The New Water of Life (Jn 5:1-16) Prayer: O Jesus, heal my body and remove my sins. Imagination: Picture Jesus speaking to the healed man. Context: John portrays Jesus as going to Jerusalem on feast days to show that Jesus fulfills Jewish aspirations concerning the Messiah. This is the third …
St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Joseph’s Dilemma (Mt 1:16-25) Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. Give to me Joseph’s fidelity to God’s plan. Imagination: Picture Joseph receiving the angel’s message. Context: Luke tells us about Mary accepting her role as Mother of God. In Matthew’s gospel, the stories focus …
The Blind Man (Jn 9:1-41) Prayer: O Jesus, make me a faithful disciple, even amid persecutions. Imagination: Picture Jesus healing the blind man. Context: John’s gospel is built around 3 main stories. The Samaritan woman represents a beginner who has accepted Jesus as Messiah. The blind man (in this gospel) is the …
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk 18:9-14) Prayer: O Lord, fill me with light that I would see my sinfulness. Imagination: Picture Jesus with His disciples. Context: The two men both arrive at the hour of prayer (either 9:00AM or 3:00PM). Three aspects mark the Pharisee – his prominent …
The Scribe Close to the Kingdom (Mk 12:28-34) Prayer: O Jesus, I want to love you with all my heart and soul. Imagination: Picture Jesus with the crowd while he speaks with this good-willed scribe. Context: This scribe is not hostile. His question is sincere. In response, Jesus quotes the …
Casting out Devils by God’s Finger (Lk 11:15-26) Prayer: O Jesus, use your great power to bless ME. Imagination: Picture Jesus with the disciples and the crowds. Context: In this text, Jesus meets two enemies. They agree that Jesus worked these miracles and cast out Satan. Some question the source …
The Law and the Prophets (Mt 5:17-20) Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. Make me great in Jesus’ Kingdom. Imagination: Picture Jesus teaching his disciples. Context: “Law and Prophets” means the whole Old Testament. Jesus wants his Church to retain these books and teach them to his disciples. At the same time, …
In the Litany of Saint Joseph, one of his titles is “terror of demons.” In these days when evil seems to have the upper hand, Saint Joseph is a powerful intercessor in our own struggle against evil. As God chose Mary to be the perfect mother of Jesus, God chose …
The Unmerciful Servant (Mt 18:23-35) Prayer: O Jesus, fill my heart with the Holy Spirit of mercy towards others. Imagination: Picture Jesus with his disciples. Context: This parable about the Last Judgment highlights the deepest secret of discipleship. They must learn how to forgive. The warning is serious. God, who …
Rejection at Nazareth (Lk 4:24-30) Prayer: O Lord, never let me reject you. Imagination: Picture Jesus confronted by the angry citizens of Nazareth. Context: The mood of the crowd changes suddenly from acceptance to rejection. Jesus pinpoints the cause. They want to see miracles. Jesus recounts two stories in which …
The Samaritan Woman (Jn 4:5-15) Prayer: O Jesus, give me the living waters of the Kingdom. Imagination: Picture Jesus speaking to the woman by the well. Context: John’s gospel has three central stories. The Woman at the Well represents a beginner. The healed blind man represents a disciple in the middle …
The Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32) Prayer: O Heavenly Father, let me never leave your house. Imagination: Picture Jesus with His disciples. Context: This is a “Parable of the Father’s Love” and is drawn from real life. Many young unmarried sons (under twenty) asked for their inheritance to leave Palestine and …
Taking Away Their Vineyard (Mt 21:33-43) Prayer: O Lord, you have given me everything. Make me a faithful tenant. Imagination: Picture Jesus with his disciples and his opponents. Context: Jesus spoke this parable in Jerusalem when the chief priests and elders questioned his authority. The parable fitted their situation. The tenants …
The Rich Man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31) Prayer: O Lord, awaken me by this warning. Do not let me be like the foolish brothers. Imagination: Picture Jesus teaching the crowds. Context: Judaism believed that riches proved God’s favor and that poverty proved sinfulness. Jesus reveals the true picture, which shocks …
Ambitious James and John (Mt 20:17-28) Prayer: Come Holy Spirit. Reveal the glory you have prepared. Imagination: Picture James and John seeking favors from Jesus. Context: Jesus has just told the apostles that he would come in glory. With great ambition, James and John want that glory. Before granting any …
The Hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Mt 23:1-12) Prayer: O Jesus, give me the heart of a servant. Imagination: Picture Jesus instructing His disciples in humility. Context: Jesus does not criticize the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees (although he alludes to moral rigorism) but he condemns their practices of seeking …
Compassionate as the Father (Lk 6:36-38) Prayer: Father, fill me with your compassion. Imagination: Picture Jesus teaching his disciples. Context: After teaching about loving enemies, Jesus concludes with “Be compassionate as the Heavenly Father.” He then stresses the need not to judge others. This will determine what will be measured …
The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9) Prayer: Jesus, take me up the mountain of prayer. Imagination: Picture Jesus in glory with his three apostles. Context: Peter has just proclaimed by faith that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Now, he and two others experience this truth as they …
Love Your Enemies (Mt 5:43-48) Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. Make me perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect. Imagination: Picture Jesus asking the disciples to imitate the Father. Context: Jesus continually demands that his disciples show goodness towards enemies. They must act as children of a Heavenly Father. At the …
Anger (Mt 5:20-26) Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. Let your gentleness overcome my anger. Imagination: Picture Jesus teaching his disciples to reconcile. Context: Jesus teaches a “greater goodness” which is demanded by the holiness of this new Kingdom. In this gospel, he compares the Old Testament teaching on anger and his …
