ocarm.

org 1
Lectio Divina
May 2021
Saturday, May 1, 2021 3
Sunday, May 2, 2021 5
Monday, May 3, 2021 11
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 13
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 16
Thursday, May 6, 2021 18
Friday, May 7, 2021 20
Saturday, May 8, 2021 22
Sunday, May 9, 2021 23
Monday, May 10, 2021 29
Tuesday, May 11, 2021 31
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 33
Thursday, May 13, 2021 35
Friday, May 14, 2021 38
Saturday, May 15, 2021 40
Sunday, May 16, 2021 42
Monday, May 17, 2021 48
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 50
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 52
Thursday, May 20, 2021 54
Friday, May 21, 2021 57
Saturday, May 22, 2021 59
Sunday, May 23, 2021 61
Monday, May 24, 2021 67
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 69
Wednesday, May 26, 2021 71
Thursday, May 27, 2021 74
Friday, May 28, 2021 76
Saturday, May 29, 2021 79
Sunday, May 30, 2021 82
Monday, May 31, 2021 86

ocarm.org 2
Saturday, May 1, 2021
Easter Time

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you are distant and unknown, and yet so nearthat you know and love and save us
through your Son Jesus Christ.
May he be present in us and in our actionsthat we may do the same works of justice,
truth and loving service and thus become the sign to the worldthat your Son is alive
and that you are a saving Godnow and forever.

Gospel Reading - John 14: 7-14

Jesus said to his disciples: "If you know me, you will know my Father too. From this
momentyou know him and have seen him.
Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and then we shall be satisfied.' Jesus said to him,
'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 'Anyone who
has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you
not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? What I say to you I do not
speak of my own accord: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his works. You
must believe me when Isay that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least
believe it on the evidence of these works.
In all truth I tell you, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do
myself, and will perform even greater works, because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask in my name I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If
you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Reflection
• John 14: 7: To know Jesus is to know the Father. The text of today’s Gospel is the
continuation of that of yesterday. Thomas had asked: “Lord we do not know where
you are going, how can we know the way?” Jesus answers: “I am the Way, I am Truth
and Life! No one can come to the Father except through me.” And he adds: “If you
know me, you will know the Father too. From this moment you know him and have
seen him”. This is the first phrase of today’s Gospel. Jesus always speaks of the Father,
because it was the life of the Father which appeared in all that he said and did. This
constant reference to the Father provokes Philip’s question.
• John 14: 8-11: Philip asks: “Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied!” This
was the desire of the disciples, the desire of many persons of the communities of the
Beloved Disciple and it is the desire of many people today: What do people do to see
the Father of whom Jesus speaks so much? The response of Jesus is very beautiful

ocarm.org 3
 and is valid even now: “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not
know me! Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” People should not think
that God is far away from us, distant and unknown. Anyone who wants to know how
and who God the Father is, it suffices that he looks at Jesus. He has revealed him in
his words and gestures of his life! “I am in the Father and the Father is in me!”
Through his obedience, Jesus identified himself totally with the Father. At every
moment he did what the Father asked him to do (Jn 5: 30; 8: 28-29, 38). This is why,
in Jesus everything is revelation of the Father! And the signs and the works are the
works of the Father! As people say: “The son is the face of the father!” This is why in
Jesus and for Jesus, God is in our midst.
• John 14: 12-14: The Promise of Jesus. Jesus makes a promise to say that his intimacy
with the Father is not his privilege only, but that it is possible for all those who believe
in him. We also, through Jesus, can succeed in doing beautiful things for others as
Jesus did for the people of his time. He intercedes for us. Everything that people
ask him for; he asks theFather and always obtains it. as long as it is to render service.
Jesus is our advocate, he defends us. He leaves but he does not leave us defenseless.
He promises that he will ask the Father and the Father will send another advocate
or consoler, the Holy Spirit. Jesus even says that it is necessary for him to leave,
because otherwise the Holy Spirit will not be able tocome (Jn 16: 7). And the Holy
Spirit will fulfil the things of Jesus in us, if we act in the name of Jesus and we observe
the great commandment of the practice of love.

Personal Questions
• To know Jesus is to know the Father. In the Bible the word “to know a person” is not
only an intellectual understanding, but it also presupposes a profound experience
of the presenceof the person in one’s life. Do I know Jesus?
• Do I know the Father?

Concluding Prayer
The whole wide world has seenthe saving power of our God.
Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth, burst into shouts of joy! (Ps 98: 3-4)

ocarm.org 4
Sunday, May 2, 2021
5th Sunday of Easter

The image of the true vine, that is, JesusThe pressing invitation to remain in Himin order to
bear the fruit of love

Opening Prayer
Lord, You are! And this is sufficient for us, to live by, to go on hoping every day,
to walk in this world, not to choose the wrong road of being closed and lonely.
Yes, You are forever andfrom all time; you are constant, O Jesus! Your being is
our constant gift; it is an ever-ripe fruit that feeds and strengthens us in You, in
Your presence. Lord, open our heart, open our being to your being; open us to
life with the mysterious power of your Word. Help us to listen, to eat and savor
this food for our souls, which is indispensable for us! Send us the good fruit of
your Spirit so that He may bring about in us that which we read and meditate
about you.

Gospel Reading – John 15: 1-8

• To place the passage in its context:
These few verses are part of the great discourse of Jesus to his disciples during
that intimate moment of the last supper and they begin with verse 31, chapter
13, and proceeding up to the end of chapter 17. This passage has a very tight,
deep and inseparable unity, unequalled in theGospels and sums up the whole
of Jesus' revelation in his divine life and in the mystery of theTrinity. It is the text
that says that which no other text in the Scriptures is capable of saying
concerning Christian life, its power, its tasks, its joys and pains, its hopes and its
struggle in this world in the Church. Just a few verses, but full of love, that
love to the very end thatJesus chose to live for his disciples, for us, even to this
day and forever. In the strength of thislove, the supreme and definitive gesture
of infinite tenderness, which includes all other gestures of love, the Lord
bequeaths to his disciples a new presence. A new way of being. By means of
the parable of the vine and its branches and the proclamation of the wonderful
verb remain, repeated several times, Jesus initiates his new story with each one
of us called indwelling. He is no longer with us, because he is going back to the
Father, yet he remains within us.
• To assist us in the reading of the passage:
vv. 1-3: Jesus reveals himself as the true vine, which brings forth good fruit,
excellent wine for his Father, who is the vinedresser and who reveals to us, his
disciples, the braches, that wemust remain united to the vine so as not to die
and so as to bear fruit. The pruning, which the Father accomplishes on the
branches by means of the Word, is a purification, a joy, a chant.
vv. 4-6: Jesus passes on to his disciples the secret of being able to continue to
live in an intimate relationship with him; that is by remaining. As He lives in

ocarm.org 5
 them and remains in themand is no longer external to them or with them, so
also they must remain in Him, inside Him. This is the only way to be completely
consoled, to be able to hold on to this life and bear good fruit, that is, love.
v. 7: Once more, Jesus bequeaths the gift of prayer in the heart of his disciples,
that most precious and unique pearl, and he tells us that by remaining in Him,
we can learn true prayer, the prayer that seeks insistently the gift of the Holy
Spirit and knows that it will be granted.
v. 8: Once more, Jesus calls us to Himself, asks us to follow him, to be always his
disciples. The remaining brings forth mission, the gift of life for the Father and
for the neighbor; if we really remain in Jesus, then we shall also really remain
in the midst of our brothers andsisters, as gift and as service. This is the glory
of the Father.
The Text:

• 1-3: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that
bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branchthat does bear fruit he prunes, that it
may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word that I have spoken to
you.
• 4-6: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the
branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart
from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a
branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
• 7: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall
be done for you.
• 8: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my
disciples.

A Moment of Silent Prayer

As a branch, I now remain united to the vine, my Lord, and I abandon myself to Him, I allow
myself to be overtaken by the sap of his silent and deep voice, which is like living water. Thus I
remain in silence and stay close.

A Few Questions
to help me remain, to discover the beauty of the vine, Jesus; to lead me to the Father, to allow
Him to take over and labor in me, certain of His good labor as loving vinedresser; and to urge
me to enter into the life blood of the Spirit to meet him as the only necessary thing that I must
seek untiringly.

• "I am": it is beautiful that the passage begins with these words, which are like a song
of joy, of the victory of the Lord, that He loves to sing all the time in the life of each
one of us. "I am": He repeats this infinitely, every morning, every evening, at night,
while we sleep, even though we are not aware of this. In fact, He really is at our

ocarm.org 6
 disposal; He is turned towards the Father, towards us, for us. I meditate these words
and not only listen to them but allow them to penetrate me, my mind, my innermost
memory, my heart, all my feelings and I ruminate on and absorb his Being into my
being. In this Word, I now understand that I am not, unless I am in Him and that I
cannot become anything unless I remain in Jesus' being. I try to enter into the depths
of my being, overcoming fear, crossing the darkness that I find there and I gather
those parts of my being, of myself, that are most lifeless. I take them delicately and
bring them to Jesus and I hand them over to his "I am".
• The vine recalls to mind wine, that precious and good fruit, and also recalls to mind
the covenant that nothing and no one will ever be able to break. Am I willing to
remain in that embrace, in that continuous yes of my life thus woven into his?
Together with the Psalmist, shall I too raise the chalice of the covenant, calling on
the name of the Lord and saying to him, yes, I too love you?
• Jesus calls his Father the vinedresser, a very beautiful term that carries all the force
of the love dedicated to working the land. It expresses a bending over the earth, a
drawing close of body and being, a prolonged contact, a vital exchange. This is
precisely the Father's attitude towards us! However, St. Paul says: "The farmer who
has done the hard work should have the first share of the harvest" (2 Tim 2: 6) and St.
James reminds us "See how patient a farmer is as he waits for his land to produce
precious crops" (Jas 5: 7). Will I, the land, disappoint the patience of the Father who
cultivates me every day, turns me over, gets rid of the stones, nourishes me with
good fertilizer and builds a hedge all round me to protect me? To whom do I give
the fruits of my existence, of my heart, of my mind, of my soul? For whom do I exist,
for whom do I decide and choose to live every day, every morning, when I wake up?
• I follow the text carefully and underline two verbs, which occur frequently: "to bear
fruit" and "to remain". I understand that these two realities are a symbol of life itself
and are woven together, each depending on the other. Only by remaining is it
possible to bear fruit and, really, the only true fruit that we as disciples can bear in
this world is precisely to remain. Where do I remain every day, all day? With whom
do I remain? Jesus always makes the connection of this verb with that wonderful
and enormous particle: "in me". Do I console myself with these two words "in me",
that is am I inside, do I live in the depth, do I dig in search of the Lord as one digs for
a well (cfr. Gen 26: 18) or for treasure (Pr 2: 4), or else am I outside, always lost among
the ways of this world, as far as possible from intimacy, from a relationship from
contact with the Lord?
• Twice Jesus reminds us of the reality of his Word and reveals to us that it is his Word
that makes us pure and it is his Word that leads us to true prayer. The Word is
proclaimed and given as a permanent presence within us. It also has the ability to
remain, to make its dwelling place in our heart. However, I must ask myself, what
ears do I have to listen to this proclamation of salvation and goodness, which the
Lord addresses to me through his Words? Do I allow room to listen in depth to that
which the Scripture speaks to me all the time, in the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms
and the apostolic Writings? Do I allow the Word of the Lord to find me and overtake

ocarm.org 7
 me in prayer, or do I prefer to trust in other words, lighter, more human and more
like my words? Am I afraid of the voice of the Lord who speaks to me urgently and
all the time?

A Key to the Reading

As a branch, I seek to be ever more one with my Vine, that is, the Lord Jesus.
Here and now, I drink of his Word the good sap, seeking to penetrate ever
deeper so as to absorb the hidden nourishment that transmits to me real life. I
pay attention to the words, the verbs, the expressions Jesus uses and which
recall other passages of divine Scripture and, thus, I let myself be purified.
• The meeting with Jesus, the "I am"
This passage is one of the texts where this strong expression appears, an expression
that the Lord addresses to us in order to reveal himself. It is wonderful to walk
through the Scriptures in search of other texts similar to this one, where the Lord
speaks of himself to us directly, of his deepest essence. When the Lord says and
repeats infinitely in a thousand ways, with a thousand nuances "I am". He does not
do so in order to annihilate or humiliate us, but only to stress forcefully his
overflowing love for us, which desires to make us partake of and live thatsame life
that belongs to Him. When He says "I am", He is also saying "You are" to each one of
us, to each son and daughter who is born into this world. It is a fruitful and
uninterrupted transmission of being, of essence and I do not wish to let this be in
vain. I wish to welcome it and welcome it inside me.
So, I follow the luminous trace of the "I am" and I try to stop at each step. "I am your
shield" (Gen 15: 1), "I am the God of Abraham your father" (Gen 24: 26), "I am the Lord
who led you and still leads you out of the land of Egypt" (cfr. Es 6: 6) andfrom the
hands of every Pharaoh who will threaten your life, "I am He who heals you" (Es 15:
26). I allow myself to be enlightened by the force of these words, which fulfil the
miracle they speak of; they fulfil this miracle to this day, and for me, in this lectio.
Then I go on reading in the book of Leviticus where at least 50 times this affirmation
of salvation is found: "I am the Lord", and I believe these words and hold on to them
with my whole being, my whole heart and say: "Yes, indeed the Lord is my Lord,
He and no other!" I note that the Scriptures probe ever deeper. As the journey
continues, gradually, the Scriptures penetrateme and lead me to an ever more
intense relationship with the Lord. In fact, the book of Numbers says: "I am the Lord
and I live among the people of Israel" (Num 35: 34). "I am" is in the present, He who
does not draw apart, does not turn his back to leave; it is He who caresfor us from
close by, from the inside, as only He can do; I read Isaiah and I receive life: 41: 10; 43: 3;
45: 6 etc.
The holy Gospel is an explosion of being, of presence, of salvation; I run through it
letting John lead me: 6: 48; 8: 12; 10: 9. 11; 11: 15; 14: 6; 18: 37. Jesus is the bread, the light,
the gate, the shepherd, the resurrection, the way, the truth, the life, the king; and all
for me, for us, and so I want to welcome him, know him and love him, and I want to

ocarm.org 8
 learn, through these words, to say to him: "Lord you are!" It is this "You" that gives
meaning to my I that makesof my life a relationship, a communion. I know for certain
that only here can I find full joy and live forever.
• The vineyard, the true vine and its good fruit
God's vineyard is Israel, a beloved vineyard, a chosen vineyard, a vineyard planted on
a fertile hill, in a place where the earth has been cleared afresh, hoed, freed of stones,
a protected vineyard, worked, loved, large and one that God himself has planted (cfr.
Is 5: 1ff; Ger 2: 21). So loved is this vineyard that the beloved has never ceased to sing
the canticle of love for her; strong notes yet sweet at the same time, notes that bear
true life, that go across the ancient covenant and come to the new covenant in even
clearer notes. At first it was the Father who sang, now it is Jesus, but in both it is
the Spirit who is heard, as the Song ofSongs says: "The voice of the dove is still
heard… and the vineyards spread fragrance" (Songs 2: 12ff). It is the Lord Jesus who
draws us, who takes us from the old to the new, from love tolove, towards an ever-
stronger communion, even to identification: "I am the vine, but you too are in me".
Hence it is clear: the vineyard is Israel, is Jesus, is us. Always the same, always new,
always chosen and beloved, loved, cared for, protected, visited: visited by rain and
visited by the Word, sent by the prophets day by day, visited by the sending of the
Son, Love,who expects love, that is, the fruit. "He waited for the grapes to ripen, but
every grape was sour" (Is 5: 2); in love, disappointment is always round the corner.
I stop here at this reality, I look inside me, I try to discover the places where I am
closed, dry, dead; why has the rain not come? I repeat this word that echoes often
through the pages of the Bible: "The Lordwaits…" (see Is 30: 18; Lk 13: 6-9). He wants
the fruits of conversion (cfr. Mt 3: 8), as he tells us through John, the fruits of the word
that hides the listening, the welcoming and the self-control, as the synoptics say (cfr.
Mt 13: 23; Mk 4: 20 e Lk 8: 15), the fruits of the Spirit, as Paul explains (cfr. Gal 5: 22). He
wants us "to bear fruit in every good work" (Col 1: 10), but above all, it seems to me,
the Lord waits and desires "the fruit of the womb" (cfr. Lk 1: 42), that is Jesus, in whom
we are truly blessed. In fact, Jesus is the seed that, dying, bears much fruit within us,
in our life (Jn 12: 24) and defeats every solitude, every closure, openingus wide to our
brothers and sisters. This is the real fruit of conversion, planted in the earth of our
bosom; this is to become his disciples and, finally, this is the true glory of the Father.

ocarm.org 9
• Pruning, a Joyful Purification
In this passage of the Gospel, the Lord shows me another way of following Him,
together with Him. It is the way of purification, of renewal, of resurrection and new
life. It is hidden inthe term "pruning", but I can better discover it, throw light on it
thanks to the Word itself, which is the only master, the only sure guide. The Greek
text uses the term "purify" to point to this action of the vinedresser in his vineyard.
Certainly, it is true that he prunes, cuts with aknife sharpened by his Word (Heb 4: 12)
and, sometimes, wounds us, but it is even truer that it is his love that penetrates ever
deeper in us and thus purifies, washes, refines. Yes, the Lordsits as washer to purify,
to make splendid and luminous the gold in his hand (cfr. Mal 3: 3). Jesus brings a new
purification, the one promised for so long by the Scriptures and waited for the
Messianic times. It is no longer the purification that took place by means of cult,
bymeans of the observance of the law or sacrifices, only a temporary purification,
incomplete and figurative. Jesus brings about an intimate, total purification, one of
the heart and conscience, the one sung by Ezekiel: "I shall purify you of all your idols,
I shall give you a new heart…When I shall have purified you from all you iniquities, I
shall bring you back to your cities and your ruins will be rebuilt…" (Ez 36: 25ff. 33). I
also read Eph 5: 26 e Tt 2: 14,beautiful and rich texts, which help me better enter into
the light of grace of this work of salvation, of this spiritual pruning that the Father
works in me.
There is a verse in the Song of Songs that can help my understanding more, it says,
"This is the time for singing" (Song 2: 12), however, it uses a verb that means also
"pruning, cutting" aswell as "singing". Thus pruning is the time for singing, for joy. It
is my heart that sings beforeand in the Word, it is my soul that rejoices for my faith,
because I know that through this longbut magnificent pilgrimage in the Scriptures,
I too will take part in Jesus' life, I too will be united with Him, the pure, the holy, the
immaculate Word and that thus united to Him I shall be washed, purified with the
infinite purity of His life. Not for me alone, not in order to be alone, but to bear much
fruit, to grow leaves and branches that do not wither, to be a branch together with
many other branches in the vine of Jesus Christ.

