Category: Daily Reflections

“Throughout, Stephen’s face seemed like that of an angel.” –Acts 6:15 Listen to the Mass Readings The modern idea is that an angel’s face is sweet, cherubic, and blissful. Yet the truth is that angels have their faces constantly focused on Jesus. Angels “fix [their] eyes on Jesus” (Heb 3:1). The angels worship Jesus, but also are in a state of constant focused attention on Jesus. Angels are messengers from God who wait for a message from God to deliver or for a command from the Lord to execute. Angels center their entire existence on Jesus (see Jn 1:51; Mt...

“Stay with us. It is nearly evening – the day is practically over.” –Luke 24:29 The Jewish people of Jesus’ time measured their days not from morning to night but from evening to evening. Thus, Jesus began the day of His death with the Last Supper, the first Mass, and He ended the day of His resurrection with the second Mass. After a Liturgy of the Word (lasting for the time it takes to walk about seven miles), Jesus “took bread, pronounced the blessing, then broke the bread and began to distribute it to them. With that their eyes were...

“Look around among your own number, brothers, for seven men acknowledged to be deeply spiritual and prudent.” –Acts 6:3 Mass Readings: April 29 First: Acts 6:1-7; Resp: Psalm 33:1-2,4-5,18-19;Gospel: John 6:16-21 Listen to the Mass Readings “They presented these men to the apostles.” –Acts 6:6 Did you notice that the leaders of the early Church placed the responsibility for finding deacons on the “community of the disciples”? (Acts 6:2) That’s us! We are to be on the lookout for those who would make good leaders in the Church. This was new for the early Christians. Jewish priests and Levites were...

Jesus “knew well what He intended to do but He asked this to test Philip’s response.” –John 6:6 Mass Readings: April 28 First: Acts 5:34-42; Resp: Psalm 27:1,4,13-14; Gospel: John 6:1-15 Listen to the Mass Readings Jesus plans to test us. He will present us with humanly impossible situations (see Jn 6:5) to see whether we will walk by faith or by sight (2 Cor 5:7). He will test us to see whether we will judge by God’s standards or by men’s (1 Sm 16:7; Mt 16:23). We may even be tested by persecution. Will we do the natural thing:...

“Make us responsible for that Man’s blood.” –Acts 5:28 Mass Readings: April 27 First: Acts 5:27-33; Resp: Psalm 34:2,9,17-20; Gospel: John 3:31-36 Listen to the Mass Readings The high priest accused the apostles of being determined to make the religious leaders “responsible for that Man’s blood.” However, most of the religious leaders refused to take responsibility for Jesus’ execution. Otherwise, they would not have called Jesus “that Man” but “the Savior of the world.” The apostles were determined to make responsible for Jesus’ blood not only the religious leaders but everyone, including themselves and us. They said that God told...