St. John’s Gospel changes the dynamic of the first disciples to follow Jesus to which we are accustomed in the synoptic Gospels. Whereas Saints Matthew Mark and Luke portray Jesus calling the disciples to follow him, St. John’s Gospel uses the Baptist as the one who introduces Jesus to his followers. Following his introduction, Andrew seeks out Peter. Then Jesus calls Philip who...
Each of us can reflect on where we are, in terms of knowing Jesus. Each of us can probably relate to a time when we knew "about" Jesus, and may have "practiced" that faith, to one degree or another. But, the experience of knowing Jesus - experiencing his love and mercy, personally - is quite powerful. It is freeing, emboldening, and it sets us apart from the world around us...
One of the ways in which Scripture scholars identify the authorship of the Scriptures is by looking at the vocabulary used by the writer. Today’s first reading from the First Letter of St. John repeats a very familiar word from St. John’s vocabulary; namely, the word “remain.”
St. John’s use of this word connotes the idea of continuing to exist after other...
Today is the eighth day of Christmas. On this New Year’s Day, we focus our attention on the role of Mary as the Mother of God. She gave birth to the Son of God, a divine person with divine and human natures. As a faithful Jewish maiden, she and her spouse raised their son according to the Jewish traditions and Law. That faithfulness is exhibited in today’s Gospel text, for on the...
As the reading from the First Letter of St. John reminds us today, we have reached the final hours of year of our Lord 2024. Ironically, the Gospel text for today takes us back to the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, which, in turn, takes us back to the beginning of God’s creation of the universe. On this last day of the year, we are reminded of the great gift we have received: the...