A Moment of Silent Prayer: Psalm 1

A meditation on the joy of one who lives by the Word and, thanks to the Word, bears fruit.

Res. Your Word is my joy, Lord!

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way of
sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Res.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf
does not wither.

ocarm.org 10
In all that he does, he prospers.The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind
drives away. Res. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,nor sinners in the
congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,but the way
of the wicked will perish. Res.

Closing Prayer
Lord, I still see the light of your Word. The healing force of your voice still rings in the
depthof my being! Thank you, O my Vine, my sap. Thank you, O my dwelling where I
can and wish to remain. Thank you, O my strength to do, to carry out every task; thank
you my Master! You have called me to be a fruitful branch, to be fruit of your love for
humankind, to be the wine that makes the heart rejoice. Lord, help me to realize this
blessed and true Wordof yours. Only thus can I live truly and live truly as you are and
remain. Lord, let me not errso that I wish to remain a branch in your vine without the
other branches, my brothers and sisters. It would be indeed the sourest and most
displeasing fruit.
Lord, I do not know how to pray. Teach me Yourself and let my most beautiful prayer be
my life, transformed into a bunch of grapes for the hunger and the thirst, for the joy
and companyof those who come to the vine, that is, You. Thank you for being the wine
of Love!

Monday, May 3, 2021

Easter Time

Feast of Philip and James

Opening Prayer
Lord God, loving Father, we look for your presencein the temple of nature and in
churches built by our hands,and you are there with your people.
But above all, you have made your temple right in our hearts.
God, give us eyes of faith and loveto recognize that you live in us with your Son and the
Holy Spirit if we keep the word of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord forever.

Gospel Reading - John 14: 21-26

Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever holds to my commandments and keeps them is
the one who loves me; and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall
love him and reveal myself to him.' Judas -- not Judas Iscariot -- said to him, 'Lord, what
has happened, that you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?' Jesus
replied: Anyone who lovesme will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we
shall come to him and make a home in him. Anyone who does not love me does not
keep my words. And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father

ocarm.org 11
who sent me. I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Paraclete, the
Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and
remind you of all I have said to you.

Reflection
As we said at the beginning, chapter 14 of the Gospel of John is a beautiful example of
how the catechesis was done in the communities of Asia Minor, at the end of the first
century. Through the questions of the disciples and the responses of Jesus, the
Christians formed their conscience and found an orientation for their problems. In
chapter 14, we find the question of Thomas and the answer of Jesus (Jn 14: 5-7), the
question of Philip and the response of Jesus (Jn 14: 8-21), and the question of Judas and
the answer of Jesus (Jn 12: 22-26). The last phrase of the answer of Jesus to Philip (Jn 14:
21) forms the first verse of today’s Gospel.
• John 14: 21: I shall love him and reveal myself to him. This verse presents the summary
of the response of Jesus to Philip. Philip had said: “Show us the Father and then we
shall be satisfied!” (Jn 14: 8). Moses had asked God: “Show me your glory!” (Ex 33: 18).
God answered: “My face you cannot see, for no human being can see me and survive”
(Ex 33: 20). The Father cannot be shown. God lives in inaccessible light (1 Tim 6: 16).
“Nobody has ever seen God” (I Jn 4: 12). But the presence of the Father can be
experienced through the experience of love. The First Letter of Saint John says: “He
who does not love does not know God because God is Love”. Jesus tells Philip:
“Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and reveal myself
to him”. By observing the commandment of Jesus, which is the commandment to
love our neighbor (Jn 15: 17), the person shows his love for Jesus. And whoever loves
Jesus, will be loved by the Father and can be certain that the Father will manifest
himself to him. In the response to Judas, Jesus will say how this manifestation of the
Father will take place in our life.
• John 14: 22: The question of Judas is the question of all. The question of Judas: “Lord,
what has happened that you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
This question of Judas mirrors a problem which is real even today. Sometimes,
among us, Christians, there arises the idea of being better than the others and of
being loved by God more than others. Do we attribute to God the distinction among
persons?
• John 14: 23-24: The answer of Jesus. The answer of Jesus is simple and profound. He
repeats what he had just said to Philip. The problem is not if we, Christians, are loved
more by God than others, or that the others are despised by God. This is not the
criterion for the preference of the Father. The criterion for the preference of the
Father is always the same: love. “If anyone loves me, he will observe my word, and
my Father will love him and we shall come to him and make a home in him. Anyone
who does not love me does not keep my words”. Independently of whether the
person is Christian or not, the Father manifests himself to all those who observe the
commandment of Jesus which is love for neighbor (Jn 15: 17). In what does the
manifestation of the Father consist? The response to this question is engraved in the

ocarm.org 12
 heart of humanity, in the universal human experience. Observe the life of the persons
who practice love and make of their life a gift for others. Examine their experience,
independently of religion, of social class, of race or color, the practice of love gives us
a profound peace and it is a great joy that they succeed to live and bear together
pain and suffering. This experience is the reflection of the manifestation of the Father
in the life of the person. It is the realization of the promise: “I and the Father will come
to him and make our home in him.
• John 14: 15-16: The promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus ends his response to Judas saying:
I have said these things to you while still with you. Jesus communicates everything
which he has heard from the Father (Jn 15: 15). His words are a source of life and they
should be meditated, deepened and updated constantly in the light of the always
new reality which surrounds us. For this constant meditation of his words, Jesus
promises us the help of the Holy Spirit: “The Consoler, the Holy Spirit that the Father
will send in my name will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to
you.

Personal Questions
• Jesus says: We will come to him and make our home in him. How do I experience
this promise?
• We have the promise of the gift of the Spirit to help us understand the word of
Jesus. Do Iinvoke the light of the Spirit when I prepare myself to read and meditate
the Scripture?

Concluding Prayer
Day after day I shall bless you,
I shall praise your name for ever and ever.Great is Yahweh and worthy of all praise,
his greatness beyond all reckoning. (Ps 145: 2-3)

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Easter Time

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, almighty Father,
you have absolute power over the world, and yet you respect the freedom of people,
even of those who persecute your faithful.
Make us realize that our faith does not protect us against the evil which people bring
upon one another, but that you want us to build according to your plana kingdom of
justice, love and peace.

ocarm.org 13
Help our faith to stand the testwhen our meager efforts fail.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 14: 27-31a

Jesus said to his disciples: "Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace
whichthe world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or
afraid.
You heard me say: I am going away and shall return. If you loved me you would be
glad thatI am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you this
now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.
I shall not talk to you much longer, because the prince of this world is on his way. He
has no power over me, but the world must recognize that I love the Father and that I
act just as the Father commanded. Come now, let us go.

Reflection
• Here in John 14: 27, begins the farewell of Jesus and at the end of chapter 14, he ends
the conversation saying: “Come now, let us go!” (Jn 14: 31). But instead of leaving the
room, Jesus continues to speak in three other chapters: 15, 16, and 17. If we read these
three chapters, at the beginning of chapter 18, we see the following phrase: “After he
had said all this, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron valley where
there was a garden into which he went with his disciples“ (Jn 18: 1). In Jn 18: 1, there is
the continuation of Jn 14: 31. The Gospel of John is like a beautiful building
constructed slowly, rock on top of rock, brick upon brick. Here and there, there are
signs of rearrangement or adaptation. In some way, all the texts, all the bricks, form
part of the building and are the Word of God for us.
• John 14: 27: The gift of Peace. Jesus communicates his peace to the disciples. The
same peace will be given after the Resurrection (Jn 20: 29). This peace is an
expression of the manifestation of the Father, as Jesus had said before (Jn 14: 21). The
peace of Jesus is the source of joy that he communicates to us (Jn 15: 11; 16: 20, 22,
24; 17: 13). It is a peace whichis different from the peace which the world gives us,
diverse from Pax Romana. At the end of the first century the Pax Romana was
maintained by force and violent repression against the rebellious movements. Pax
Romana guaranteed the institutionalized inequality between the Roman citizens
and the slaves. This is not the peace of the Kingdom of God. The Peace which Jesus
communicates is what in the Old Testament is called Shalom. It is the complete
organization of the whole life around the values of justice, of fraternity and of
equality.
• John 14: 28-29: The reason why Jesus returns to the Father. Jesus returns to the
Father in order to be able to return immediately. He will say to Mary Magdalene: “Do
not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father” (Jn 20: 17). Going up
to the Father, he will return through the Holy Spirit that he will send (cfr. Jn 20: 22).

ocarm.org 14
 Without the return toward the Father he will not be able to stay with us through the
Spirit.
• John 14: 30-31a: That the world may know that I love the Father. Jesus had ended the
last conversation with the disciples. The prince of this world wanted to impose
himself on the destiny of Jesus. Jesus will die. In reality, the Prince, the Tempter, the
Devil, has no power over Jesus. The world will know that Jesus loves the Father. This
is the great witness of Jesus which can impel the world to believe in him. In the
announcement of the Good News it is not a question of diffusing a doctrine, or of
imposing a Canon Law, or of uniting all in one organization. It is a question; above all,
of living and radiating what the human being desires and has deeper in his heart:
love. Without this, the doctrine, the Law, the celebration will be only a wig on a bald
head.
• John 14: 31b: Come now, let us go. These are the last words of Jesus, the expression
of his decision to be obedient to the Father and of revealing his love. In the Eucharist,
at the moment of the consecration, in some countries, it is said: “On the day before
his passion, voluntarily accepted”. In another place Jesus says: “This is why the Father
loves me: becauseI lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from
me: I lay it down of my own free will, and as I have power to lay it down so I have
power to take it up again, and this is the command that I have received from my
Father.” (Jn 10: 17-18).

Personal Questions
• Jesus says: “I give you my peace.” How do I contribute to the construction of peace
in my family and in my community?
• Looking into the mirror of the obedience of Jesus toward the Father, on which point
could I improve my obedience to the Father?

Concluding Prayer
All your creatures shall thank you, Yahweh,and your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingshipand tell of your might. (Ps 145: 10-11)

ocarm.org 15
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Easter Time

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, loving Father,
you have given us your Son Jesus Christas the true vine of life and our source of
strength.
Help us to live his life as living branches attached to the vine,and to bear plenty of fruit
of justice, goodness and love.
Let our union with him become visiblein our openness to one another and in our unity
as brothers and sisters, that he may be visibly present among usnow and forever.

Gospel Reading - John 15: 1-8

Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every
branchin me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he
prunes to make it bear even more. You are clean already, by means of the word that I
have spoken to you.
Remain in me, as I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, unless it remains
part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the
branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from
me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a
branch -- and withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire and are
burnt. If you remain in me and mywords remain in you, you may ask for whatever you
please and you will get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit
and be my disciples.

Reflection
Chapters 15 to 17 of the Gospel of John present to us the diverse teachings of Jesus
which the Evangelist has put together and placed in the friendly and fraternal context
of the last encounter of Jesus with his disciples:
• Jn 15: 1-17: Reflections around the parable of the vine.
• Jn 15: 18 to 16, 4a: Advice of how to behave if we are persecuted.
• Jn 16: 4b-15: Promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• Jn 16: 16-33: Reflections on the farewell and the return of Jesus.
• Jn 17: 1-26: The Testament of Jesus in the form of a prayer.
The Gospels of today and of tomorrow present part of the reflection of Jesus around the
parable of the vine. To understand well all the significance of this parable, it is important
to study well the words used by Jesus. And it is also important to observe closely a vine

ocarm.org 16
or any other plant to see how it grows and how it becomes united to the trunk and the
branches, and how the fruit springs from the trunk and the branches.
• John 15: 1-2: Jesus presents the comparison of the vine. In the Old Testament the
image of the vine indicated the People of Israel (Is 5: 1-2). The people were like a vine
that God planted with great tenderness on the hills of Palestine (Ps 80: 9-12). But the
vine does not correspond to that which God expected. Instead of producing good
grapes it produces sour fruit which is good for nothing (Is 5: 3-4). Jesus is the new
vine, the true vine. In one phrase alone he gives us the comparison. He says: “I am
the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even
more.” Pruning is painful, but it is necessary. It purifies the vine, and thus it grows
and bears more fruit.
• John 15: 3-6: Jesus explains and applies the parable. The disciples are already purified.
They have already been pruned by the word that they heard from Jesus. Up until
today, God does the pruning in us through his Word which comes to us from the
Bible and from many other means. Jesus extends the parable and says: “I am the
vine, you are the branches!” It is not a question of two different things: on one side
the vine and on the other the branches. No! The vine does not exist without the
branches. We are part of Jesus. Jesus is the whole. In order that a branch can produce
fruit, it has to be united to the vine. It is only in this way that it can receive the sap.
“Without me you can do nothing!” The branch that does not bear fruit will be cut
down. It dries up and it is ready to be burnt. It is good for nothing, not even for wood!
• John 15: 7-8: Remain in my love. Our model is that which Jesus himself lives in his
relationship with the Father. He says: “As the Father has loved me, I have loved you.
Remain in my love!” He insists in saying that we must remain in him and that his
words should remain in us. And he even says: “If you remain in me and my words
remain in you, you may ask for whatever you please and you will get it!” Because
what the Father wants the most is that we become disciples of Jesus and, thus, that
we bear much fruit.

Personal Questions
• Which has been the different pruning or the difficult moments in my life which have
helpedme to grow? Which has been the pruning or the difficult moments that we
have had in our community and which have helped us to grow?
• What keeps the life united and alive, capable of bearing fruit, is the sap which goes
through it. Which is the sap which goes through our community and which keeps it
alive, capable of bearing fruit?

ocarm.org 17
Concluding Prayer
Sing a new song to Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth!
Sing to Yahweh, bless his name!
Proclaim his salvation day after day. (Ps 96: 1-2)

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Easter Time

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you want your Church to be open to all persons and all nations,for your Son was
available to all and you love all people. God, give us open mindsand open hearts.
Save us from our narrow prejudices and stop us from trying to create peoplein our own
image and likeness.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 15: 9-11

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain
in mylove.
If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my
Father'scommandments and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.

