Posts by Nathaniel Dreyer
The Love and Mercy of God for Humanity
Today’s very brief first reading from John’s first letter hammers home the message that we have been contemplating throughout the Christmas season. In four short verses, John uses some form of the word “love” ten times and says clearly what we have been living out in this Christmas season: “In this way the love of…
Read MoreChrist’s Compassionate Love for Humanity
As we make our way through the first week of Advent, today’s readings all remind us of how the upcoming feast at Christmas, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ among us, is an incredible act of mercy on the part of God the Father. Mercy In the first reading, Isaiah paints a beautiful picture…
Read MoreSeeking What is Lost
In today’s Gospel, we hear how the Pharisees and scribes grumbled amongst themselves when they saw how Jesus welcomed and ate with tax collectors and sinners. In reply, Jesus offers two parables that show God’s reaction to sinners. Although both images would have been familiar to His listeners, what would have stood out was the…
Read MoreGood Samaritan
Today’s Gospel presents us with the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. And although we’ve certainly heard it before, we can consider, first, the context of the parable and, second, how to apply it to our lives. The Bloody Way The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was about twenty miles, and was a winding one…
Read MoreTruth
Today’s Gospel presents us with an incident on the Sabbath with the disciples. The parallel text in Matthew’s Gospel reads “At that time, Jesus was going through a field of grain,” Saint Thomas Aquinas says that this phrase “at that time,” is actually quite important, because it means that Christ knew it was time to…
Read MoreFeast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
Today’s feast recalls that moment when, shortly before His passion, Christ revealed His glory to His three closest Apostles. Jesus knew that His suffering and death would be a cause of scandal to them, and so He prepared them in advance by showing them the glory that was hidden beneath ordinary appearances. Hidden Realities Indeed,…
Read MoreBe a Saint
Today’s Gospel presents us with Jesus sending His disciples out to begin the work of proclaiming the Good News. In Redemptoris Missio, Pope Saint John Paul the Second calls the parallel text from Matthew 10, Christ’s “missionary discourse,” and it is here, he says, that Jesus “teaches them the paths of mission [the way to…
Read MoreSimon and Peter
In today’s Gospel, we change gears. Over the past several weeks, the Gospels have come from Jesus’ Last Supper discourse. Now, we instead have a passage taken from the ending of the Gospel according to John, and, in particular, we have the conversation between Jesus and Peter. While there are many noteworthy things in this…
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