Daily Gospel Reflection on Veritas Catholic Network

Reconciliation Monday (the Beauty of Confession) - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 12:1-11
Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with a costly perfumed oil. She reverences the Lord who has done great things for her, and she is trying to pay back this small bit that she can.
In Father Sam’s Diocese (of Bridgeport) they celebrating Reconciliation Monday, so Father illustrates the beautiful gift of the Sacrament of Confession.

Hosanna to the Son of David Becomes Crucify Him - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is from the Gospel of Mark.
“Hosannah to the Son of David”. The people welcome Jesus to Jerusalem, thinking he is their kind of Messiah. They will not even one week later, yell “crucify Him, crucify Him”.
We are called to enter into Jesus’s suffering, to stand underneath the cross with Mary and Joseph.
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

Jesus, the True Passover Lamb - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 11:45-56
Jesus has taken the step back, having completed His teaching mission. We’ve now arrived at the Passover. Just as the Jews sacrifice the lamb, Jesus, the true Lamb is preparing to be the voluntary sacrifice of Merciful Love.
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

If Jesus Performs Miracles, He Is Who He SAYS He Is - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 10: 31-42.
Jesus says, if my actions don’t back up what I say, don’t believe me. Of course, Jesus’s actions do back His words up, and so we are called to true belief. We are called to wrestle with His words as well, when we do, how will you respond to Jesus’s words?
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

Before Abraham Was, I Am - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 8:51-59
"Before Abraham came to be, I am.” Jesus is the New Covenant. He is the the one who brings not only those who are the descendants of Abraham by flesh, but all people, into relationship with the Father.
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

The Gospel of John! - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 8:32-42
Father Sam talks about the difficulty of listening to John’s Gospel and the importance of reading those peculiar phrases John often uses.
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

The Feast of St. Joseph! - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph, the Universal Patron of the Church!
Joseph was a just and righteous man and thus had peace in himself. This peace allows him to be open to God. So too, we are called to be at peace with ourselves and with God.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

The Woman Caught in Adultery - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 8:1-11
The sinful woman has been caught in the act of adultery. The scribes and the pharisees are ready to stone this woman, but only He who is sinless, Jesus, can cast the first stone. Importantly, Jesus does NOT do this. Rather Jesus doesn’t condemn this woman and instructs her (and us) “go and sin no more”. So too, we, having been saved by Christ, must go and sin no more.
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead! - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 11:1-45
Jesus visits Bethany to bring Lazarus back to life. Martha, who was once too busy to meet Jesus runs to Jesus to meet Him and listen to His words of comfort. Ultimately, upon meeting Him, Martha ends up making an act of faith in Jesus. Yet, we still see that at the tomb Martha still needs to grow in her faith. Jesus desires this same growth for us. Let us pray today that we are open to that growth. 
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

The Devil Drives Division EVERYWHERE So Seek Unity! - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 7:40-53
There’s division in the crowd because nobody is able to “grasp” (physically and metaphorically) Jesus. Is He the Messiah, even though He comes out of Galilee? If He’s not, then WHO is He?
We also see a tactic of the evil one. The division that is arising among the people is rising to the level of the leaders of the Jewish leaders. Today too, the devil is driving wedges between us and friends, family, and our spiritual family in the Church.
Let our prayer today be a prayer for unity in the Church and between us and our Heavenly Father.
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is from John 7
Jesus is coming to the most important part of the Gospel, even His life. He goes up to Jerusalem and there He is made known by the people. He cries out in the Temple and speaks the Truth. They try and arrest Him, but no one can lay a hand on Him because His hour has not yet come. That hour coincides with the Passover, the hour where Jesus saves us from sin and death itself.
Where do we need Jesus to reveal the Truth of Himself to us?
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

Standing in the Breach with Jesus - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Reading is from Exodus 32:7-14.
Moses has been up on the mountain the people cry out for a “god” lower-case g. Aaron makes the golden calf, and God tells us Moses He is going to destroy the people. Then it says Moses, “stands in the breach”. He intercedes and asks for mercy from God. This is exactly what Jesus does, standing in the “breach” between the sinfulness of us and the holiness of God, imploring mercy for us. Not only this, He does it even now.
May we too stand in the breach with Jesus, asking for God’s mercy on the world.