Reflection
The reflection around the parable of the vine includes from verses 1 to 17. Today we will
mediate on verses 9 to 11; Day after tomorrow, the Gospel skips verses 12 to 17 and
begins with verse 18, which speaks about another theme. This is why, today, we include
in a brief comment verses 12 to 17, because in them blossoms the flower and the
parable of the vine shows all its beauty.
• Today’s Gospel is formed only of three verses which continue on yesterday’s Gospel
and give more light to be able to apply the comparison of the vine to the life of the
community. The community is like a vine. It goes through difficult moments. It is the
time of the pruning, a necessary moment in order to be able to bear more fruit.
• John 15: 9-11: Remain in my love, source of perfect joy. Jesus remains in the love of the
Father, by observing the commandments which he receives from him. We remain
in the love of Jesus by observing the commandments which he has left for us. And

ocarm.org 18
 we should observe them in the same way in which he observed the commandments
of the Father: “If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I
have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love”. It is in this union of
the love of the Father and of Jesus that the source of true joy is found: “I have told
you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy be complete”.
• John 15: 12-13: Love one another as I have loved you. The commandment of Jesus is
only one: “To love one another, as he has loved us!” (Jn 15: 12). Jesus goes beyond the
Old Testament. The ancient criterion was: “You will love your neighbor as yourself”
(Lev 18: 19). The new criterion is: “That you love one another, as I have loved you.” Here
he says the phrase which we sing even until now: “Nobody has greater love than this:
to give one’s life for one’s friends!”
• John 15: 14-15: Friends and not servants. “You are my friends if you do what I
command you”, that is, the practice of love up to the total gift of self! Immediately
after, Jesus adds a very high ideal for the life of the disciples. He says: “I shall no longer
call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. I call you
friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my
Father!” Jesus had no more secrets for his disciples. He has told us everything he
heard from the Father! This is the splendid ideal oflife in community: to attain a total
transparency, to the point of not having any secrets among ourselves and of being
able to have total trust in one another, to be able to share theexperience of God and
of life that we have, and in this way enrich one another reciprocally. The first
Christians succeeded in attaining this ideal during several years. They were “one only
heart and one soul” (Acts 4: 32; 1: 14: 2: 42, 46).
• John 15: 16-17: Jesus has chosen us. We have not chosen Jesus. He has chosen us, he
has called us and has entrusted us the mission to go and bear fruit, fruit which will
last. We need him, but he also needs us and our work in order to be able to continue
to do today what he didfor the people of Galilee. The last recommendation: “My
command to you is to love one another!”
• The symbol of the vine in the Bible. The people of the Bible cultivated the vine and
produced good wine. The harvest of the grapes was a feast with songs and dances.
And this gave origin to the song of the vine, used by the prophet Isaiah. He compares
the people of Israel to the vine (Is 5: 1-7; 27: 2-5; Ps 80: 9, 19). Before him, the prophet
Hosea had already compared Israel to an exuberant vine, the more fruit that it
produced, the more it multiplied its idolatries (Ho 10: 1). This theme was used by
Jeremiah, who compares Israel to a bastard vine (Jer 2: 21), from which the branches
were uprooted (Jer 5: 10; 6: 9). Jeremiah uses these symbols because he himself had
a vine which had been trampled on and devastated by the invaders (Jer 12: 10).
During the slavery of Babylonia, Ezekiel used the symbol of the vine todenounce the
infidelity of the people of Israel. He told three parables on the vine:
• 1) the vine which is burnt and is good for nothing (Ez 15: 1-8);
• 2) the false vine planted and protected bytwo waters, symbols of the kings
of Babylonia and of Egypt, enemies of Israel. (Ez 17: 1-10).

ocarm.org 19
 • 3) The vine destroyed by the oriental wind, image of the slavery of Babylonia
(Ez 19: 10-14).
The comparison of the vine was used by Jesus in several parables: the laborers of the
vineyard (Mt 21: 1-16); the two sons who have to work in the vineyard (Mt 21: 32-33); the
parable of the wicked tenants, who did not pay the landowner, beat the servants and
killed the son of the landowner (Mt 21: 33-45); the barren fig tree planted in the
vineyard (Lk 13, 6-9); the vine and its branches (Jn 15: 1-17).

Personal Questions
• We are friends and not servants. How do I consider this in my relationship with
persons?
• To love as Jesus has loved us. How does this ideal of love grow in me?

Concluding Prayer
Proclaim his salvation day after day,declare his glory among the nations,
his marvels to every people! (Ps 96: 2-3)

Friday, May 7, 2021

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, loving Father,
you have given us your Son Jesus Christas the true vine of life and our source of
strength.
Help us to live his life as living branches attached to the vine, and to bear plenty of fruit
of justice, goodness and love.
Let our union with him become visiblein our openness to one another and in our unity
as brothers and sisters, that he may be visibly present among usnow and forever.

Gospel Reading - John 15: 12-17

Jesus said to his disciples: This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved
you.No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I
havemade known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear
fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my
name. My command to you is to love one another.

ocarm.org 20
Reflection
• Today Gospel of John 15: 12-17 has already been meditated a few days ago (or it will
be read again within a few days). Let us take some of the points considered that day.
• John 15: 12-13: To love one another as he has loved us. The commandment of Jesus is
only one: “to love one another as he has loved us!” (Jn 15: 12) Jesus exceeds the Old
Testament. The ancient criterion was the following: “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself” (Lv 18: 19). The new criterion is: “Love one another as I have loved you”. It is
the phrase that we sing even today and which says: “There is no greater love than to
give one’s life for one’s brother!”
• John 15: 14-15: Friends and not servants. You are my friends if you do what I command
you”, that is, the practice of love up to the point of the total gift of oneself!
Immediately Jesus presents a very high ideal for the life of his disciples. He says: “I
shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s
business. I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I have
learnt from my Father!” Jesus no longer had any secrets for his disciples. He tells us
everything that he has heard from the Father! Behold the wonderful ideal of life in
community: to reach a total transparency, to the point of not having any secrets
among us and to have full trust with one another, to be able to speak about the
experience of God that we have and of life, and thus, be able to mutually enrich one
another. The first Christians succeeded to reach this ideal after many years: “they had
one only heart and one only soul” (Acts 4: 32; 1: 14; 2: 42-46).
• John 15: 16-17: Jesus has chosen us. We have not chosen Jesus. He met us, called us
and entrusted a mission to us to go and bear fruit, and a fruit which lasts. We need
him, but he also wants to need us and our work in order to be able to continue to do
today, for the people what he did for the people of Galilee. The last recommendation:
This is my commandment: to love one another!”

For Personal Confrontation

• To love our neighbor as Jesus has loved us. This is the ideal of every Christian. How
do I live it?
• All that I have heard from the Father I make it known to you. This is the ideal of the
community: to attain total transparency. How do I live this in my community?

Concluding Prayer
My heart is ready, God, my heart is ready;I will sing, and make music for you.
Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp,that I may awake the Dawn. (Ps 57: 7-8)

ocarm.org 21
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Opening Prayer
Lord our God;
it is good to live in the friendshipof your Son Jesus Christ.
Make us realize that also in this love we are committed to him and share with himfor
better and for worse, in misunderstanding and contradiction as well as in joy and
intimacy.
Help us to rejoice even when treated with indifference or ridicule on account of him,for
it means that he is still with us who is our Lord forever.

Gospel Reading - John 15: 18-21

Jesus said to his disciples: "If the world hates you, you must realize that it hated me
before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own;
but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice of you has drawn you
out of the world, that is why the world hates you.
Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they
persecutedme, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours
as well. But it will be on my account that they will do all this to you, because they do
not know the one whosent me.

Reflection
• John 15: 18-19: The hatred of the world. “If the world hates you, you must realize that
it hated me before it hated you”. The Christian who follows Jesus is called to live in a
way contrary to society. In a world organized according to the egoistic interests of
persons and groups which seek to live and radiate the love which will be crucified.
This was the destiny ofJesus. This is why when a Christian is very much praised by
the power of this world and is exalted as a model for all by mass media; it is good not
to trust too much. “If you belonged tothe world, the world would love you as its own;
but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice of you has drawn
you out of the world, that is why the world hates you”.It was Jesus’ choice which
separated us. And if we base ourselves on this gratuitous choice orvocation of Jesus
we will have the force to suffer persecution and calumny and have joy, in spite of the
difficulties.
• John 15: 20: The servant is not greater than his master. “A servant is not greater than
his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word
they will keep yours as well”. Jesus had already insisted on this same point in the
washing of the feet (Jn 13, 16) and in the discourse on the Mission (Mt 10: 24-25). And
it is this identification with Jesus that, throughout the centuries, has given so much

ocarm.org 22
 force to persons to continue the journey and has been a source of mystical
experience for many saints and martyrs.
• John 15: 21: Persecution on account of Jesus. “But it will be on my account that they
will do all this to you, because they do not know the one who sent me.” The
repeated insistence ofthe Gospel in recalling those words of Jesus which can help
the communities to understand the reason for the crisis and persecutions is an
evident sign that our brothers and sisters of the first communities did not have an
easy life. From the persecution of Nero after Christ up tothe end of the first
century, they lived knowing that they could be persecuted, accused, imprisoned
and killed any moment. The force which sustained them was a certainty that Jesus
communicated that God was with them.

Personal Questions
• Jesus addresses himself to me and tells me: If you belonged to the world, the world
wouldlove what is yours. How do I apply this in my life?
• In me there are two tendencies: the world and the Gospel. Which of these two
has thepriority?

Concluding Prayer
For Yahweh is good,
his faithful love is everlasting,
his constancy from age to age. (Ps 100: 5)

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Jesus’ commandment

Opening Prayer
Father, you are the source of life and you always surprise us with your gifts. Grant us the
grace of responding to the call of your Son Jesus who has called us friends, so that in
following him, our master and shepherd, we may learn to observe his commandments,
the new and definitive Law that is himself, the way leading to you and of remaining in
you. Through Christ your Son, our Lord.

Gospel Reading: John 15: 9-17

9 I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my
commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's
commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my own joy may
be in you and your joy be complete.

ocarm.org 23
12 This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. 13 No one can have
greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends, if you do
what I command you. 15 I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not
know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, no, I chose you;
and I commissioned youto go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the
Father will give you anything youask him in my name. 17 My command to you is to
love one another.

Reading
The context of our passage already determines the tone: this is Jesus’ long discourse to
his disciples during the last supper and after the washing of the feet of the disciples,
which according to John characterizes Jesus’ ministry of love even to the end, (Jn 13: 1-
15). If we look at these compact chapters, we can see a dynamism which goes from a
gesture as such, the washing of the feet, a gesture in keeping with Jesus’ works as
signs of his identity and which appeal to the faith of those looking on and listening, to
the long discourse addressed to his disciples as an expression of leave-taking but also
as an indication of the required attitude and the reality to look for, even to the so-called
“priestly” prayer of Jesus to the Father (Jn 17), a prayer that goes beyond the circle of his
disciples for the benefit of all those who believe in him in all times. There is an
ascending movement of the narrative that coincides with the raising of Jesus on the
cross, an upward movement perceived by John as theglorification of Jesus and one
that ultimately describes Easter as the passing of the Wordfrom humanity back to
the Father.
In Jesus’ discourse, expressions follow one another closely forming a vortex of
communication, which is neither oppressive in its rhythm nor tiring. Each expression is
complete, simple and incisive and places the Jesus of John in a continuity of favorite
themesand terms. In the context just before this passage, Jesus spoke of himself as the
true vine (Jn 15:1); an image suggesting two relationships: the Father who is the
vinedresser and the disciples who are the branches. This image is revealing: besides
being an exhortation to the disciples, it is a given fact: the Father looks after his
precious plants, looks after the relationship established between Jesus and his disciples
and so the disciples from now on live in a communion that defines them. The
exhortation is expressed in the very image itself and is made explicit and iscentered in
the word “remain”. The disciples are called to remain in Jesus just like thebranches
remain in the vine so as to have life and bear fruit. The theme of bearing fruit asalso
that of asking and receiving, which recurs in our passage, is here anticipated, putting
before us an example of John’s special style of hinting and echoing. The tone of verse 9
changes because there is no longer an image but a direct reference to a relationship: “I
have loved you just as the Father has loved me.” Jesus places himself in a descending
movement that goes from God to humanity. The verb “to love” already occurred in
chapter 14 in connection with the observance of the commandments; now in our
passage it occurs again ina new synthesis where the “commandments” give way to
“the commandment” of Jesus: “My command to you is to love one another” (Jn 15: 17).
This reciprocal relationship is repeated immediately after in an incisive command:

ocarm.org 24
“remain in my love.” Jesus goes from the verb “tolove” to the substantive “love” to show
that the action flowing from the Father through the Son to humanity has created a
new order of things, a possibility which until then was unthinkable. In verse 10 the
reciprocity is accomplished in the inverse sense: the observance of Jesus’
commandments is for the disciples the way of responding to his love in an analogical
and real continuity of the attitude of the Son who has observed the commandmentsof
the Father and thus remains in his love. This perspective is quite different from that of
the legalism that had been monopolized by the terms “law” and “commandments.”
Everything is referred to Jesus in his truer perspective: a response of love to the love
received, the proclamation of the possibility of remaining in the presence of God. Also
the words in verse 11 become a further way out of the legalistic mentality: the aim is joy,
a joy of relationship, the joy of Christ in his disciples, their joy present in its fullness.
In verse 12, as we have already said, the discourse becomes more urgent. Jesus says
that his commandments are a single one: “that you love one another as I have loved
you.” Notice howthe line of relationships remains the same, always as a response: the
disciples will love one another in the way that Jesus has loved them. What follows,
however, re-establishes in absolute terms the primacy of Jesus’ gift: “No one can have
greater love than to lay down his life for his friends” (v. 13). This is the work beyond
compare of his love, an action that lifts the quality of involvement to its highest point,
the gift of life. Here we have a conspicuous digression in the new name given to the
disciples, namely that of “friends” as opposed to that of “servants.” The difference lies in
the fact that the servant does not know what his master is planning. The servant is
called to do and that is all. Jesus’ discourse follows a thread: it is because he has loved
his disciples and is about to give his life for them that he has revealed tothem his
Father’s plan. He did this by means of his signs and works. He will do this in the
greatest of his works, his death on the cross. Again, Jesus shows his close
relationship with the Father: “I have made known to you everything I have learnt from
my Father” (v. 15). Yet at the center of this affirmation to his disciples as friends Jesus
expresses an order of things: “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (v. 14).
The final verses of our passage recall the image of the vine with the added statements
above: It is Jesus who has chosen his disciples not the other way round. The initiative is
his. However, the process of the image of the vine planted in the soil is presented
differently. The disciples are called so that they may go and it is in this going that they
will bear fruit, then thefruit is meant to remain (the same word used as in remaining in
Jesus’ love).
The identity of the disciples is based on the choice made by Jesus and points to a
journey tobe undertaken, a fruit to be borne. The picture is complete: the call in the
past, the present listening and the future bearing of fruit. Yet there is still Someone
who must be considered, there is still an attitude to acquire. “To bear fruit” may lead
the disciples towards unilateral action. However, the words “so that,” connect the
bearing of fruit to what follows: to ask and to receive, to experience need and the gift
abundantly and freely given (“anything you ask”). That Someone whom Jesus reveals is
the Father, source of love and of the mission of the Son, the Father to whom we may
turn in the name of the Son in so far as we have remained in his love. The conclusion is
given in a solemn and concise form: “My command to you is to love one another.”

ocarm.org 25
Meditation
Jesus’ words just before his glorification tell the Church the meaning of following him
and ofhis demands. They are strong words, mirroring the glory of Him who will freely
give his life for the salvation of the world (cfr. Jn 10: 17-18); but they are also precise
words and thus simple, essential, close, connected and typical of a farewell discourse
where repetition becomes a pressing and gentle appeal. To be a disciple of Christ is
first of all a gift: it is He who has chosen his own, it is He who has revealed to them his
mission and in doing so has revealed the “background” of the project of salvation: the
will of the Father, the love betweenFather and Son, which is now communicated to
humanity. The disciples now know, not as were the first steps of the past history of
salvation and the present of those who chose to closethemselves and not want to
understand the value of the works accomplished by the Son by the will of the Father.
This knowledge will demand of them consequent options so as not to remain in an
empty and sterile pretense (cfr. 1 Jn 4: 8, 20). “Remain” in the love of Jesus and observe
his “commandments” is above all a revelation, the gift of a supreme possibility that
frees people from a servile state even in respect of God and places them in a new, full
and reciprocal relationship with the Him, typical of friendship. “To remain in his love”
is what the Synoptics would call the “kingdom of God,” a new stage in history, at first
wounded and now freed.
In the Hebrew culture, the observance of the commandments was connected with
pedantic teaching that often went into the smallest details. This had its value because
it witnessed to aneffort by pious Jews to remain faithful to God. However, they ran the
risk, common to all human endeavors, that they would lose sight of God’s initiative and
emphasize the human response. In John’s Gospel, Jesus restores and thus renews the
semantics of the “law” and of the “commandments” with the concept of “love” and the
invitation to “remain.” When Jesus proclaims and shows the love of the Father in the
act of giving his life for the salvation of the world, he renews and personalizes this
observance. It is love that reveals its quality, not in theabstract, but in the concrete and
visible face of Christ who loves “to the end” and lives in person the greatest love. Several
times Jesus describes his relationship with the Father. The fact that here he places
himself under the sign of obedience to the Father gives new meaning to obedience. It
is not the obedience of a servant but of a Son. The work to be accomplished, that is,
“the commandments of my Father,” is not something separate from the person of
Jesus, but that which he knows and desires whole-heartedly. The Word that was with
the Father is always with him to accomplish the things that please the Father in a
concrete communion that is life giving. This is precisely what Jesus asks of his
disciples: to keep in mind that “as the Father has loved… as I have loved you” must not
remain on the level of an example, but on the level of a generative source. The love of
the Father is the source of the love expressed by the Son, and the love of the Son is the
source of the love that the disciples will give to the world.
Knowledge and practice are thus closely connected in the “spiritual Gospel,” as John’s
Gospel has been called by the Fathers of the Church. When faith is authentic, it will not
put up with a dichotomy concerning life.
In this passage, the disciples appear as the object of the caring cure of their master.

ocarm.org 26
He willnot forget them, not even in the imminent trial to come, when he prays for
them to the Father and “for those who through their teaching will come to believe in
me” (Jn 17: 20). At the end of their listening, their welcoming and their commitment
there is their joy, which is the same as that of their master. He has chosen them using
criteria that only God knows, a choice that recalls the choice of Israel, the smallest of all
nations. It is Jesus who has formed, taught and strengthened them. All this acquires a
new and more intense meaning in the light of Easter and Pentecost. It is like a paradox,
and this is what they are called to: to be steadfast and remain and yet to go.
Steadfastness and dynamism whose source is the mystery of God, whereby the Word
was with the Father and yet built his tent in our midst (cfr. Jn 1: 2, 14).
Formed in steadfastness and going to bear lasting fruit, this is what defines the task of
the disciples after the Pasch of the Lord, but in our passage all this is connected with
the invitation to ask the Father in Jesus’ name. It is, then, from the Father, in Christ and
with the power of the Consoler that will come the grace to love and, in loving, to bear
witness.

