VEYM LEAGUE OF CHAPTERS
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus establishes his authority for his words and actions. You will recall that when at the outset of his ministry the Lord spoke in the synagogue at Capernaum, what first got the attention of the crowd was not what he said but the manner in which he said … Read moreThursday, March 23, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, we see Jesus as the judge who shows mercy and love. It is hard to read any two pages of the Bible—Old Testament or New—and not find the language of divine judgment. Think of judgment as a sort of light, which reveals both the positive and the negative. … Read moreWednesday, March 22, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, we find the beautiful healing of a paralyzed man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Jesus sees the man lying on his mat next to a pool and asks, “Do you want to be well?” The man says yes, and Jesus replies, “Rise, take up your mat, … Read moreTuesday, March 21, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph. Every episode of Joseph’s life is a crisis. He discovered that the woman to whom he was betrothed was pregnant. He resolved to divorce her quietly, but then the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream and explained the anomalous pregnancy. So … Read moreMonday, March 20, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today in the strange and strikingly beautiful account of the healing of the man born blind in John’s Gospel, we find an iconic representation of Christianity as a way of seeing. Jesus spits on the ground and makes a mud paste, which he then rubs onto the man’s eyes. When the … Read moreSunday, March 19, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel compares the self-centered prayer of the Pharisee with the God-centered prayer of the tax collector. The Pharisee spoke his prayer to himself. This is, Jesus suggests, a fraudulent, wholly inadequate prayer, precisely because it simply confirms the man in his self-regard. And the god to which he prays is, … Read moreSaturday, March 18, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus sums up the laws of love. It was a common practice in Jesus’ time to ask a rabbi to identify the central precept of the Law. Thus Jesus is asked, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” He gave his famous answer: “‘You shall love the … Read moreFriday, March 17, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, we learn of a person possessed by a demon. Jesus meets the man and drives out the demon, but then is immediately accused of being in league with Satan. Some of the witnesses said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Jesus’ … Read moreThursday, March 16, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus declares that he has come to fulfill the Law. The same Jesus who railed against the hypocritical legalism of the Pharisees also said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” And … Read moreWednesday, March 15, 2023
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable that illustrates God’s mercy. The Latin word for mercy is misericordia, which designates the suffering of the heart, or compassion—cum patior (I suffer with). Mercy is identical to what the Old Testament authors refer to as God’s hesed, or tender mercy. It is the … Read moreTuesday, March 14, 2023