Daily Reflections

Today, Christ asks us as well: “Do you love me?” And the answer is not only spoken… it is lived in a life offered.

Jesus prays for us to come together as one and not live as isolated individuals. Jesus sees us as created, unique, precious, equal persons and created in the image and likeness of God.

The terrifying question is not whether the world hates the Gospel. Jesus already told us it would. The more dangerous question is whether we have learned to betray the Gospel while defending it.

Yet, how often do we focus our attentions on the things of the world and place our priorities on the temporal while ignoring the eternal?

Let us therefore not lose heart in times of struggle. Instead, let us hold firmly to the Lord who has conquered the world.

We, too, have been “baptized with the Holy Spirit” because, like the first disciples, we have been claimed by Christ to be his witnesses to every person who comes our way.

Jesus reminds us in the gospel today of the importance of being willing to ask God for what we need.  Sometimes we do this in prayer, other times we are called to listen to the people that God places in our lives.

Because of Jesus, we know that no matter what we go through, God will companion us in our labor and bring us to resurrection and new life.

We get to try to deliver unconditional love, mercy, and humility in everyday life. We aspire to address the needs of the marginalized. We want to help heal broken relationships, whether they are between individuals, groups, or even nations.

This God, who is the creator of all, who is“not far from any of us.” A God who cannot be fashioned from anything of the earth, be it gold or silver, but rather is one who is always present. The great I AM.