Prayer
There are some points in this passage that may help us renew our style of prayer:
• A prayer that is truly “Trinitarian”, not just theoretically or in its expression, but
also as an inherent dynamic of the prayer itself.
• The need for prayer and life to be one. Prayer is the mirror, the expression and
the measure of our life of faith.
• The joy that must accompany our attitude of prayer.
• Appreciating all that is human (awareness of relationships, love of prayer,
experience of joy, perception of union with God) and being aware that all is
gift.

Psalm 119: 129-136

Wonderful are your instructions,so I observe them.
As your word unfolds it gives light,and even the simple understand. I open wide my
mouth, panting eagerly for your commandments.Turn to me, pity me;
those who love your name deserve it.Keep my steps firm in your promise;that no evil
may triumph over me.
Rescue me from human oppression,and I will observe your precepts.
Let your face shine on your servant,teach me your will.
My eyes stream with tears because your Law is disregarded.

Contemplation
The Word of God calls us to confirm in our heart and in our actions the newness of

ocarm.org 27
being disciples of the Son. The four aspects: relationship with God, reading reality,
commitmentand attention to the life of the Church are like seeds of contemplation,
attitudes and possible choices.
Relationship with God: growing in an awareness of being in relationship with the
Trinity; we are thought of, wanted, gifted, saved between the Father and the Son in the
Spirit; presenting our actions in response to the love of God who first called us.
Reading reality: recognizing personal reactions to persons and institutions, such as the
trivializing of the concept of “love” in a materialist interpretation as well as in spiritual
escapism. On the other hand, to be aware of the expectations of free and freeing
relationships as experiences of an authentic gift often not recognized.
Commitment to reality: to give one’s life (in all its forms) as a concrete expression and
appreciation of love; the importance of new communications of experiences of wisdom
in following the fruits of the witness given to the Gospel in the world that God wishes to
save.
The life of the Church as a life of relationship in relationship: to see the Church not
only asan image of the Trinity, but “within” the Trinity; to regain the feeling of freedom
and joy in the community of believers.

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for the loving care with which you have taught and
still teach your disciples. We praise you, Lord, conqueror of sin and of death, because
you have gambled all that was yours, even your infinite relationship with the Father in
the Spirit. You have presented this relationship to us who risk not understanding it,
trivializing it, forgetting it. You spoke of it to us so that we may understand how great a
love has given us life. Grant, Lord, that we may remain in you as the branches remain
united to the vine that nourishes them and allows them to bear fruit. Turn your gaze of
faith and hope on us that we may learn to go from words and desires to the
concreteness of actions in imitation of you who have loved us to the end when you
gave your life to us so that we may have life in you. You who live and reign with God the
Father in the unity of the Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

ocarm.org 28
Monday, May 10, 2021
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
if we really believe in you and in your Son,we cannot be but witnesses.
Send us your Spirit of strength,
that we may give no flimsy excusesfor not standing up for you and for the love and
rights of our neighbor.
Make us only afraid
of betraying you and people
and of being afraid to bear witness.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 15: 26-16: 4a

Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from
the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. And
you too willbe witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.
I have told you all this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the
synagogues, and indeed the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is
doinga holy service to God. They will do these things because they have never
known either the Father or me. But I have told you all this, so that when the time
for it comes you mayremember that I told you. I did not tell you this from the
beginning, because I was with you;

Reflection
In chapters 15 to 17 of the Gospel of John, the horizon extends beyond the historical
moment of the Supper. Jesus prays to the Father “I pray not only for these but also
for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me” (Jn 17: 20). In these
chapters, there is constant reference to the action of the Spirit in the life of the
communities, after Easter.
• John 16: 26-27: The action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the community. The first
thing that the Spirit does is to give witness of Jesus: “He will be my witness”. The
Spirit is not a spiritual being without a definition. No! He is the Spirit of Truth who
comes from the Father, will be sent by Jesus himself and introduces us into the
complete truth (Jn 16: 13). The complete truth is Jesus himself: “I am the Way, the
Truth and the Life!” (Jn 14: 6). At the end of the first century, there were some
Christians who were so fascinated by the action of the Spirit that they no longer
looked at Jesus. They affirmed that now, after the Resurrection, it was no longer

ocarm.org 29
 necessary to look at Jesus of Nazareth, the one “who comes in the flesh”. They
withdrew from Jesus and remained only with the Spirit. They said: “Jesus is
anathema!” (1 Co 12: 3).
• The Gospel of John takes a stand and does not permit that the action of the Spirit be
separated from the memory of Jesus of Nazareth. The Holy Spirit cannot be isolated
with an independent greatness, separated from the mystery of the Incarnation. The
Holy Spirit is inseparably united to the Father and to Jesus. He is the Spirit of Jesus
that the Father sends to us that same Spirit that Jesus has gained with his death and
Resurrection. And we, receiving this Spirit in Baptism, should be the prolongation of
Jesus: “And you too will be witnesses!” We can never forget that precisely on the eve
of his death Jesus promises the Spirit; in the moment when he gave himself for his
brothers.
• Today, the Charismatic Movement insists on the action of the Spirit and does much
good. It should always insist more, but it should also insist in affirming that it is a
question of the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth who, out of love for the poor and the
marginalized, was persecuted, arrested and condemned to death and that, precisely
because of this, he has promised us his Spirit in such a way that we, after his death,
continue his action and be for humanity the revelation itself of the preferential love
of the Father for the poor and the oppressed.
• John 16: 1-2: Do not be afraid. The Gospel tells us that to be faithful to Jesus will lead
us to have difficulties. The disciples will be excluded from the Synagogue. They will
be condemned to death. The same thing that happened to Jesus will happen to
them. This is why at the end of the first century, there were persons who, in order to
avoid persecution, diluted or watered down the message of Jesus transforming it
into a Gnostic message, vague, without any definition, which was not in contrast with
the ideology of the Empire. To them is applied what Paul said: “They are afraid of the
cross of Christ” (Ga 6: 12). And John himself, in his letter, will say concerning them:
“There are many deceivers at large in the world, refusing to acknowledge Jesus
Christ as coming in human nature (he became man). They are the Deceiver; they are
the Antichrist!” (2 Jn 1: 7). The same concern appears also in Thomas’ demand: “Unless
I can see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the
holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe”. (Jn
20: 25). The Risen Christ who promises to give us the gift of the Spirit is Jesus of
Nazareth who continues to have, even now, the signs of torture and of the cross in
his risen Body.
• John 16: 3-4: They do not know what they do. They do all these things “because they
have never known either the Father or me”. These persons do not have a correct
image of God. They have a vague image of God, in the heart and in the head. Their
God is not the Father of Jesus Christ who gathers us all together in unity and
fraternity. In last instance, it is the same reason which impelled Jesus to say: “Father,
forgive them, because they know not what they do (Lk 23: 34). Jesus was condemned
by the religious authority because, according to their idea, he had a false image of

ocarm.org 30
 God. In the words of Jesus there is no hatred or vengeance, but only compassion:
they are ignorant brothers who know nothing of our Father.

Personal Questions
• The mystery of the Trinity is present in the affirmation of Jesus, not as a theoretical
truth, but as an expression of the Christian with the mission of Christ. How do I live
this central mystery of our faith in my life?
• How do I live the action of the Spirit in my life?

Concluding Prayer
Sing a new song to Yahweh:
his praise in the assembly of the faithful! Israel shall rejoice in its Maker,
the children of Zion delight in their king. (Ps 149: 1-2)

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
if we really believe in you and in your Son,we cannot be but witnesses.
Send us your Spirit of strength, that we may give no flimsy excuses for not standing up
for you and for the love and rights of our neighbor.
Make us only afraid of betraying you and people and of being afraid to bear witness.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 16: 5-11

Jesus told to his disciples: “Now I am going to the one who sent me. Not one of you
asks, 'Where are you going?' Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this. Still, I
am tellingyou the truth: it is for your own good that I am going, because unless I go, the
Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes,
he will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, and about who was in the right,
and about judgement: about sin: in that they refuse to believe in me; about who was
in the right: in that I am goingto the Father and you will see me no more; about
judgement: in that the prince of this worldis already condemned.”

ocarm.org 31
Reflection
• John 16: 5-7: The sadness of the Disciples. Jesus begins with a rhetorical question that
makes evident the sadness of the disciples, at this time evident in the heart of the
disciples because of the detachment from Jesus: «Now I am going to the One who
sent me; not one of you asks, where are you going?” It is clear that for the disciples
the detachment from the life- style lived with Jesus implies suffering. And Jesus
urges saying: “Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this” (v. 6). Thus, Saint
Augustine explains such a sentiment of abandonment of the disciples: “they were
afraid to think of losing the visible presence of Christ... they were grieved, saddened
in their human affection, at the thought that their eyes would no longer be consoled
in seeing him”. (Comment of the Gospel of John, XCIV, 4). Jesus tries to dispel this
sadness, due to the fact that they will not have his presence, revealingto them his
departure. We can say that if he does not leave them, the Paraclete will not be able
to join them; if he dies and therefore, returns to the Father, he will be able to send
him to the disciples. His departure and the detachment of the disciples is the
previous condition for the coming of the Paraclete: “because unless I go, the
Paraclete will not come to you...” (v.7).
• John 16: 8-11: The Mission of the Paraclete. Jesus continues to describe the mission of
the Paraclete. The term “Paraclete” means “advocate”, that is, support, assistant.
Here the Paraclete is presented as the accuser in a process that is carried out before
God and in which the accused is the world which has made itself guilty for
condemning Jesus: «He will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, and about
who was in the right and about judgment” (v. 8). The Greek verb elègken means that
he will make an inquiry, he will question, will test: he will bring out to light a reality,
and will furnish the proof of the guilt.
The object of the confutation is sin: he will give the world the proof of the sin that it
has committed regarding Jesus and will manifest it. Of which sin is there a question
here?; that of unbelief (Jn 5: 44ff; 6: 36; 8: 21, 24, 26; 10: 31ss). Besides, for the world to
have thought that Jesus was a sinner (Jn 9: 24; 18: 30) is an inexcusable sin (Jn 15: 21ff).
In the second place he will “refute” the world “concerning justice,” On the juridical
level, the notion of justice which adheres more to the text, is the one which implies
a declaration ofguilt or of innocence in a judgment. In our context this is the only
time that the term “justice” appears in the Gospel of John, elsewhere there is the
term “just.” In John 16: 8 justice is linked to all that Jesus has affirmed about himself,
that is, the reason why he is going to the Father. Such a discourse concerns his
glorification: Jesus goes to the Father, he is about to disappear in him and therefore,
the disciples will no longer be able to see him; he is about to entrust and to submerge
himself completely in the will of the Father. The glorification of Jesus confirms his
divine filiation or son ship and the approbation of the Father regarding the mission
which Jesus has accomplished. Therefore, the Spirit will show directly the justice of
Christ (Jn 14: 26; 15: 26) protecting the disciples and the ecclesial community.
The world that believed to have judged Jesus condemning him is condemned by the

ocarm.org 32
“princeof this world”, because it is responsible for his crucifixion (13: 2, 27). Jesus in dying
on the Cross is exalted (12: 31) and he has triumphed over Satan. Now the Spirit will give
witness toall about the significance of the death of Jesus which coincides with the fall
of Satan (Jn 12: 32; 14: 30; 16: 33).

Personal Questions
• Is the fear, consternation of the disciples in losing Jesus also ours?
• Do you allow yourself to be led by the Spirit, the Paraclete who gives you the certainty
of the error of the world and helps you to adhere to Jesus, and, therefore, he
introduces you into the truth about yourself?

Concluding Prayer
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart,
for you have listened to the cry I uttered.In the presence of angels I sing to you,
I bow down before your holy Temple. (Sal 138: 1-2)

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Opening Prayer
Lord God, our Father,
you are not far away from any of us, for in you we live and move and existand you live in
us
through your Holy Spirit.Be indeed with us, Lord,
send us your Holy Spirit of truth
and through him deepen our understandingof the life and message of your Son,
that we may accept the full truthand live by it consistently.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 16: 12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: "I still have many things to say to you but they would be too
much for you to bear now. However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to
the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only
what he hasbeen told; and he will reveal to you the things to come. He will glorify me,
since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is
mine; that is whyI said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine."

ocarm.org 33
Reflection
In these weeks of Easter Time, the Gospels of each day are almost always taken from
chapters 12 to 17 of the Gospel of John. That reveals something regarding the origin and
the destination of these chapters. They show not only what happened before the
Passion and the death of Jesus, but also and above all, the living out of faith of the first
communities after the resurrection. They express the Paschal faith which animated
them.
• John 16: 12: I still have many things to say to you. The Gospel today begins with this
phrase: “I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to
bear now”. In these words of Jesus there are two things: the environment of the
farewell, which characterized the Last Supper, and the concern of Jesus, the older
brother, for his younger brothers, who within a brief time will remain without his
presence. The time left was very short. Within a short time, Jesus will be arrested. The
work begun was not yet complete. The disciples were just at the beginning of their
apprenticeship. Three years are a very short time to change life and to begin to live
and to think in a new image of God. Their formation was not yet finished. Much was
still lacking and Jesus had still many things to teach them and to transmit to them,
but he knows his disciples. They are not among the most intelligent. They would not
be capable to know now all the consequences and implications of discipleship. They
would become discouraged. They would not be able to bear this.
• John 16: 13-15: The Holy Spirit will come to their help. “However, when the Spirit of
truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of
his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the
things to come. He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what
is mine”. This affirmation of Jesus shows the experience of the first communities. In
the measure in which they sought to imitate Jesus, trying to interpret and apply his
Word to the various circumstances of their life, they experienced the presence and
the light of the Spirit. And this happens even today in the communities which try to
incarnate the Word of Jesus in their life. The root of this experience is the words of
Jesus: “Everything the Father has is mine that is why I said: all he reveals to you will
be taken from what is mine.”
• The action of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. John uses many images and
symbols to signify the action of the Holy Spirit. Like in creation (Gen 1: 1), the Spirit
also descends on Jesus, “in the form of a dove, come from Heaven” (Jn 1: 32). It is the
beginning of the new creation! Jesus speaks the words of God and communicates
the Sprit without reserve to us (Jn3: 34). His words are Spirit and Life (Jn 6: 63). When
Jesus bids farewell, he said that he would have sent another Paraclete, Consoler,
another defender, who will remain with us. It is the Holy Spirit (Jn 14: 16-17). By his
Passion, death and Resurrection, Jesus won for us the gift of the Holy Spirit. By
Baptism all of us have received this same Spirit of Jesus (Jn 1: 33). When he appeared
to the apostles, he breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit!” (Jn 20: 22).
The Spirit is like the water which springs from within the persons who believe in

ocarm.org 34
 Jesus (Jn 7: 37-39; 4: 14). The first effect of the action of the Spirit in us is reconciliation:
“If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are
retained”. (Jn 20: 23). The Spirit which Jesus communicates to us has multiple
actions: consoles and spreads (Jn 14: 16), he communicates truth (Jn 14: 17; 16: 13),
makes us remember what Jesus taught (Jn 14: 26); will give witness of Jesus (Jo 15:
26); manifests the glory of Jesus (Jn 16: 14); will convince the world concerning sin,
justice (Jn 16: 8). The Spirit is given tous so that we can understand the complete
meaning of the words of Jesus (Jn 14: 26); 16: 12- 13). Encouraged by the Spirit of Jesus
we can adore God in any place (Jn 4: 23-24). Here lies the liberty of the Spirit of which
Saint Paul speaks: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Co 3: 17).

Personal Questions
• How do I live my adherence to Jesus: alone or in community?
• Has my participation in the community led me, sometimes, to experience the light
and the force of the Holy Spirit?

Concluding Prayer
The name of the Lord is sublime,
his splendor transcends earth and heaven.For he heightens the strength of his people,
to the praise of all his faithful,
the people close to him. (Ps 148: 13-14)

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Opening prayer
Lord God, our Father,
You are not far away from any of us, for in You we live and move and existand You live
in us through Your Holy Spirit.Be with us indeed, Lord, send us Your Holy Spirit of truth
and through Him deepen our understandingof the life and message of Your Son, that
we may accept the full truthand live by it consistently.
We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 16: 16-20

Jesus said to his disciples: "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little
while later and you will see me." So some of his disciples said to one another, "What does
this mean that he is saying to us, 'A little while and you will not see me, and againa little
while and you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'? "So they said,"What
is this 'little while' of which he speaks? We do not know what he means. "Jesus knew

ocarm.org 35
that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, "Are you discussing with one another
what I said, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will
see me'? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy."

