Jesus sent the apostles forth to carry his message to more people, taking little for the journey and moving on if people would not receive them. This allowed them to reach more people. We are also called to move forward and reach out to others, not to look back or bring people in.
Jesus tells us not to worry about one who can kill the body but not the soul, for he loves us, body and soul, and has a plan for us in the kingdom of God. So let us be ready to amplify his words.
Jesus told his disciples that they will have trouble in the world but peace in him, because he has conquered the world. In the same way, God will not take away all of our problems, but will give us the grace to overcome them.
Jesus told his disciples that they will have trouble in the world but peace in him, because he has conquered the world. In the same way, God will not take away all of our problems, but will give us the grace to overcome them.
Jesus' teaching on eating his body and drinking his blood are very challenging to his disciples, and many decide to quit following him. Perhaps the Church's teaching on the Eucharist is not challenging to us, but are there other parts of Jesus' message that we simply tune out rather than challenging our own views?
On this Holy Thursday we hear of Jesus loving his disciples to teh end, and washing their feet. We also are invited to love "to the end", washing the feet of others.
With love, Mary poured perfumed oil on Jesus' hair, while Judas complained that the money could have been used to help the poor. But Judas was not sincere, caring more about the money than the poor. Let us walk with Jesus in sincerity this Holy Week.
We are workers in the vineyard of the Lord, and it is not for us to hoard the profits for ourselves, but to get a harvest for God. So in Lent, we do not simply work on our own holiness, but in being more effective evangelizers.
In his parable of the rich man ignoring poor Lazarus at his door, Jesus taught us that God wants us to care for the poor at our door, so we can enjoy good things, as long as we do not do it to the exclusion of helping others in need.
After a long day of healing, Jesus wakes early the next morning to go out to a deserted place to have time to pray. We all need intimate times of prayer in order to continue preaching and healing others.
When the people pursued Jesus across the lake, he did not admonish them, but felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Do we have that compassion for the needs of others?
