Readings: Zechariah 12:10-11; Psalms 62:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9; Galatians 3:26-29; Luke 9:18-24;

In today’s gospel story Peter, speaking for himself and for the disciples, rightly confesses his faith in Jesus as the long-expected Messiah. When Jesus reveals to him and the disciples the implications of his being the Messiah they begin to draw back. By confessing Jesus as the Messiah the disciples show that they have gone above the level of the “people” who take Jesus to be nothing more than a prophet. Jesus then proceeds to tell them the implications of what they had just said: “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 9:22).

Now, the disciples are not ready for this; they begin to withdraw. This withdrawing is more dramatic in the gospel of Matthew where Peter takes Jesus aside and tries to talk him out of the suffering and death he was destined to undergo. But in Luke’s version of the story which we read today focuses on the disciples as a whole and not particularly on Peter. This might explain why it does not include the dialogue and the incident between Jesus and Peter after Peter had made the all-important confession. Rather Luke shows the disciples pulling back from Jesus at his arrest, suffering and death, which shows that they do not understand the implication of the faith they profess in Jesus as the Messiah.

Peter and the disciples are to be commended for the courage to think for themselves. Jesus shows that he expects his followers to think for themselves when he asks them first, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (verse 18), and then the all-important question: “But who do you say that I am?” (verse 20). Disciples must inform themselves on what the current thinking is on any given issue. One can achieve that by reading books, listening to the radio, watching the television and surfing the internet. Over and above that, disciples must then, in light of Christian faith and revelation, make up their minds on the issue.

What do you hear from people about Jesus? What impact does it have on your personal faith and the faith of your family, community and “your world?”  Who is Jesus for you?

Readings: First Kings 17:17-24; Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13; Galatians 1:11-19; Luke 7:11-17;

The lesson of this encounter between Jesus and the widow of Nain is so simple that we may miss it: God cares. “Do not cry,” Jesus tells her, as if to say, “I can’t bear to see you suffer like this. Let me help. ”This woman had lost her husband, now she has lost her only son – she is alone, suffering without hope. And then she meets Jesus, and he simply can’t let her suffer alone, and so he performs a miracle. No one asked him to perform this miracle; he took the initiative to intervene.

The Christian God is not a God who remains aloof: he does not keep his distance; he cares too much about us, in spite of our sinfulness, weakness, and brokenness. This is the message of every page of the Gospels, from Christmas to Calvary: God cares; he has compassion on us; he suffers with us, giving meaning to our pain.

Sometimes we feel like we are suffering alone, as if God doesn’t care. Sometimes Christ seems far away, because he doesn’t give us the miracle we long for. But we can’t let those feelings deceive us. This widow did not know about Calvary. She had never seen a crucifix. The only way Christ had to show her his compassion was through a miracle.

But we have seen Calvary. We know to what depths God’s compassion has gone. And we can always go to the Tabernacle, where we find the Eucharist, the living memorial of Calvary – the revelation of God’s unfathomable compassion, his “suffering with” each and every one of us.

Truly, we never have to suffer alone. And so, when we choose to do so anyway, we not only increase our own pain, but we double Christ’s as well, by turning a blind eye to his cross.

Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalms 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15;

In this brief excerpt from the Last Supper Discourse, the Lord teaches us something amazing today. He gives us a glimpse of the very nature of God. Like a lightening flash, he lights up for a split second the “structure” so to speak, of God.

The Holy Spirit, Jesus tells us, can only speak what he hears from the Son. And everything the Son has, he has received from the Father. That means that each one communicates their entire selves to the others. They don’t just share some points of view, information, or experiences: they actually communicate their whole selves, their entire divine persons.

What is God? God is a total unity of three persons, an everlasting community of living love, of mutual self-giving. There is no holding back, there are no hidden agendas, there is no manipulation – the inner life of God is absolute, no-holds-barred generosity, eternal and unlimited self-donation. That’s what God is: three perfect divine persons who perfectly share the unique divine nature.

How can this be? How can God be three distinct persons and still only be one God? We simply don’t know. We can only get an inkling of it from our human experience of life in a family. We are created in God’s image, and so the love that links husband and wife and gives rise to new life – this is a pale reflection of the divine family of the Blessed Trinity. Non-Christians often criticize this concept of the Trinity. They say it is a contradiction. But in fact the very mystery of it is a sign that it rings true. No merely human mind could have made this up; only God could have revealed it. And anyway, if we could understand God fully, he wouldn’t really be God.