Reflection
• John 16: 16: Absence and presence. Jesus says a “little while” (un mikròn), that is to
say, a very brief period of time, perhaps one “instant.” Over and beyond the
multiplicity of nuances, what we want to stress here is the exiguity of time. Just as
the time that Jesus remained as Incarnate Word with His own, in the same way, the
time between His departure and His return, will also be brief. There will be no change
in the interior situation of His disciples because the relationship with Jesus does not
change: He is permanently close to them. Therefore, the vision of Jesus will not suffer
any interruption, but will be characterized by the communion of life with Him (Jn 14:
19).
• The repeated use of the verb “to see” in v. 16 is interesting: “In a short time you will no
longer see Me, and then a short time later you will see Me again”. The expression “a
short time you will no longer see Me” recalls the way in which the disciples see in the
historical Jesus the Son of God. The other expression, “a short time later you will see
Me again”, recalls the experience of the Risen Christ. Jesus seems to want to say to
the disciples that for a very short time the conditions to see Him still exist, to
recognize Him in His visible flesh, but later, they will see Him in a different vision and
He will show Himself transformed, transfigured.
• John 16: 17-19: The lack of understanding of the disciples. In the meantime, some
disciples do not succeed in understanding what this absence signifies, means, that
is to say, His going to the Father. They experience a certain disturbance regarding
the words of Jesus and they express this, asking four questions joined together in
one expression: “What is He saying; what does it mean?” Other times the reader has
listened to the questions of Peter, of Philip, of Thomas, and now of those disciples
who ask for an explanation. The disciples do not understand what He is speaking
about. The disciples have not understood how Jesus can be seen again by them if
He goes to the Father (vv. 16-19). But the question seems to be concentrated on the
expression “a short time”, that for the reader, seems to be a very long time that never
ends, especially when one has anguish and sadness. In fact, the time of sadness does
not pass away. An answer is expected of Jesus, but the Evangelist places a repetition
of the same question as before: “You are asking one another what I meant by saying,
‘In a short time you will no longer see Me; and then a short time later you will see Me
again?’” (v. 19).
• John 16: 20: Jesus’ response. In fact Jesus does not respond to the question asked:
“What does ‘in a short time mean’?” He invites them to trust. It is true that the
disciples will be tried and tested. They will suffer very much, being alone in a hostile
situation, abandoned in a world which rejoices because of the death of Jesus.
However, He assures them that their sadness will be changed into joy. The time of

ocarm.org 36
 sadness is opposed by time in which everything will be overturned. That opposing
clause, “but your sadness will be transformed into joy,” underlines such a change of
perspective. For the reader it is evident that the expressions “a short time” and “in a
short time” correspond to that instant or moment in which the situation is
overturned, but until that moment everything will be of sadness and trial.
In the end, the disciples receive from Jesus a promise of happiness and joy. In the
instant in which the difficult situation is overturned, to which “His own”, the ecclesial
community, are subjected, they will enter into a reality of the world enlightened by
the resurrection. In our own lives, through contemplation and the acceptance of
Jesus, we can also go from weeping and mourning while the world rejoices, to
experiencing joy.

Personal Questions
• Am I convinced that the moment of trial or suffering will pass away and He will come
back to be with me?”
• “You will be weeping and wailing, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” What effect do
these words of Jesus have in your lives? How do you live your moments of sadness
andanguish?
• What are various ways we may “not see Him” and “a little while later, we see Him”?
• Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, John of the Cross, and Bernard are all saints who
spoke of the “dark night”. There is a saying: “absence make the heart grow fonder.”
What is your attitude when there is a reunion, when “a little while later, we see Him”?
Do we use it as a time to renew and strengthen our relationship with Him, to move
beyond being “lukewarm”, or do we get upset and demand “where have you been?”

Concluding Prayer
The whole wide world has seenthe saving power of our God.
Acclaim the Lord, all the earth, burst into shouts of joy! (Ps 98: 3-4)

ocarm.org 37
Friday, May 14, 2021
Feast of St. Mathias

Opening Prayer
Lord God,
your apostle Matthias was a witnessto the life and death of Jesus Christ and to his
glorious resurrection.
May also today your people bear witnessto the life of your Son by living his life as best as
they can,and radiating the joy of people who are rising with himto a new and deeper
life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 15: 9-17

Jesus said to his disciples. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in
my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept
my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my
own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. No one can have
greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I
havemade known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear
fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my
name. My command to you is to love one another.

Reflection
Today is the Feast of the Apostle Mathias. The Gospel of John 15: 9-17 has already
beenmeditated in April. Let us take some of the points which were considered that day.
• John 15: 9-11: Remain in my love, the source of perfect joy. Jesus remains in the love
of the Father observing the commandments that he received from him. We remain
in the love of Jesus observing the commandments that he has left for us. And we
should observe them in the same measure in which he observed the
commandments of the Father: “If you keep my commandments you will remain in
my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. And
in this union of love of the Father and of Jesus is found the source of true joy: “I have
told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete”.

ocarm.org 38
• John 15: 12-13: To love one another as he has loved us. The commandment of Jesus is
only one: “to love one another as he has loved us!” (Jn 15: 12) Jesus exceeds the Old
Testament. The ancient criterion was the following: “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself” (Lev 18: 19). The new criterion is: “Love one another as I have loved you.” It is
the phrase that we sing even today and which says: “There is no greater love than to
give one’s life for one’s brother!”
• John 15: 14-15: Friends and not servants. You are my friends if you do what I command
you”, that is, the practice of love up to the point of the total gift of oneself!
Immediately Jesus presents a very high ideal for the life of his disciples. He says: “I
shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s
business. I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I have
learnt from my Father!” Jesus no longer had any secrets for his disciples. He tells us
everything that he has heard from the Father! Behold the wonderful ideal of life in
community: to reach a total transparency, to the point of not having any secrets
among us and to have full trust with one another, to be able to speak about the
experience of God that we have and of life, and thus, be able to mutually enrich one
another. The first Christians succeeded to reach this ideal after many years: “they had
one only heart and one only soul” (Acts 4: 32; 1: 14; 2: 42-46).
• John 15: 16-17: Jesus has chosen us. We have not chosen Jesus. He met us, called us
and entrusted a mission to us to go and bear fruit, and a fruit which lasts. We need
him, but he also wants to need us and our work in order to be able to continue to do
today, for the people what he did for the people of Galilee. The last recommendation:
This is my commandment: to love one another!”

For Personal Confrontation

• To love our neighbor as Jesus has loved us. This is the ideal of every Christian. How
do I live it?
• All that I have heard from the Father I make it known to you. This is the ideal of the
community: to attain total transparency. How do I live this in my community?

Concluding Prayer
Praise, servants of Yahweh, praise the name of Yahweh. Blessed be the name of
Yahweh, henceforth and forever. (Ps 113: 1-2)

ocarm.org 39
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Opening Prayer
Lord God, merciful Father,
it is hard for us to accept pain,
for we know that you have made usfor happiness and joy.
When suffering challenges us with a provocative "why me?"help us to discover the
depth of our inner freedom and loveand of all the faith and loyaltyof which we are
capable, together with, and by the power of,Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 16: 23b-28

Jesus told to his disciples: “In all truth I tell you, anything you ask from the Father he
will grant in my name. Until now you have not asked anything in my name. Ask and
you will receive, and so your joy will be complete. I have been telling you these things in
veiled language. The hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in veiled
language but tell you about the Father in plain words. When that day comes you will
ask in my name; and I do not say that I shall pray to the Father for you, because the
Father himself loves you for loving me, and believing that I came from God. I came
from the Father and have come into the world and now I am leaving the world to go to
the Father.”

Reflection
• John 16: 23b: The disciples have full access to the Father. This is the assurance that
Jesus gives to his disciples: they can have access to God’s paternity in union with
Him. The mediation of Jesus takes the disciples to the Father. It is evident that the
role of Jesus is not that of substituting himself to “his own”: He does not assume it by
means of a function of intercession, but he unites them to himself, and in
communion with Him they present their needs.
• The disciples are certain that Jesus can dispose of the riches of the Father: “In all truth
I tell you, anything you ask from the Father in my name, he will grant it to you” (v.23b).
In such a way, it means, in union with Him, the petition becomes effective. The
object of any petitionto the Father has to be always joined to Jesus, that is to say, to
his love and to his commitment to give his life for man (Jn 10: 10). The prayer
addressed to the Father, in the name of Jesus, in union with Him (Jn 14: 13; 16: 23), is
listened to.
• Until now you have not asked anything in the name of Jesus, but they will be able to
do it after his glorification (Jn 14: 13s) when they will receive the Spirit who will fully
enlighten them on His identity (Jn 4: 22ff) and will create the union with Him. His
own will be able to ask and receive the fullness of joy when they will go from the
sensitive vision of Him to that of faith.

ocarm.org 40
• Jn 16: 24-25: In Jesus the direct contact with the Father. The believers are taken into
the relationship between the Son and the Father. In Jn 16: 26, Jesus once again
speaks about the link produced by the Spirit and that permits his own to present
every petition to the Father in union with Him. That will take place “on that day”.
What does this mean: “On that day you will ask?” It is the day when He will come to
His own and will communicate the Spirit to them (Jn 20: 19, 22). And it is then that
the disciples knowing the relationship between Jesus and the Father will know that
they will be listened to. It will not be necessary for Jesus to intervene between the
Father and the disciples to ask in their behalf, and not because his mediation has
ended, but they, having believed in the Incarnation of the Word, and being closely
united to Christ, will be loved by the Father as He loves his Son (Jn 17: 23, 26). In Jesus
the disciples experience the direct contact with the Father.
• John 16: 26-27: The prayer to the Father. To pray consists, then, to go to the Father
through Jesus; to address the Father in the name of Jesus. The expression of Jesus
in vv. 26-27: “AndI do not say that I shall pray to the Father for you; because the Father
himself loves you”, merits to be given special attention. The love of the Father for the
disciples is founded on the adherence of “his own” to Jesus on faith in his
provenance, that is to say, the acknowledgment of Jesus as gift of the Father.
• After having assimilated the disciples to himself Jesus seems to withdraw from his
condition of mediator but in reality he permits that only the Father to take us and to
seize us: “Ask and you will receive and so your joy will be complete” (v. 24). Inserted
into the relationship with the Father through union in Him, our joy is complete and
prayer is perfect. God always offers his love to the whole world, but such a love
acquires the sense of reciprocity only if man responds. Love is incomplete if it does
not become reciprocal: as long as man does not accept it remains in suspense.
However, the disciples accept it at the moment in which they love Jesus and thus
they render operational the love of the Father. Prayer is this relationship of love. In
last instance the history of each one of us is identified with the history of his prayer,
even at the moments which do not seem to be such: Longing, yearning is already
prayer andin the same way, research, anguish...

Personal Questions
• Do my personal and community prayer take place in a state of calmness, silence of
peace and of great peace?
• How much effort or commitment do I dedicate to grow in friendship with Jesus? Are
you convinced of attaining a real identity through communion with Him and in the
love for neighbor?

ocarm.org 41
Concluding Prayer
God reigns over the nations,seated on his holy throne.
The leaders of the nation’s rally
to the people of the God of Abraham. (Ps 47: 8-9)

Sunday, May 16, 2021

7th Sunday of Easter
Ascension Sunday

"Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News!"He lives in our midst!
Mark 16: 15-20

Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that
you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written
in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events
of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope
became for them thesource of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the
Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word
guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force
of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of
fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us
the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.

Reading
A key to the reading:

The liturgy of the feast of the Ascension presents us with a scene where Jesus appears
to the disciples and confers on them the mission of going to the whole world to
proclaim the Good News. The text of Mark's Gospel (Mk 16: 9-20) is the final section of
the appendix of that Gospel (Mk 16: 15-20). We expand the brief commentary to include
the whole of the appendix. During the reading we need to pay attention to the
following point: "To whom doesJesus appear, what are the various aspects of the
mission and what are the signs of his presence in the community?"
A division of the text as an aid to the reading:

• Mark 16: 9-11: Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene.

• Mark 16: 12-13: Jesus appears to two disciples.
• Mark 16: 14-18: Jesus appears to the eleven and gives them a mission.

ocarm.org 42
• Mark 16: 19-20: Jesus ascends into heaven in the presence of the disciples.
The text:

9
Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who
had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was
alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the
12

country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he
14

upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not
believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, "Go into all the
world and preach the gospelto the whole creation. 16 He who believes and is baptized
will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs willaccompany those who believe: in
my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up
serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their
hands on the sick, and they will recover."
19
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and
sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that
attended it. Amen.

A Moment of Prayerful Silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

Some Questions
to help us in our personal reflection.

• What pleased you most in this text or what caught your attention most? Why?
• To whom does Jesus manifest himself alive and how do they react?
• In this text, who has the greatest difficulty in believing in the resurrections?
• As Paul says: "God brought us to life with Christ…and gave us a place with him in
heaven" (Eph 2: 6). How does this affirmation help us better understand the meaning
of the Ascension?
• What are the signs of Jesus' presence within the community? What is the meaning
of each sign?
• What signs best convince people today of the presence of Jesus in our midst?

ocarm.org 43
A Key to the Reading
to enter deeper into the theme.

• The Context:
The appendix of Mark's Gospel offers a list of Jesus' appearances (Mk 16: 9-20). There
are other lists but they do not always coincide. The list given by Paul in his letter to
the Corinthians is quite different (1 Cor 15: 3-8). These differences show that, in the
beginning, Christians were not concerned about describing or proving the
resurrection. For them, faith inthe resurrection was so vivid and evident, that there
was no need to prove it. The communities themselves, living and persevering
among so many challenges and persecutions from the Roman Empire, were living
proof of the truth of the resurrection.
• Commentary on the Text:
• Mark 16: 9-11: Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, but the other disciples do not
believe her.
Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene and she announces this to the others. To
come into the world, God wished to depend on the yes of Mary of Nazareth (Lk
1:38). To be recognised as Living in our midst, he wished to depend on the word
of Mary Magdalene who had been freed from seven devils.
• Mark says that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. In this he agrees with
the other three Evangelists (cfr Mt 28: 9-10; Jn 20:16; Lk 24: 9-11). But on the list of
appearances given in the Letter to the Corinthians (1Cor 15, 3-8), there is no
mention of any appearances to the women. The first Christians found it difficult
to believe the witness of the women.
• Mark 16: 12-13: Jesus appears to two disciples
The story of Jesus' appearance to the two disciples who were walking in the fields
is probablya reference to Jesus' appearance to the disciples from Emmaus who,
on returning, shared theirexperience of the resurrection with "the eleven and
their companions (Lk 24: 33-34). Only here, Mark differs from Luke because the
others did not believe in the witness of the two disciples.
• Mark 16: 14: Jesus scolds the eleven for their incredulity
Finally Jesus appears to the eleven disciples gathered at table and scolds then
because they have not believed those who had seen him risen. For the third time,
Mark makes reference to the resistance of the disciples to believe the witness of
those who had experienced the resurrection of Jesus. Why does Mark insist so
much on the incredulity of the disciples? Probably to teach two things. First, that
faith in the risen Jesus is transmitted through the faithof those who give witness
to it. Secondly, that no one must give up hope when doubt or confusion arises in
one's heart. Even the eleven had doubts!
• Mark 16: 15-18: The signs that go with the proclamation of the Good News

ocarm.org 44
 Jesus immediately confers the mission of announcing the Good News to all
creation. The requirement for anyone who wishes to be saved is: to believe and
be baptized. To those who have the courage to believe in the Good News and are
baptized, he promises the following signs: (1) they will drive out devils, (2) they
will speak in new tongues, (3) they will hold snakes in their hands, (4) if they
drink poison it will not harm them, (5) they will lay hands onthe sick and these
will be healed. These signs take place even now:
• driving out devils: is to fight the power of evil that chokes life. The life of
many people has improved since they entered in community and have
started to live the good news of the presence of God. By participating in the
life of the community, they drive out evil from their lives.
• speaking in new tongues: is to begin to communicate with others in a new
way. Sometimes we meet someone whom we have never met before, but it
is as if we have known each other for a long time. This is because we speak
the same language of love.
• To hold snakes in one's hand and to overcome poison: there are so many
things that poison living together. Much gossip that breaks down
relationships. Those who live in the presence of God can overcome this and
are not affected by this deadly poison.
• Healing the sick: wherever we have a clearer awareness of the presence of
God, we find also special care for those excluded and marginalized,
especially the sick. What best restores health is welcoming and loving care.
• Mark 16: 19-20: Through the community, Jesus continues his mission. The Jesus who,
in Palestine, welcomed the poor and revealed to them the love of the Father,is the
same Jesus who now continues to be present in our midst, in our communities.
Throughus, he continues his mission of revealing the Good News of the love of God
for the poor. To this day, the resurrection still takes place. No earthly power can
neutralize the force that comes from faith in the resurrection (Rom 8: 35-39). A
community that wants to witness to the resurrection must be a sign of life, must
fight against the power of death. So that the world may become a place of life, that
community must believe that another world is possible. Above all, where the life of
the people is in danger because of a system of death thatis imposed, the community
must be a living proof of the hope that conquers the world, without fear of
unhappiness!
Further information on the Gospel of Mark - God's surprises:

