Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Jesus said to his disciples: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ´I am going away and I will come back to you.´ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me." (John 14: 27-31a)

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for granting me the opportunity to be with you. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Petition: Lord, help me always to remember who I am, where I come from, and where I am going.

1. Activism: In today´s culture, many people believe, almost religiously, that what they do will eventually make them someone. They believe that from doing flows being, since their activity defines them. This makes it easy for them to be exploited. In nineteenth century America, a slave was often not told his birthday, so he could never really know who he was. He was just made to work. This same temptation exists today. Many people work such long hours — some as a means of escape from difficulties or responsibilities at home; others for the satisfaction they feel seeing a job completed; still others, just to earn more money and to be able to afford a more comfortable life. However, these are all manifestations of the same slavery.

2. My True Identity: With his example, however, Christ shows us a different way of life, a way that goes against the current. First I have to be. Then my doing will flow from my being. Christ says again and again: I am the Son of my Father. Now I will act accordingly. When Moses asked God of the burning bush who he was, he said, “I AM who AM.”

Who am I? What defines me is my relationship to God. Just imagine this: I have the privilege of being a child of God! God has loved me so much that he has adopted me as his child! This is something worthwhile. This is who I really am, and I should act accordingly, as Christ taught me.

3. True Peace: Christ´s great peace comes as a consequence of meditating on and living out who I really am. When I meditate, I discover that I am God’s creature. Suddenly, I find the strength to face reality. Others will be unable to exploit me, and I will stop exploiting others because I am – and they are – children of God. My dignity derives from this fundamental truth: I was created in God’s image and likeness. I came from God, and he is inviting me to return to him and be happy with him for all eternity.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I have the bad habit of focusing on my doing. That is why I am always anxious. I want to be like you, Lord, seeing first who I am and letting my activity flow from that. This will bring me peace. However, Lord, I need your grace. Help me to live as a true son or daughter.

Resolution: Today, I will do two kind acts to someone who is troubled in order to help them experience God’s love for them.

Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, "Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name-- he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you." (John 14: 21-26)

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for granting me the opportunity to be with you. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Petition: Lord, a lot of images distract me. Help me do something about this.

1. The Danger: It is easy to forget you, Lord, especially with all the images that are around me. Every image I harbor in my heart, every emotion I abandon myself to leaves its mark. These can come from the radio, the Internet, songs, novels… anywhere. They seem to swamp my mind and make it easier to forget you. These images and emotions can also impoverish, degrade, limit and reduce my ability to extract from life its magnificent content, usefulness and happiness. You remind me that I should use everything only in as much as it helps me to reach you, my final goal.

2. The Gift: On the other hand, I know you have sent us the gift of the Holy Spirit. As you promise in this Gospel, he will never stop reminding me of you. All I have to do is let his projector fill my imagination with images, with thoughts, with insights. Of course, I also have to use the world’s media correctly and in moderation. Holy Spirit, I know you are near; take possession of my soul and make it all your own. Guide my every decision so that I choose what is right and reject what is evil.

3. Accepting the Gift: When I do forget, the Holy Spirit will remind me of all that Christ has said.

All of the emotions and thoughts you inspire, Holy Spirit, will enrich my ability to live enthusiastically and forcefully. You will fill my mind with great and powerful images. All I have to do is open myself to you.

“The habitual difficulty in prayer is distraction. […] To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is necessary is to turn back to our heart: for a distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified. Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2729).

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I have the option of letting myself be consumed with thoughts of anger, lust and power—thoughts that will make me grow old and become a more intense version of myself, closed in on myself. Help me take the steps to avoid these temptations. Allow the Holy Spirit to animate my mind and my soul.

Resolution: I will clear my mind by filling my thoughts with God and his things

Fifth Sunday of Easter: We Must become Fruitful Branches

Our Lord makes a distinction between the branches that bear fruit and the branches that don’t bear fruit. We can say that what doesn’t bear fruit is under the dominance of death. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the blossom if that beauty will not last and bring us peace and closeness to Our Risen Lord and God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ also makes a very clear distinction between the branches which bear “much fruit” because through them circulates his blood of life and the branches that do not bear fruit because they lack life in Christ. It is a very sad verdict: There are people that lack this interior principal to animate their lives. They are governed from the exterior. Their unorganized impulses are manipulated by others.

The amazing good news of Waster is based on the truth that Jesus comes to save us from a life without life. He is now our life.

Let’s go a little deeper into this, ‘to bear fruit’ according to today’s reading: ‘Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth’. St. Catherine of Siena said once that “words without works and concrete actions are like the leaves of the trees; they will not satisfy the farmer. The farmer wants to see fruits, works, actions.”

Lord, thank you for granting me the opportunity to be with you. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, help me to grow in my interior life, so I can remain united to you

Lord, it is easy to trust what I can see, feel and touch. It is wiser, infinitely wiser to trust you, even if you are hidden from me for now.

