - Fr. Lucas Laborde. Click here for today’s readings. Why did God come in a sacrificial way? What connections do you discover between love and sacrifice? What does it look like to receive new life from God? What instances have you seen of something like that?