From the start, Mark's Gospel insists on: "The time has come…and the kingdom of God
is at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News" (Mk 1:15). This initial request for
conversion and faith indicates the door through which we have access to Jesus and the
Good News of God that he brings. There is no other access. Faith demands belief in
Jesus, in his Word, accepting him unconditionally. We are invited not to close ourselves
in any name or title, doctrine or custom, and to keep ourselves always open to the
surprises of God, that demand a constant conversion. Names and titles, doctrines and
customs, devotions and pleadings are like a tag that we wear on our chest for

ocarm.org 45
identification. The tag is important because it helps us and directs us when necessary
to meet a person we are looking for. But when we meet, we do not look at the tag
anymore, but at the face! Very often, when we meet the person we are lookingfor he or
she is quite different from what we imagined before. The meeting always carries some
surprises! More so our meeting with God in Jesus. Throughout Mark's Gospel there are
many surprises for the disciples and these come from where they least expect them:
• from a pagan who gives Peter a lesson because he recognizes the presence of God
in the crucified one (Mk 15: 39);
• from a poor widow who gives her all to share with others (Mk 12: 43-44);
• from a blind man who annoys the disciples by calling out and who does not even
have a definite belief (Mk 10: 46-52);
• from marginalized little ones, but who believe in Jesus (Mk 9: 42);
• from those who use the name of Jesus to fight evil but who do not belong to the
"Church" (Mk 9: 38-40);
• from an anonymous woman who scandalizes the disciples by her manner of acting
(Mk 14: 3-9);
• from a father of a family who is obliged to carry the cross and becomes a model
disciple (Mk 15: 21)
• from Joseph of Arimathea who risks everything by asking for the body of Jesus to
give it burial (Mk 15: 43).
• from women who, then, could not be official witnesses but were chosen by Jesus as
expert witnesses of his resurrection (Mk 15: 40, 47; 16: 6, 9-10).
In a word: The twelve disciples who were specially called by Jesus (Mk 3: 13-19) and who
were sent by him on a mission (Mk 6: 7-13), failed. Peter denied him (Mk 14: 66-72), Judas
betrayed him (Mk 14: 44-45) and all fled (Mk 14: 50). But it is precisely through their
failure that is shown the strength of faith of the others who were not part of the group
of the chosen twelve. The community, the Church, must clearly be aware that it does
not own Jesus nor does it own all the criteria of the action of God in our midst. Jesus
does not belong to us, but we, the community, the Church, belong to Jesus, and
Jesus is of God (1 Cor 3: 23). Thegreatest surprise of all is the resurrection!

Psalm 27 (26)
Courage Born of Faith

The Lord is my light and my salvation;whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me,
my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall.
Though a host encamp against me,my heart shall not fear;

ocarm.org 46
though war arise against me,yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the Lord,that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lordall the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;he will conceal me under the
cover of his tent,
he will set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted upabove my enemies
round about me;
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;I will sing and make melody to the
Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! Thou hast said,
"Seek ye my face."My heart says to thee,
"Thy face, Lord, do I seek."Hide not thy face from me.
Turn not thy servant away in anger,thou who hast been my help.
Cast me not off, forsake me not,O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,but the Lord will take me up.
Teach me thy way, O Lord;
and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.Give me not up to the will of my
adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,and they breathe out violence.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lordin the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage;yea, wait for the Lord!

Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of
the Father. May your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice
that which your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, your mother, not only
listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity
of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

ocarm.org 47
Monday, May 17, 2021
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
when your Son Jesus had to pass through trials,he knew that you were with him
and he committed himself into your hands. In this way he brought peace to people.
As people baptized into his name,let your Spirit help us to be brave
when suffering and difficulties come our way,that, like your Son and with him,
we may overcome evil in ourselvesand in the world.
May our pains give birth
to love and peace and hope for others. We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 16: 29-33

The disciples of Jesus said, 'Now you are speaking plainly and not using veiled
language. Now we see that you know everything and need not wait for questions to be
put into words; because of this we believe that you came from God.' Jesus answered
them: Do you believe at last? Listen; the time will come -- indeed it has come already --
when you are going to be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone.
And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that
you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I
have conquered the world.

Reflection
The context of today’s Gospel continues to be the environment of the Last Supper, an
environment of fraternity and of farewell, of sadness and of expectation, in which is
mirrored the situation of the communities of Asia Minor at the end of the first century.
In order to be able to understand the Gospels well, we can never forget that they give
the words of Jesus notas if they had been registered in a CD to transmit them literally.
The Gospels are pastoral writings which seek to embody and update the words of Jesus
in the new situations in which the communities find themselves in the second half of
the first century in Galilee (Matthew), in Greece (Luke), in Italy (Mark) and in Asia Minor
(John). In the Gospel of John, the words and the questions of the disciples are not only
those of the disciples, in fact, they reveal the questions and problems of the
communities. They are the mirror in which the communities ofthat time as well as
those of today are recognized with their sadness and their anguishes, with their joys
and their hopes. And they find light and strength in the answers of Jesus.
• John 16: 29-30: Now, you are speaking plainly. Jesus had told his disciples: The Father
himself loves you, because you have loved me, and you have believed that I come
from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world and now I am

ocarm.org 48
 leaving the world to go to the Father (Jn 16: 29-30). Listening to this affirmation of
Jesus, the disciples answered: “Now you are speaking plainly and not using veiled
language. Now we see that you know everything and need not wait for questions to
be put into words. Because of this we believe that you came from God”. The disciples
think that they have understood everything. Yes, truly they got a true light to clarify
their problems. But it was still a very dim light. They got the seed, but at that
moment, not knowing the tree. The light or the seed was the fundamental intuition
of faith according to which Jesus is for us the revelation of God, who is Father: “Now
we believe that you came from God.” But this was only the beginning, the seed. Jesus
himself was and continues to be the great parable or the revelation of God for us.
God reaches us and reveals himself to us. But God does not enter into any schema.
He exceeds all, goes beyond our schema and gives us the unexpected surprise
which, sometimes, is very painful.
• John 16: 31-32: You are leaving me alone and yet I am not alone because the Father
is with me. Jesus asks: Do you believe at last? He knows his disciples. He knows that
there is still much lacking for the understanding of the mystery of God and of the
Good News of God. He knows that in spite of the good will and in spite of the light
that they have just received in that moment, they still have to face the unexpected
and painful surprise of the Passion and Death of Jesus. The small light that they got
is not sufficient to overcome the darkness of the crisis: Behold, the time will come,
indeed it has come already, when you are going to be scattered, each one going his
own way and leaving me alone; and yet I am not alone because the Father is with
me. This is the source of certitude of Jesus and through Jesus, this is and will be the
source of certitude for all of us: The Father is with me! When Moses was sent to
liberate the people from the oppression of the Egyptians, this being his mission, he
received this certainty: “Go! I am with you” (Ex 3: 12). The certainty of the liberating
presence of God is expressed in the name that God assumes at the moment of the
beginning of the Exodus and of the liberation of his people: JHWH, God with us: This
is the name for all time (Ex 3: 15). A Name which is present more than six thousand
times only in the New Testament.
• John 16: 33: Courage, I have conquered the world! And now we have the last phrase
pronounced by Jesus who anticipates the victory and which will be a source of peace
and of strength for the disciples of that time, as well as for all of us, up until now: I
have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have
hardship, but be courageous, I have conquered the world”. With his sacrifice out of
love, Jesus conquers the world and Satan. His disciples are called to participate in the
struggle and the victory. To feel the courage which he gives is already to overcome
the battle.” (L.A. Schokel)

For Personal Confrontation

• A small light helped the disciples to take a step farther, but it did not light the whole
journey. Have you had a similar experience in your life?

ocarm.org 49
• Courage, I have conquered the world! Has this phrase of Jesus helped you
sometimes in your life?

Concluding Prayer
Protect me, O God, in you is my refuge.
To Yahweh I say, 'You are my Lord, my happiness is in none
My birthright, my cup is Yahweh;
you, you alone, hold my lot secure. (Ps 16: 1-2, 5)

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ
carried out the mission you had given him,without fear and in all faithfulness to you.
God, give us a bit
of his sense of mission.
Give us the strength of the Spiritto speak your word as it is,
bold and demanding,
without compromising or giving in
to the changing moods and fashions of the day.
And may our lives be like an open bookin which people can read your word.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 17: 1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so
that your Son may glorify you; so that, just as you have given him power over all
humanity, he may give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. And eternal
life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father,
glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. I have revealed
your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and
you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they have recognized
that all you havegiven me comes from you for I have given them the teaching you gave
to me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you,
and have believed that it was you who sent me.

ocarm.org 50
It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given
me, because they belong to you. All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in
them I am glorified. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am
coming to you.

Reflection
• In today’s Gospel, in that of tomorrow and of day after tomorrow, we will meditate
on the words that Jesus addressed to the Father at the moment of his farewell, when
leaving. John keeps these words and puts them in Jesus’ mouth during his last
encounter with the disciples. It is the Testament of Jesus in the form of a prayer, also
called the Priestly Prayer (Jn 17: 1- 26).
• Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is the end of a long reflection of Jesus, begun in
chapter 15, on the mission in the world. The communities preserved these reflections
in order to be able to understand better the difficult moment that they were going
through: tribulations, abandonment, doubts, and persecution. The long reflection
ends with the prayer of Jesus for the communities. In it are expressed the sentiments
and concerns which, according to the Evangelist, indwelled Jesus at that moment
in which he was going out, leaving this world andgoing toward the Father. With
these sentiments and with this concern Jesus now finds himselfbefore his Father,
interceding for us. Because of this the Priestly Prayer is also the Testament of Jesus.
Many persons, in the moment when they leave forever, leave some message.
Everyone keeps the important words of a father and of the mother, especially when
they are the last moments of life. To keep these words is like keeping the persons. It
is a form of respect and of affection.
• Chapter 17 is a diverse text. It is a friendlier one rather than one of reasoning. In order
to grasp well the whole sense, it is not sufficient to reflect with the head, with reason.
This text has to be meditated upon and accepted also in the heart. It is a text not so
much to be discussed, but to meditate on and to reflect. Therefore, do not be worried
if you do not understand it immediately. This text demands a whole life to meditate
it and to deepen it.Such a text should be read, meditated on, thought, read again,
repeated, savored, as one does with a good sweet in the mouth. One turns it and
turns it in the mouth until it is finished. For this, close the eyes, keep silence within
you and listen to Jesus who speaks to you, transmitting in his Testament his greatest
concern, his last will. Try to discover which is the point on which Jesus insists the
most and, which he considers the most important.
• John 17: 1-3: “Father, the hour has come!” It is the long-awaited hour (Jn 2: 4; 7: 30; 8:
20; 12: 23, 27; 13: 1; 16: 32). It is the moment of the glorification which will take place
through the Passion, Death and Resurrection. In reaching the end of his mission,
Jesus looks back and proceeds to a revision. In this prayer, he expresses the most
intimate sentiment of his heartand the profound discovery of his soul: the presence
of the Father in his life.

ocarm.org 51
• John 17: 4-8: Father, they will recognize that I come from you! In reviewing his own
life Jesus sees himself as a manifestation of the Father for the friends whom the
Father has given him. Jesus does not live for himself. He lives in order that all may
have a flash of goodness and of love which are enclosed in the Name of God which
is Abba, Father.
• John 17: 9-11a: All I have is yours and all you have is mine! At the moment of leaving
the world, Jesus expresses to the Father his concern and prays for the friends whom
he leaves behind; and that they will continue in the world, but they are not of the
world. They are of Jesus, they are God’s, and they are signs of God and of Jesus in
this world. Jesus is concernedabout the persons who remain, and he prays for them.

For Personal Confrontation

• Which are the words which orientate your life and which are from persons whom
you love? If you were about to die which would be the message that you would like
to leave to your family and to your community?
• Which is the word of the Testament of Jesus which struck you the most? Why?

Concluding Prayer
Blessed be the Lord day after day,
he carries us along, God our Savior.This God of ours is a God who saves;
from Lord Yahweh comes escape from death. (Ps 68: 19-20)

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus gave himself totallyto those he loved - that is, to all.
Give us a bit of his unselfish love that we too may learn from experience that there is
more joy in giving ourselvesthan in receiving honors or favors.
May the Spirit make us also so much one that we graciously share with one anotherour
God-given riches and gifts as persons.We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 17: 11b-19

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Holy Father, keep those you have given me
true to your name, so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have
watched overthem and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this

ocarm.org 52
was to fulfil the scriptures. But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the
world to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word on to them, and the
world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the
world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil
One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate
them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them
into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be
consecrated in truth.

Reflection
We are now in the Novena of Pentecost, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus
says that the gift of the Holy Spirit is given only to those who ask for it in prayer (Lk 11:
13). In the Cenacle, during nine days, from the Ascension to Pentecost, the Apostles
persevered in prayer together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Acts 1; 14). This is why
they obtained the abundance of the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 4). Today’s Gospel
continues to place before us the Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It is a very, very opportune text
to prepare ourselves during these days to the coming of the Holy Spirit in our life.
• John 17: 11b-12: Keep them in your name! Jesus transforms his concern into prayer:
“Keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us!”
Everything which Jesus does in his life, he does it in the Name of God. Jesus is the
manifestation of the Name of God. The Name of God is Yahweh, JHWH. In the time
of Jesus, this name was pronounced saying Adonai, Kyrios, Lord. In the discourse of
Pentecost, Peter says that Jesus because of his Resurrection was constituted Lord:
“For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that the Lord and Christ
whom God has made is this Jesus whom you crucified”. (Acts 2: 36). And Paul says
that this has been done so that “every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as
Lord to the glory of God, the Father” (Ph 2: 11). It is the Name which is above all other
names” (Ph 2: 9). JHWH or Yahweh, the Name of God, received a concrete face in
Jesus of Nazareth! Unity has to be constituted around this name: Keep those you
have given me true to your name so that they may be one like us. Jesus wants the
unity of the communities, in such a way that they can resist before the world which
hates them and persecutes them. The people united around the Name of Jesus will
never be conquered!
• John 17: 13-16: That they may share my joy to the full. Jesus is bidding farewell. In a
short time he will go away. The disciples continue in the world, they will be
persecuted, they will be afflicted. Because of this, they are sad. Jesus wants that their
joy may be full. They want to continue to be in the world without being of or
belonging to the world. This means, concretely, to live in the system of the Empire,
whether liberal or Roman, without allowing themselves to be contaminated. Like
Jesus and with Jesus they should live in the contrary direction of the world.
• John 17: 17-19: As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. Jesus
asks that they be consecrated in truth. That is, that they may be capable to dedicate

ocarm.org 53
 their whole life- giving witness of their convictions concerning Jesus and God the
Father. Jesus sanctified himself in the measure in which, during his life, he revealed
the Father. He asks that the disciples enter into the same process of sanctification.
Their mission is the same mission of Jesus. They sanctify themselves in the measure
in which, living in love, they reveal Jesus and the Father. To sanctify oneself means
to become human like Jesus. Pope Leo the Great said: “Jesus was so human, but so
human, as only God can be human”. For this reason we should live contrary to the
world, because the system of the world dehumanizes human life and renders it
contrary to the intentions of the Creator.

For Personal Confrontation

• Jesus lived in the world, but was not of the world. He lived contrary to the system,
and because of this, he was persecuted and was condemned to death. And I? Do I
live contrary to today’s system, or do I adapt my faith to the system?
• Preparation for Pentecost. To invoke the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who gave
courageto Jesus. In this Novena of preparation to Pentecost, it is good to dedicate
some time to ask for the gift of the Spirit of Jesus.

Concluding Prayer
I bless Yahweh who is my counsellor,even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep Yahweh before me always,
for with him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.
(Ps 16: 7-8)

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Opening Prayer
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and Father of all people,
we believe in you and we know that you loved Jesus with a deep and trusting, lasting
love. Let your Holy Spirit pour out this love into the hearts of all those who believe in
Jesus, our Savior and shepherd.
Let this love unite us in one common bond of understanding and respect of one
anotherand let that love dispose us to live for one another and to serve one another for
the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

ocarm.org 54
Gospel Reading - John 17: 20-26
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: I pray not only for these but also for those who
through their teaching will come to believe in me. May they all be one, just as, Father,
you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may
believe it wasyou who sent me.
I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With
me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will
recognize that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved
me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may
alwayssee my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the
foundation of the world. Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have
known you, and these have known that you have sent me.
I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the
love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.