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Jesus said to his disciples: "If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ´Show us the Father´? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it." (John 14:7-14)

Introductory Prayer: Father, how empty is the life that doesn’t know the joy of Jesus your Son. I have come to this prayer today to know you and your Son better, to love you more and to imitate your perfections. Thank you for this time of prayer.

Petition: Father, help me to be aware of your presence in my soul.

1. The Father and Jesus Are One: The liturgy gives us a second look at this Gospel passage. The great truth that Jesus is sharing with Philip is that as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus and the Father are one – they are inseparable. We worship Christ. We don’t merely honor him as the best of men; he is the God-man whom we adore. What Jesus is by nature we are empowered to be by grace. With our baptism, we became adopted children of God. Brought into the family of the Trinity, the divine persons dwell in our soul as in a temple. Do we realize the dignity we have been given?

2. Doing the Same Works As Jesus: Herein lies the possibility of doing the works of Jesus. If he lives in us, he can work through us. What an opportunity to cooperate with grace! When we are loving, kind and disciplined, we aren’t merely being good. These good deeds are more than just good; they have an eternal value. After all, they are the “works of Jesus.” We receive the reward for his works. Such is the generosity of the Master whom we serve!

3. Ask and You Shall Receive: The name of Jesus is powerful. He commands us to ask in his name for the things we need so that in granting them to us, the Father may be glorified. When we kneel before the tabernacle, we must approach the Lord with total and absolute confidence. He knows that our faith will grow when we experience his power in action: “Ask and you shall receive!” (Matthew 7:7-9).

Conversation with Christ: Lord, what a consoling thought is it that the Holy Trinity dwells in my soul. I am a child of God! Help me to do the works of God! I ask this in your name.

Resolution: Because God dwells in my soul I will try to treat others as he would treat them.

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father´s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:1-6)

Introductory Prayer: Father, how empty is the life that doesn’t know the joy of Jesus your Son. I have come to this prayer today to know you and your Son better, to love you more and to imitate your perfections. Thank you for this time of prayer.

Petition: Lord Jesus, grant me a greater intensity in my relationship with you, the Way, the Truth and the Life!

1. Follow Me, I Am the Way: Remember the olden days, when you would stop in a gas station and ask directions? “Follow me” was the easiest way to give directions. Something like that is happening in the Gospel today. To Thomas’ question, “How can we know the way?” Jesus gives himself as the answer. We know the way with infallible precision. A personal and passionate relationship with Christ is the sure way through this confusing world. Let us keep our relationship with Jesus always on our spiritual GPS. Whenever we have a doubt, we should ask ourselves, “How would Jesus act in this situation? What is the path he would follow?”

2. Believe in Me, I Am the Truth: Jesus gives his followers a truth so rock solid, that nothing can shake them. Just as he is the Way, he is also the Truth. “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12). With the Truth of Jesus, we have the answer to basically any question we need to ask. What a comfort it is to have Jesus as the Truth in this world of jaded souls and in this climate of relativism.

3. Come to Me, I Am the Life: “He’s the life of the party” is a compliment of high regard in certain circles. He’s the spark plug, the guarantee for an entertaining evening. If he’s not there, a deflated feeling hangs in the air and everybody wonders if there isn’t a better way to be spending their time.

A life lived with Jesus is never dull. He is the “Life” of more than just a party. The Christian with an intense relationship with Christ is completely fulfilled — he is never bored, nor is he boring.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. I thank you for giving me the great grace of my Catholic faith. Help me to share with others the immense joy of this personal relationship you have given me.

Resolution: I will speak to someone today about having a personal relationship with Christ.

Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ´Show us the Father´? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. (John 14: 6-14)

Introductory Prayer: Christ, I thank you for the gift of faith. You know that I believe, but I want my faith to grow. In knowing you I find meaning, rest and strength. I need you, Lord. I trust in your loving mercy. You know what I need the most today. All I ask is that you remain at my side throughout this day. That is enough for me. I want to spend this day making you happy, pleasing you with my every thought, word and action.

Petition: Christ, help me to know you and love you more each day.

1. I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Christ is the answer to our problems. Since he is fully God and fully man, his very reality unites humanity to God in a way never before hoped. It is in following Christ that we find our way. It is in believing in Christ that we discover truth. It is in accepting Christ that we gain life. Christians don’t simply follow a set of rules or believe in some doctrines, we follow a person: Christ. As Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, Christ’s “doctrine was himself” (Life of Christ, p. 153).