To the Father through the Son - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 5:17-30.
Jesus is articulating his union with the Father. Everything the Father says, the Son repeats. What the Father wills, the Son does.
This is great passage for understanding the Trinity. Despite being two separate Persons, they are in complete Union in  their Divinity.  This helps us to understand how relationship with the Father. By doing what the Son commands we do what the Father commands. By finding union with the Son we have union with the Father.
Let us seek that perfect union with the Father through the Son today.
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

Do You Want to Be Healed? - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 5:1-16
“Do you want to be healed?”. This is the question the Lord asks the man at Bethesda. Jesus wants to know if we want to be well. Fr. Sam proposes this is more of a spiritual push than a physical healing. It is a call to give up on our excuses, the excuses we’ve been making for 38 years (metaphorically, of course).
Let us pray for the grace to move past our excuses so we can follow Jesus in full!Praised Be Jesus Christ!

What To Do When It's Hard to Trust Jesus - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is John 4:43-54
Jesus returns to Cana in Galilee where a royal official wants Him to heal his son. Jesus challenges his motivation, and when the man asks again, Jesus tells him his son has been healed. Then it says “the man believed what Jesus said and left Him”.
This man didn’t see a sign, and instead chose to believe. It isn’t always easy to trust what God has said, that He will build us up and that He uses all things for good. This royal official is now a model of trust in Jesus
Jesus, help us to trust in You!
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

Lord Jesus, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today's Gospel Reading is Luke 18:9-14.
Jesus speaks about the repentant tax collector, beating his breast before God, and the pharisee who tells God how good he, the pharisee, is. Fr. Sam connects this story to the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus, Son of God, has mercy on me a sinner”.
 

You Have to Love God with Every Fiber of Your Being - Daily Gospel Reflection

Mk 12:28-34
Jesus is tested by a scribe, asked "what is the greatest commandment"? Jesus gives the great command "Hear, oh Israel, the Lord your God is God alone, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your soul". 
Do you love God with every fiber of your being? Let us pray for the grace to do so today. 

Jesus Casts Out the Mute Demon - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is Lk 11:14-23
Jesus casting out a mute demon is accused of casting out said demon by the power of a demon. This is ridiculous. Rather Jesus casts out the demon by the power of the Kingdom of God. Notably, this means that the Kingdom of God was present then and is now present still. God is among us and with us. He is calling us to conversion and bringing us healing.
Let us pray that we can recognize the presence of God this Lent as He brings us healing and grace!
Praised Be Jesus Christ!

The Law Remains AND God is Fully Merciful - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today's Gospel Reading is Mt 5: 17-19
Jesus has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Not even the smallest letter or smallest part of a letter will fall from the law.
During Lent we are reminded that God’s mercy goes far beyond anything we could ask for or even imagine. But God’s gift of mercy isn’t just handed out, there’s also an expectation. God’s mercy calls us to obedience, because after all, not a letter from the law will pass away. The law remains, the commandments remain, and God is merciful and does forgive. Both are true.
Let us pray that we will understand our need for repentance and also our need to be renewed in obedience to the law.

Forgiving People EVERY Time - Daily Gospel Reflection

Today’s gospel reading is Mt 18:21-35
How often do we need to forgive others? 7 times or 77 times? We have to forgive in a way that is incomprehensible, innumerable.
My forgiveness is very limited, but God’s is not. No matter how many times I have sinned, when I go to confession, God is always offering me His mercy.
Forgive, Forgive, Forgive.
Praised Be Jesus Christ!