Reflection
Today’s Gospel presents to us the third and last part of the Priestly Prayer, in which
Jesus looks toward the future and manifests his great desire for unity among us, his
disciples, and that all may remain in the love which unifies, because without love and
without unity we do not deserve credibility.
• John 17: 20-23: So that the world may believe it was you who sent me. Jesus extends
the horizon and prays to the Father: I pray not only for these but also for those who
through their teaching will come to believe in me. May they all be one, just as, Father,
you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may
believe it was you who sent me. Behold, here emerges the great concern of Jesus for
unity which should exist in the communities. Unity does not mean uniformity, but
rather to remain in love, in spite of tensions and conflicts. A love which unifies to the
point of creating among all a profound unity, like the unity which exists between
Jesus and the Father. The unity in love revealed in the Trinity is the model for the
communities. For this, through love among persons, the communities reveal to the
world the most profound message of Jesus. People said of the first Christians: “Look
how they love one another!” The present-day division among the three religions
which came from Abraham is really tragic: the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims.
And even more tragic is the division among us Christians who say that we believe in
Jesus. If we are divided we do not deserve credibility. Ecumenism is in the center of
the last prayer of Jesus to the Father. It is his testament. To be a Christian and not be
ecumenical is a contradiction. It means to contradict the last Will of Jesus.
• John 17: 24-26: So that the love with which you loved me may be in them. Jesus does
not want to remain alone. He says: Father, I want those you have given me to be with
me where I am so that they may always see my glory which you have given me,

ocarm.org 55
 because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Jesus is happy when we
are all together with him. He wants his disciples to have the same experience of the
Father which he had. He wants us to know the Father and that he knows us. In the
Bible, the word to know is not limited to a rational theoretic knowledge, but
presupposes the experience of the presence of God living in love with the persons of
the community.
• That they may be one as we are one. (Unity and Trinity in the Gospel of John) The
Gospel of John helps us to understand the mystery of the Trinity, the communion
among the three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Of the four
Gospels, John is the one who stresses more the profound unity among the Father,
the Son and the Spirit. From the text of John (Jn 17: 6-8) we see that the mission of
the Son is the supreme manifestation of the love of the Father. And this unity
between the Father and the Son makes Jesus exclaim: The Father and I are one (Jn
10: 30). Between the Son and the Father there is such an intense unity that one who
sees the face of one also sees the face of the other. And fulfilling this mission of unity
received from the Father, Jesus reveals the Spirit. The spirit of Truth comes from the
Father (Jn 15: 26). At the petition of the Son (Jn 14: 16), the Father sends the Spirit to
each one of us in such a way that he will remain with us, encouraging us and giving
us strength. The Spirit also comes to us from the Son (Jn 16: 7-8). Thus, the Spirit of
Truth, who journeys with us, is the communication of the profound unity which exists
between the Father and the Son (Jn 15: 26-27). The Spirit cannot communicate a
truth which is different from the Truth of the Son. Everything which is in relationship
with the mystery of the Son, the Spirit makes it known to us (Jn 16: 13-14). This
experience of the unity in God was very strong in the communities of the Beloved
Disciple. The love which unites the Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit allows
us to experience God through union with the persons in a community of love. This
was also the proposal of the community, where love should be the sign of God’s
presence in the midst of the community (Jn 13: 34-35). And this love constructs unity
in the community (Jn 17: 21). They looked at the unity in God in order to understand
the unity among them.

For Personal Confrontation

• Bishop Don Pedro Casaldáliga said: “The Trinity is truly the best community”. In the
community of which you form part, can one perceive some human sign of the Divine
Trinity?
• Ecumenism: Am I ecumenical?

ocarm.org 56
Concluding Prayer
Lord, you will teach me the path of life,
unbounded joy in your presence,
at your right hand delight forever. (Ps 16:11)

Friday, May 21, 2021

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you have appointed shepherds in your Churchto speak your word to us
and to build community in your name.We pray you today:
May they be shepherds like your Son
who look for those who have lost the way,bring back the stray, bandage the wounded
and make the weak strong.
May they all be ministers
of your tender love and service,
as Jesus was, your Son and our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 21: 15-19

When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me
more than these others do?' He answered, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to
him, 'Feedmy lambs.'
A second time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' He replied, 'Yes,
Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Look after my sheep.'
Then he said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt
that he asked him a third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything;
you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep. In all truth I tell you, when you
were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow
old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and
take you where you would rather not go.'
In these words, he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God.
After this he said, 'Follow me.'

ocarm.org 57
Reflection
• We are in the last days before Pentecost. During the time of Lent the selection of the
Gospels of the day continues the ancient tradition of the Church. Between Easter
and Pentecost, the Gospel of John is preferred. And thus, during these last days,
before Pentecost, the Gospels of the day narrate the last verses of the Gospel of John.
When again we go to Ordinary time, we will go back to the Gospel of Mark. In the
weeks of Ordinary Time, the Liturgy proceeds to a continuous reading of the Gospel
of Mark (from the 1st to the 9th week of the Ordinary Time), of Matthew (from the
10th to 21st week of Ordinary Time) and of Luke from the 22nd to the 34th week of
Ordinary Time).
• The Gospel readings for today and for tomorrow speak about the last encounter of
Jesus with his disciples. It was an encounter of celebration, marked by tenderness
and affection. At the end Jesus calls Peter and asks him three times: “Do you love
me?” Only after having received three times the same affirmative response, Jesus
entrusts to Peter the mission of taking care of the lambs. In order to be able to work
in the community Jesus does not ask us many things. What he asks of us is to have
much love!
• John 21: 15-17: Love in the center of the mission. After a whole night of fishing in the
lake catching not even one fish, they go to the shore, the disciples discover that Jesus
had preparedbread and roasted fish for them. When they finished eating, Jesus calls
Peter and asks him three times: “Do you love me?” Three times, because Peter
denied Jesus three times (Jn 18: 17, 25-27). After the three affirmative responses, Peter
also becomes a “Beloved Disciple” and receives the order to take care of the lambs.
Jesus does not ask Peter if he had studied exegesis, theology, Morals, or Canon Law.
He only asks: “Do you love me?” Love in the firstplace. For the communities of the
Beloved Disciple the force which supports and maintains united is not the doctrine,
but love.
• John 21: 18-19: The foresight of death. Jesus tells Peter: Truly I tell you: when you were
young, you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow
old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and
take you where you would rather not go! Throughout life, Peter and we also, attain
maturity. The practice of love will take roots in life and the persons will no longer be
the patrons of their own life. Service to the brothers and sisters out of love will
prevail and will lead us. Somebody elsewill put a belt round you and take you where
you would rather not go. This is the meaning of the following. And the Evangelist
comments: “He tells him this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would give
glory to God”. And Jesus adds: “Follow me.”
• Love in John – Peter, do you love me? – The Beloved Disciple. The word love is one of
the words which today are more used by us. Precisely, because of this, it is a word
that has been greatly worn out. But the communities of the Beloved Disciple
manifested their identity and their own project by this word. To love is, above all, a
profound experience of relationship among persons in which there are similar

ocarm.org 58
 sentiments and values: joy, sadness, suffering, growth, renunciation, dedication,
fulfilment, gift, commitment, life, death, etc. All thesetogether is summarized in
the Bible in one only word in the Hebrew language. This word is hesed. Its translation
in our language is difficult. Generally, in our Bibles it is translated by charity, mercy,
fidelity or love. The communities of the Beloved Disciple sought to live this practice
of love in a very radical way. Jesus revealed this in his encounters with persons with
sentiments of friendship and tenderness, as for example, in his relationship with the
family of Martha and Mary of Bethany: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and
Lazarus” He weeps before the tomb of Lazarus (Jn 11: 5, 33-36). Jesus always
embodies his mission in a manifestation of love: “having loved his own, he loved
them to the end” (Jn 13: 1). In this love, Jesus manifests his profound identity with the
Father (Jn 15: 9). For his communities, there was no other commandment, except
this one “to act as Jesus acted” (1 Jn 2: 6). This presupposes to love the brethren” (1 Jn
2: 7-11; 3: 11-24; 2 Jn 4-6). Being such a central commandment in the life of the
community, the writings of John define love as follows: “This is the proof of love
that he laid down his life for us and we too ought to lay down our lives for our
brothers”. Our love should not be just words or mere talk but something active and
genuine”. (1 Jn 3: 16-17). Anyone who lives this love and manifests it in words and
attitudes becomes a Beloved Disciple.

For Personal Confrontation

• Look within you and say: which is the most profound reason which impels you to
work inthe community? Love or the concern for ideas?
• Considering the relationships among us, with God and with nature, what type of
community are we constructing?

Concluding Prayer
Bless Yahweh, my soul,
from the depths of my being, his holy name;bless Yahweh, my soul,
never forget all his acts of kindness. (Ps 103: 1-2)

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
like Mary, the women and the apostleson the day before the first Pentecost we are
gathered in prayer.
Let the Holy Spirit come down also on us,that we may become enthusiastic believers
and faithful witnesses to the person

ocarm.org 59
and the good news of Jesus.
May our way of living bear witnessthat Jesus is our light and life
now and forever.

Gospel Reading - John 21: 20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them -- the one who
had leant back close to his chest at the supper and had said to him, 'Lord, who is it
that will betray you?' Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, 'What about him, Lord?' Jesus
answered, 'If I want him to stay behind until I come, what does it matter to you? You
are to follow me.' The rumor thenwent out among the brothers that this disciple would
not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, 'He will not die,' but, 'If I want him to stay
behind till I come.' This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written
them down, and we know that his testimony is true. There was much else that Jesus
did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the
books that would be written.

Reflection
• Today’s Gospel begins with the question of Peter: Lord, what about him? Jesus
begins to speak with Peter, announcing the destiny or type of death by which Peter
will glorify God. And at the end Jesus adds: Follow me. (Jn 21: 19).
• John 21: 20-21: Peter’s question concerning John’s destiny. At this moment, Peter
turned back and saw the Disciple whom Jesus loved and asks: “Lord, what about
him?” Jesus had just indicated the destiny of Peter and now Peter wants to know
from Jesus which is the destiny of this other disciple. It is a curiosity which does not
deserve an adequate response from Jesus.
• John 21: 22: The mysterious response of Jesus. Jesus says: If I want him to stay behind
until I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.” A mysterious phrase
which ends again with the same affirmation as before: Follow me! Jesus seems to
want to stop Peter’s curiosity. Just as each one of us has his/her own history, in the
same way each one of us has his/her own way of following Jesus. Nobody is the exact
copy of another person. Each one of us should be creative in following Jesus.
• John 21: 23: The Evangelist clarifies the sense of the response of Jesus. Ancient
tradition identifies the Beloved Disciple with the Apostle John and says that he died
very old, when he was almost one hundred years old. Putting together the old age
of John with the mysterious response of Jesus, the Evangelist clarifies things saying:
“The rumor then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet,
Jesus had not said to Peter: He will not die, but: If I want him to stay behind until I
come; what does that matter to you?” Perhaps, it is a warning to be very attentive to
the interpretation of the words of Jesus and not base oneself in any rumor.
• John 21: 24: Witness of the value of the Gospel. Chapter 21 is an added appendix when
the final redaction of the Gospel was made. Chapter 20 ends with this phrase: “There

ocarm.org 60
 were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of his disciples, but they are
not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his
name.” (Jn 20: 30-31). The Book was ready but there were many other facts about
Jesus. This is why, on the occasion of the definitive edition of the Gospel, some of
these “many facts” about Jesus were chosen and added, very probably to clarify
better the new problems of the end of the first century. We do not know who wrote
the definitive redaction with the appendix, but we know it was someone of the
community who could be trusted, because he writes: “This is the disciple who
vouches for these things and has written them down and we know that his
testimony is true”.
• John 21: 25: The mystery of Jesus is inexhaustible. A beautiful phrase to conclude the
Gospel of John: “There was much else that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail,
I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written”. It
seems an exaggeration, but it is the truth. Never will anyone be capable of writing all
the things that Jesus has done and continues to do in the life of persons who up until
now follow Jesus!

For Personal Confrontation

• Is there something in your life which Jesus has done and which could be added to
this book which will never be written?
• Peter is very concerned about the other disciple and forgets to carry on and live his
own “Follow me.” Does this also happen to you?

Concluding Prayer
Yahweh in his holy temple! Yahweh, his throne is in heaven;his eyes watch over the
world, his gaze scrutinizes the children of Adam. (Ps 11: 4)

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Pentecost

The witness of the Holy Spirit and the witness of the disciples
John 15, 26-27; 16, 12-15

Opening Prayer
Oh, My Father, when will the Consoler come? When will your Spirit of Truth reach me?
The Lord Jesus has promised Him, He has said that He would have sent Him from your
womb down to us. Father, then, open wide your heart and send Him from your holy
Heavens, from your high dwelling! Do not delay any more, but fulfil the ancient
promise; save us today, forever! Open and free your Love for us, in order that I too can

ocarm.org 61
be open and freed by You, in You. May this Word of yours today be the holy place of our
encounter, be the nuptial room tobe immersed in You, Oh Trinity who are Love! Come
in me and I in You; dwell in me and I in You. Remain, Father! Remain Oh Son Jesus
Christ! Remain forever, Consoler Spirit, do not leave me ever! Amen.

Gospel Reading - John 15: 26-27; 16: 12-15

• In order to insert this passage in its context:
The few verses which the Liturgy offers us today for meditation belong to the great
farewell discourse which Jesus addressed to his disciples before the Passion, and
which John extends from 13: 31 to the end of chapter 17. Here Jesus begins to speak
of the unavoidable consequence of the following of the choice of faith and love for
Him; the disciple has to be ready to suffer persecution from the world. But in this
struggle, in this pain, there is a Consolation, there is a Defender, an Advocate Who
witnesses for us and saves us: the gift of the Spirit illuminates the human adventure
of the disciple and fills us with a living hope. Heis sent to make us understand the
mystery of Christ and to make us participate in it.
• To help in the reading of the passage:
• 15: 26-27: Jesus announces the coming of the Holy Spirit, as Consoler, as the
defending Advocate: He will be the one to act in the process of accusation
which the world has against the disciples of Christ. He will be the one to
make them strong in persecution. The Spirit renders witness to the world
regarding the Lord Jesus; He defends Christ, who is contested, accused,
rejected. But the witness of the disciples is also necessary; the Spirit has to
use them to proclaim with strength, in this world, the Lord Jesus. It is the
beauty of our life transformed into a witness of love and fidelity toChrist.
• 16: 12: Jesus places his disciples – and therefore, us too – before their
condition of poverty, of incapacity, by which it is not given to them to
understand well neither the words of Jesus, nor the words of Scripture. His
truth is still a burden, which they cannot receive, to lift up and carry.
• 16: 13 –15: In these last verses, the Word of Jesus reveals to the disciples which
will be the action of His Spirit in them. He will be the one to guide them in
the wholetruth, that is, He will make them understand the mystery of Jesus
in all its importance or significance, in the totality of His truth. He will guide,
reveal, proclaim, illuminate, bringing to us, his disciples, the words
themselves of the Father, and in this way we will be led to the encounter
with God; by His grace we will be rendered capable to understand the depth
of the Father and of the Son.
• The Text:
15 26 When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of
truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. 27 And you too will be
witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.
16 12 I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear

ocarm.org 62
now. 13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told;
and he will reveal to you the things to come. 14 He will glorify me, since all he reveals to
you will be taken from what is mine. 15 Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I
said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine.

A Moment of Prayerful Silence

I keep silence. From time to time I repeat in a low voice: “Come Holy Spirit”.

Some Questions
• “When the Paraclete will come”. Jesus immediately places me in front of a very
concretereality; He opens before me a new time, a diverse time and tells me that this
is a time of waiting in my life. The Paraclete is about to come, the Holy Spirit. Why
Lord, have I always waited for you for such a short time, why has my attention toward
you been so weak, so hypocrite? You send someone to look for me and I am not
even aware, I do not even showany interest.
• “And you too will be witnesses”. Jesus affirms this, addressing himself to his
disciples of that time and of today. He speaks precisely to me and tells me: “You too
will be a witness”. I am afraid, you know it. Why lose importance before others: my
companions in school, in the university, in my team, my friends, who invite me to go
out with them? Why this great difficulty? Cannot I be a Christian just the same? You
are my beginning and my end: you are my whole existence! How could I not be your
witness, Lord? How can I continue to keep silence in this way?
• “He will lead you to the complete truth”. I have always programmed very minutely
when I move, my decisions to change; I have always been able to do everything
alone. And now, Lord, you tell me that Another One will guide me. This is not an easy
choice, I confess it. But I want to try, I want to accept you, Oh, you who are Love. I
allow myself to be taken hold of by your Spirit. Will He lead me to the desert, as he
did with you (cf. Lk 4: 1)? Will heopen my life, as he opened the womb of the Virgin
Mary (Lk 1: 35)? Will he invest me as he did with Peter, with the others, with all who
believed in the preaching, as it is narrated in the Acts of the Apostles? I do not know
what will happen to me, but I want to say yes to you.

