FRESHImage Sunday Gospel Reflections with Tony Crescio

On this 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, we arrive at the conclusion of Jesus' Bread of Life Discourse. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, the way St. John the Evangelist concludes this episode clearly demonstrates that Jesus is all in when it comes to His teaching on the Eucharist. What's more, He teaches us that to live as He does requires that we do the same with the whole o...

On this 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, we reach the very heart of Jesus' Bread of Life Discourse from chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. As Tony Crescio (@anthonycrescio) explains, if examined in their original Greek, the words Jesus uses to describe the consumption of His body and blood are very clear. Yet they must be understood in their original context. When they are, we find that the Eucharist c...

On this 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, we continue our journey through Jesus' Bread of Life Discourse. This Sunday we hear Jesus refer to Himself not only as the Bread of Life, but as the Living Bread that came down from heaven. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, this teaches us something very profound about how we exist as creatures, and about how God intends us to begin exp...

As we begin our 4 week examination of Jesus' Bread of Life Discourse from the Gospel of John, we hear Jesus allude to God's miraculous feeding of the People of Israel in the wilderness with manna. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, Jesus speaks of the manna in the desert both to affirm God's saving action on behalf of the People of Israel in the past, and in order to begin e...

On this 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we turn to chapter 6 of the Gospel of John for the first of several weeks. This weekend we witness Jesus' miraculous feeding of the 5,000. As Tony Crescio (@anthonycrescio) explains, this miracle sets the stage in various ways for what Jesus will teach us concerning the Eucharist in the coming weeks. This becomes more readily apparent if we reflect on the feed...

On this 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, our readings remind us that throughout history, God has called human creatures to participate in His ongoing work of salvation. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, this was God's purpose for calling the People of Israel into covenantal relationship with Him, that they might be a sign to the world that only by living in communion with God...

On this 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, we are taught that being Christian means possessing a missional identity. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, the Christian's missional identity is one shared with the Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. Ultimately, this means that at their core, the Christian is called to structure their life so as to participate in God's ongoing work of salvat...

On this 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Mark presents us with the paradox of the Incarnation by placing us in the midst of seemingly competing understandings of Who Jesus Is. As Tony Crescio ( ‪@anthonycrescio‬ ) explains, on the one hand, we know who Jesus Is because He Is one of us, He Is human. On the other, there is clearly something different about Him demonstrated by the things He does, an...

On this 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mark the Evangelist further reveals Jesus' identity through two healing episodes, the healing of Jairus' daughter, and the woman suffering from hemorrhages. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, these episodes both reveal the nature of Jesus' mission to us, and what Jesus says to those He interacts with in these episodes teaches us how we o...

This Sunday we are drawn into the midst of a raging storm upon the sea with Jesus and the disciples. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, this episode is a central part of Mark's Christological argument, for through it he seeks to communicate to us Who Jesus Is. In the end, Mark turns to us and challenges us with an all-important question: Who is this, Whom even the wind and s...

On this 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus teaches us about the Kingdom of God through two parabolic images. And the Divine Vision Jesus reveals to us through these images is grand indeed. For, as Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) explains, the Kingdom of God is not a matter of belonging to this group or that, but encompasses the entire cosmos and every single creature therein. Music by Bjorn Lynn...

This weekend Jesus teaches us what it means to live as members of the Family of God. A first glance of this Sunday's Gospel seems as though Jesus teaches us this at the expense of His Mother, Mary. However, as Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, a careful reading shows how, in fact, Jesus points right at Mary as an example of what it means to live as part of the Family of God. M...

This weekend the Church celebrates the great Solemnity of Corpus Christ, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The ongoing Eucharistic Revival has emphasized the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, as it should. However, as Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, this teaching will fall on deaf ears if we do not live the Eucharist we receive. Said differently, the world will...

This Sunday we celebrate the Mystery that Is Our God. As Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) explains, the way we can know this Mystery most deeply and intimately is by experiencing It. This is where the sacraments of the Church come in. Baptism first gives us a share in the Triune Life of Love while the Eucharist enables us to experience this Love most profoundly and grow in It, this side of eternit...

As we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, we also celebrate God's ongoing work of salvation in history through the Church, the sacrament of salvation in the world. As Tony Crescio (@anthonycrescio) explains, apart from the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit within Her, the Church would have no ability to make the saving love of Christ present to the world. But wherever Her members harmoniously...

As we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord's Ascension, we are reminded that Jesus' ascent into Heaven is something that we are all meant to experience, and not just at the end of our lives or at the end of time. Rather, as Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) explains, we begin participating in the Ascension of Jesus Christ here and now as members of His Body, the Church. Music by Bjorn Lynne Check us...

On this 6th Sunday of Easter, Jesus commands us to do something that seems impossible, to love as God loves. As Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) explains, such a command would indeed be impossible to live out and therefore futile for God to give us, had God not given us a share in the Love that He Is from all eternity, through the Paschal Mystery of the Incarnate Son. Music by Bjorn Lynne Check us...

On this 5th Sunday of Easter, we are once again presented with one of the "I Am" statements of Jesus, this time "I am the true vine." As Tony Crescio (@anthonycrescio) explains, like the image of the Good Shepherd explored last weekend, the image of the vine teaches us something about Who Jesus Is and our relationship to Him. This time, the message is has to do with the nature of the Church. Music...

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, for regardless of liturgical cycle, our Gospel reveals Jesus as the Good Shepherd. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, in our own time and place, the image of the Good Shepherd can be misused to distort our understanding of Who Jesus Is. But a careful examination of our Gospel for this Sunday demonstrates how by us...

Having celebrated the Feast of Divine Mercy on the 2nd Sunday of Easter, on the 3rd Sunday we are reminded that Divine Mercy continues to act down to the present day. As Tony Crescio (  @anthonycrescio  ) explains, God's Mercy is present and active in our world through the Church and its members, who Jesus entrusts with carrying on His mission through history. Concretely, this looks like...

In its celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church speaks to the world the message that it desperately desires to hear. As Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) explains, despite the apparent self-assuredness and self-sustaining façade the world puts up, as human creatures we also betray a sense of being broken and in need of a God Who Is Goodness and Mercy. Today's celebration meets this desire of...

On this most solemn night, the Church celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and His triumph over our enemies of sin and death. However, as Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) explains, while the Resurrection of Christ is the apex of the Christian Faith, it is definitely not the end of the story. Rather, as our Gospel for the Vigil teaches us, for those who bear the name of Christ, this night i...

On this Palm Sunday, Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) addresses a contemporary challenge voiced by many concerning justification. Namely, that it is God Who must justify Himself for all of the violence and evil in the world, which He is ultimately responsible for. As Tony explains, by attending to the Passion of the Son of God Incarnate, we discover a God Who not only is complete Self-Sacrificing...

On this 5th Sunday of Lent, we see two movements revolving around Jesus. On the one hand, we find that many are attracted to and being drawn to Him. And on the other, a group determined to do whatever it takes to stop the growth of His ministry. As Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) explains, it is the confluence of these two movements that prompt Jesus to speak of His hour of glory, which as bewild...

As we arrive at the midway point in our Lenten journey on this 4th Sunday of Lent, the Church bids us rejoice, laetare! The celebration of joy amid the Lenten discipline may seem odd at first, though, as Tony Crescio ( @anthonycrescio ) explains, it makes all the sense in the world. For, it is precisely amid the struggle for unity with God that God reminds us of our only true cause of lasting joy,...