2. Show Us the Father: “Seeing is believing”, the saying goes. Yet this seems to go contrary to the faith. Didn’t Christ tell “doubting” Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29)? Here again, Christ seems to be chiding Philip for wanting to see. However, Christ isn’t correcting Philip for wanting to see; rather, he didn’t see in Christ what he was supposed to: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”

At the core of the doctrine of the Incarnation is that now the “face” of God is made visible in the person of Christ. Answering the man born blind whom he had just healed when asked who the Son of Man is, Christ said, “You have seen him” (John 9:37). The Second Council of Nicaea, in the year 787, reaffirmed against the iconoclasts the validity of using sacred images, linking religious pictures and art to the Incarnation (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 476). Man has a need to see God, and the Incarnation was God’s response.

3. Believe Because of the Works: Christ helps Philip’s faith by pointing to the works he has done. The faith cannot be proven in an empirical sense, but there can be many signs which assist our reason in that act of faith. Christ’s miracles, his moral stature, his words and ultimately his resurrection are strong arguments in favor of the faith. Nevertheless we must still decide to believe. Once we decide, then even greater works than Christ performed in his earthly life can be worked through us. Don’t wait to understand everything to believe, rather believe and you will begin to understand.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, let me see your face in prayer, in the Eucharist and in my neighbor. Be my way, my truth and my life. Be my model, my point of reference and my strength. Without you I can do nothing; with you I can do all things.

Resolution: I will do a conscious act of charity for my neighbor, making an effort to see Christ in others.

O God, who makes us glad by the yearly festival of Thine Apostles Philip and James, grant we beseech Thee, that we who rejoice in their merits may be taught by their example.

Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me." (John 12:44-50)

Introductory Prayer:God our Father, life of the faithful, glory of the humble, happiness of the just, hear my prayer. Through the obedience of Jesus, your servant and your Son, you raised a fallen world. Free me from sin and bring me the joy that lasts forever.

Petition:Lord Jesus help me to cling to you and not doubt. Be light for my path, leading me safely through this valley of tears to the eternal life of love with the Most Blessed Trinity.

1. I Came Into the World as Light.According to John’s Gospel account, the words of today’s passage are the last public teachings of Our Lord before his crucifixion. “I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.” Why did our Lord share this revelation with us at this time? One answer could be that he knew that the shadows of the cross would continue to influence man’s response to his love. To dispel those shadows our Lord speaks with authority and conviction that he is the true light that dispels all darkness, even the shadows of the cross that would soon be cast upon the stage of salvation history. An elder, scribe, theologian or moralist doesn’t give this description of Our Lord; this is Christ reaffirming his own divine sonship with all its implications. In his Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis writes, “If indeed there had been anything better and more beneficial to man’s salvation than suffering, Christ certainly would have showed it by word and example.” Do I follow Christ through the shadow of doubts and difficulties that my daily cross offers me? Do I do so confident that in whom I believe is the true Son of God, who cannot deceive or be deceived?

2. If Anyone Hears My Words and Does Not Observe Them. Our Lord makes the claim that men come face-to-face with God through him. Christ is not just a good person that humanity has looked up to throughout the last two millennia. His claim here is radical: to listen to him is to listen to God; to see him is to see God; to love him is to love God. How can I afford to be lukewarm before him? Lukewarmness may be understood as a general breakdown in the living of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Christians fall into lukewarmness because of neglect that causes the image of Christ to be obscured in their memory. They no longer cultivate friendship with Christ. Everything supernatural is reduced to lifeless duties and to to-do lists rather than loving a person, the person of Christ. St. Thomas says that lukewarmness is “a kind of sadness which makes a person sluggish in the performance of spiritual exercises on account of the effort they require.” In what areas of my life am I lukewarm in my relationship with regards to Christ?

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3. Judged on Love. Jesus tells us that he did not come into the world to condemn it. Rather, he came to save the world. Christ didn’t become incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, live a hard obscure life in Nazareth, live three years of intense, exhausting public ministry, and finally suffer an unjust condemnation, scourging and crucifixion in order that we be condemned to hell. He came that we might have life and have it to the full. It was not the wrath of God that beckoned him to this world; it was his unquenchable love for mankind. Still, in John’s Gospel we see a recurring paradox: Jesus came in love yet his love is a judgment on the heart of the person who experiences it. Love is reciprocal. It demands a response. In the drama of life, Christ offers us an untainted, pure love, indeed, the highest love of all. Truly, it is the greatest experience any man might encounter. Too often, though, we find that people see nothing in it. The experience offered in love then turns into a judgment. Christ, in revealing the mystery of the Father and his love, fully reveals man to man himself (cf. Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, no. 22). A person’s attitude towards Jesus reveals himself.

Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, I accept your love. I want to respond to your love more today. Increase my faith, hope and love for you. Help me Lord to respond to your love, accepting the way you want me to love you, for your love is life in the fullest sense. Reveal to me the deep meaning of my life: to love.

Resolution: I will renew my enthusiasm today in offering my difficulties to Jesus out of love