A Key for the Reading

• The Holy Spirit Paraclete
At first sight this term may seem a bit strange; it confuses me, it disorientates me. I
know that it is a Greek word which is quite diffused, already from ancient times, a bit
in the whole Mediterranean world. Saint John used it above when he said: “I shall ask
the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, to be with you forever” (Jn 14: 16)
and revealing that the Spirit comers to console, to remain with them, to defend and

ocarm.org 63
 to protect. Here, though, in this verse, there seems to emerge a diverse nuance: the
Spirit presents himself to us as the Advocate, that is, the One who is at our side in the
judgment, in the accusation, in the tribunalof persecution. We know it, the whole
story, also that of our days, bears in its heart the accusation, the contempt, the
condemnation for the Lord Jesus and for all those who love Him. This is the daily
story of all. At the bench of the accused, at the side of Jesus, we also sit. But not alone.
We have an Advocate. The Spirit of the Lord comes and acts in the judgment in our
behalf: He has discourses, renders witness, tries to convince and to prove.His work
is immense in our midst, for us. Before the Father, our Advocate is Jesus, as John
writes in his first Letter (1 Jn 2: 1); but before the world, our Advocate is the Spirit,
whom he sends to us from the Father. We should not prepare our defense
beforehand (Lk 21: 14), thinking that we can excuse ourselves alone, but we have to
make space, within us, for the breath of the Holy Spirit, allow him to be the one who
speaks, says, proves. Paul also had to have this hard experience; he writes this in his
second Letter to Timothy: “The first time I hadto present my defense, no one came
into court to support me; Every one of them deserted me” (2 Tim 4: 16). and it is truly
like that: there is no defense for us, no innocence, liberation,true freedom from jail,
except in the intimate relationship with the Spirit of the Lord. He comes sent to us,
in order that we may allow ourselves to be taken up by his presence, as in an
embrace, as in an intimate and intense relationship of friendship, of trust,
abandonment and love.
• The Witness
I begin to understand, continuing to accept, in my heart, the words of this Gospel,
that the relationship of us, disciples with the Holy Spirit has as its purpose to render
us capable of giving our witness on Jesus. We are united unconditionally with the
Holy Spirit, we are grasped by Him, taken up in His fire, which is the reciprocal Love
of the Father and of the Son, so that we too may become luminous, that we also may
be sources of love in this world.
To render witness means to affirm clearly, giving the proofs. The first one to do this,
continually, is the Spirit, every place, at all times; he acts with power, in us and around
us. Heis the one who moves the hearts, who changes our distorted and hardened
thoughts, who brings us closer, reconciles, impels to pardon, to union; He is also
the One who heals thesoul, the psychic, the sick body and heart. He is the One who
teaches, trains and makes one docile, renders wise and simple, the poor, the pure.
He gives witness of the Lord Jesus, the Savior, through all his actions, soft touches
of love and of communion on our desolate and dry earth. He certifies of the Crucifix,
of the Suffering one out of love; He calls out concerning the Risen One, who has
conquered and stepped on death for ever; He gives witness of the Living One, of the
Glorified One of the One who is with us until the end of time. Behold, this is the
witness. The Spirit introduces this in our world, brings it to us; we cannot remain
indifferent, continue to doze, to choose a bit here and there. He is the truth. And
there is only one truth: that of God, His Son Jesus Christ. We are called to give witness
of all this, that is to place, to commit our life, out of love, for this truth. To give witness
is to become martyrs, out of love. Not alone; not by our own strength, by our own

ocarm.org 64
 wisdom. “You will also be my witnesses,” says Jesus. But our wisdom can only exist
within the witness of the Holy Spirit; they are not parallel witnesses, but lives fused
together: that of the Spirit and ours. This takes place before the infinite tribunals of
the world, every day of our life, then, it becomes a sacred place, almost a sanctuary,
of the witness to the Lord Jesus. It is not important to carry out great enterprises, to
show wisdom and intelligence, to attract crowds of people; no, one thing alone
suffices: to tell the world that the Lord is alive, that he is here, in our midst and to
proclaim his mercy, his infinite love.
• The Father
The contact with the Holy Spirit, to allow ourselves to be embraced and invaded by
Him, leads us to the Lord Jesus; it leads us to his Heart, to the source of His love. And
from there we go to the Father. We had nothing, we were not able to bring anything
with us, coming into this world and now, behold, we are loaded with gifts! Impossible
to contain them all. It is necessary to allow them to overflow, to flow outside, toward
the brothers and sisters whom we meet, or even if only to have a brief experience of
life.
The Spirit speaks of Jesus and uses the words of the Father; He repeats to us what
He hears from the womb of the Father. His dwelling is the Father, his house; and
coming to us, the Spirit brings with Him the print, the seal of that dwelling, of that
place of infinite communion, which is the womb of the Father. And we understand
well that this is our house; we recognize the place of our origin and of our end.
Receiving the Spirit of Jesus we rediscover that we also come from the Father, that
we are born in Him and we live in Him. If we seek ourselves, if we want to find the
way, the sense of our life here, all this is written in the words which the Spirit
pronounces for us, within us, concerning us. It is truly necessary to have a great
silence in order to be able to listen to understand him. It is necessary to go back to
the house, to rethink finally in our Father and to say, within ourselves: “Yes, it is now
enough! I have wandered far away from you for a long time, I have been lost… I will
go back to my Father”. I see how many wonders the Spirit of truth can act, that my
Lord Jesus Christ sends me from the Father. It will not be Pentecost, if I do not allow
myself to be taken up by Him, to be led by Him to the womb of the Father, where
Christ is already waiting for me, where the fire of the Holy Spirit is already burning for
me.

ocarm.org 65
A Moment of Prayer
Psalm 68

The tenderness of the Father is the dwelling of the poor

Response: Abbà Father, I am your son!

I pray to you, Yahweh,

at the time of your favor;
in your faithful love answer me,
in the constancy of your saving power.
Answer me, Yahweh, for your faithful love is generous;in your tenderness turn towards
me;
do not turn away from your servant,
be quick to answer me, for I am in trouble.Come to my side, redeem me,
ransom me because of my enemies.The humble have seen and are glad.Let your
courage revive,
you who seek God.
For God listens to the poor,
he has never scorned his captive people.Let heaven and earth and seas,
and all that stirs in them, acclaim him!For God will save Zion,
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and people will live there on their own land; the descendants of his servants will inherit
it, and those who love his name will dwell there.

Final Prayer
Thank you, Father, for the coming of the Consoler, the Advocate; thank you for his
witness of Jesus in the world and in me, in my life. Thank you because it is He who
makes mecapable to receive and to bear the glorious weight of your Son and my Lord.
Thank you, because He guides me in truth, He hands me over to the whole truth and
reveals to me the Word which you yourself pronounce. Thank you, my Father, because
in your goodness and tenderness you have joined me, today and you have attracted
me to you, you have made me enter in the house of your heart; you have immersed
me in the fire of the Trinitarian love, where you and your Son Jesus are only one in the
infinite kiss of the Holy Spirit. I am also here and because of this my joy is overflowing. I
pray you, Father, make me give this joy to all, in the loving witness of Jesus, the Savior,
every day of my life. Amen.

ocarm.org 66
Monday, May 24, 2021
Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer
Father,
keep before us the wisdom and love you have revealed in your Son.
Help us to be like Himin word and deed,
for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading – John 19: 25-34

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom
he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple,
"Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After
this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be
fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst." There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they puta
sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus
had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the
spirit. Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on
the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews
asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. So the soldiers came
andbroke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his
legs,but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately Blood and water
flowed out.

Reflection
• Jn 19: 25-29: Mary, the strong woman who understood the full meaning of this event,
will help us cast a contemplative glance at the crucified. The fourth Gospel specifies
that these disciples "stood by the cross" (Jn 19: 25-26). This detail has a deep meaning.
Only the fourth Gospel tells us that these five people stood by the cross. The other
Evangelists do not say so. Luke, for instance, says that all those who knew him followed
the events from a distance (Lk 23: 49). Matthew also says that many women followed
these events from afar. These women had followed Jesus from Galilee and served
Him.But now they followed Him from afar (Mt 27: 55-56). Like Matthew, Mark gives us
thenames of those who followed the death of Jesus from afar (Mk 15: 40-41). Thus,
only the fourth Gospel says that the mother of Jesus and the other women and the
beloved disciple "stood by the cross". They stood there like servants before their king.
• Jn 19: 30-34: They are present courageously at a time when Jesus has already declared
that "it is fulfilled" (Jn 19: 30). The mother of Jesus is present at the hour that finally

ocarm.org 67
 "has come". That hour was foretold at the wedding feast of Cana (Jn 2: 1ff). The fourth
Gospel had remarked then that "the mother of Jesus was there" (Jn 2: 1). Thus, the person
that remains faithful to the Lord in His destiny, he/she is a beloved disciple. The
Evangelist keeps this disciple anonymous so that each one of us may see him/herself
mirrored in the one who knew the mysteries of the Lord, who laid his head on Jesus'
chest at the last supper (Jn 13: 25). The mother standing beneath the cross (cf. Jn 19:
25),accepted her Son’s testament of love and welcomed all people in the person of
the beloved disciple as sons and daughters to be reborn unto life eternal.
• Jesus takes an active part in His death, He does not allow Himself to be killed like the
thieves whose legs were broken (Jn 19: 31-33), but commits His spirit (Jn 19: 30). The
details recalled by the Evangelist are very important: Seeing His mother and the disciple
whom He loved standing near her, Jesus said to His mother, “Woman, this is your son.”
Then to the disciple He said, “This is your mother.” (Jn 19: 26-27). These simple words
of Jesus bear the weight of revelation, words that reveal to us His will: "this is your son"
(v. 26); "this is your mother" (v. 27). These words also recall those pronounced by Pilate on
the Lithostrotos: "This is the man" (Jn 19: 5). With these words, Jesus on the cross, his
throne, reveals His will and His love for us. He is the lamb of God, the shepherd who
gives His life for His sheep. At that moment, by the cross, He gives birth to the Church,
represented by Mary, Mary of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene, together with the
beloved disciple (Jn 19: 25).

Personal Questions
• How has Mary given you a model for parenthood, discipleship, and love? What of
these have I applied in my own life?
• Mary exemplified humility and obedience, yet she also led (as at Cana). How do I lead
others, in what ways, while also being truly humble and obedient myself?

Concluding Prayer
The precepts of Yahweh are honest,joy for the heart;
the commandment of Yahweh is pure,light for the eyes. (Ps 19: 8)

ocarm.org 68
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer
Lord, guide the course of world events
and give your Church the joy and peaceof serving you in freedom.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Mark 10: 28-31

Peter took this up. 'Look,' he said to Jesus, 'we have left everything and followed you.'
Jesus said, 'In truth I tell you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters,
mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not
receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land
-- and persecutions too -- now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal
life. Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.'

Reflection
In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus spoke about the conversation among the disciples about
material goods: to get away from things, to sell everything, to give it to the poor and to
followJesus. Or rather, like Jesus, they should live in total gratuity, placing their own life
in the hands of God, serving the brothers and sisters (Mk 10: 17-27). In today’s Gospel
Jesus explains better how this life of gratuity and service of those who abandon
everything for him, for Jesus and for the Gospel, should be (Mk 10: 28-31).
• Mark 10: 28-31: A hundred times as much, and persecutions too, now. Peter observes:
“We have left everything and followed you”. It is like saying: “We have done what the
Lord asked of the young rich man. We have abandoned everything and we have
followed you. Explain to us how should our life be?” Peter wants Jesus to explain
more the new way of living in the service and in gratuity. The response of Jesus is
beautiful, profound and symbolical: “In truth there is no one who has left house,
brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the
Gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters,
mothers, children and land and, persecutions too, now in the present time and in the
world to come, eternal life. Many who are first will be last and the last first”. The type
of life which springs from the gift of everything is the example of the Kingdom which
Jesus wants to establish (a) to extend the family and to create community; it
increases a hundred times the number of brothers and sisters. (b) It produces the
sharing of goods, because all will have a hundred times more houses and land.
Divine Providence incarnates itself and passes through the fraternal organization,
where everything belongs to everyone and there are no longer persons who are in
need. They put into practice the Law of God which asks “that there be no poor among

ocarm.org 69
 you” (Dt 15: 4-11). This was what the first Christians did (Acts 2: 42-45). It is the perfect
living out of service and gratuity. (c) They should not expect any privilege in return,
no security, no type of promotion. Rather, in this life they will have all this, but with
persecutions. Because, in this world, organized on egoism and the interests of
groups and persons, those who want to live a gratuitous love and the gift of self, they
will be crucified as Jesus was. (d) They will be persecuted in this world, but in the
future world they will have eternal life of which the rich young man spoke about.
• Jesus is the choice of the poor. A two-fold slavery characterized the situation of the
people of the time of Jesus: the slavery of the politics of Herod supported by the
Roman Empire and maintained by a whole well-organized system of exploitation
and repression, and the slavery of the official religion, maintained by the religious
authority of the time. This is why the clan, the family, the community, were being
disintegrated and a great number of the people were excluded, marginalized,
homeless, having no place neither in religion nor in society. This is why several
movements arose which were seeking for a new way of living in community: the
Essenes, the Pharisees and, later on, the Zealots. In the community of Jesus there
was something new which made it different from other groups. It was the attitude
toward the poor and the excluded. The communities of the Pharisees lived
separated. The word “Pharisee” means “separated”. They lived separated from
impure people. Many Pharisees considered people ignorant and cursed (Jn 7: 49), in
sin (Job 9: 34). Jesus and his community, on the contrary, lived together with
excluded persons, considered impure: publicans, sinners, prostitutes, lepers (Mk 2: 16;
1: 41; Lk 7: 37). Jesus recognizes the richness and the values which the poor possess
(Mt 11: 25-26; Lk 21: 1-4). He proclaims them blessed, because the Kingdom is theirs, it
belongs to the poor (Lk 6: 20; Mt 5: 3). He defines his mission: “to proclaim the Good
News to the poor” (Lk 4: 18). He himself lives as a poor person. He possesses nothing
for himself, not even a rock where to lay his head (Lk 9: 58). And to those who want
to follow him to share his life, he tells them to choose: God or money! (Mt 6: 24). He
orders that they choose in favor of the poor! (Mk 10: 21). The poverty which
characterized the life of Jesus and of the disciples, also characterized the mission. On
the contrary of other missionaries (Mt 23:15), the disciples of Jesus could take nothing
with them, neither gold, nor money, nor two tunics, nor purse, nor sandals (Mt 10: 9-
10). They had to trust in the hospitality offered to them (Lk 9: 4; 10: 5-6). And if they
would be accepted by the people, they should work like everybody else and live from
what they would receive as wages for their work (Lk 10: 7-8). Besides they should take
care of the sick and of those in need (Lk 10: 9; Mt 10: 8). Now they could tell the people:
“The Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10: 9).

Personal Questions
• In your life, how do you practice Peter’s proposal: “We have left everything and have
followed you”?
• Gratuitous sharing, service, acceptance to the excluded are signs of the Kingdom.
How do I live this today?

ocarm.org 70
Concluding Prayer
The whole wide world has seenthe saving power of our God.
Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth, burst into shouts of joy! (Ps 98: 3-4)

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer
Lord,
guide the course of world events and give your Church the joy and peaceof serving you
in freedom.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Mark 10: 32-45

They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them;
they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive. Once more taking the
Twelve aside he began to tell them what was going to happen to him, 'Now we are
going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man is about to be handed over to the chief
priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the
gentiles, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death;
and after three days he will rise again.' James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
approached him. 'Master,' they said to him, 'We want you to do us a favor.' He said to
them, 'What is it you want me to do for you?' They said to him, 'Allow us to sit one at
your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.' But Jesus said to them, 'You do
not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I shall drink, or be baptized
with the baptism with which I shall be baptized?' They replied, 'We can.' Jesus said to
them, 'The cup that I shall drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I shall
be baptized you shall be baptized, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are
not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.'
When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so
Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that among the gentiles those
they call their rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt.
Among you this is notto happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you
must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to
all. For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.'

ocarm.org 71
Reflection
• Today’s Gospel narrates the third announcement of the Passion and, once again, like
in the previous times, it shows us the incoherence of the disciples (cfr. Mk 8: 31-33
and Mk 9: 30- 37). Jesus insists on the service and on the gift of one’s own life, and
they continue to discuss about the first places in the Kingdom, one at the right and
the other on the left of the throne. Therefore, everything indicates, that the disciples
continue to be blind. This is a sign that the dominating ideology of the time had
profoundly penetrated their mentality. In spite of the factof having lived several years
with Jesus, they had not changed their way of seeing things. They saw Jesus now, as
they had seen him at the beginning. They wanted to be rewarded for following Jesus.
• Mark 10: 32-34: The third announcement of the Passion. They were on the way to
Jerusalem. Jesus walked in front of them. He was in a hurry. He knew that they would
kill him. The Prophet Isaiah had announced it (Is 50: 4-6; 53: 1-10). His death was not
the result of a blind destiny or of a pre-established plan, but the consequence of the
commitment assumed of the mission which he received from the Father together
with those excluded ofhis time. This is why Jesus warns his disciples concerning the
torture and the death which he will suffer in Jerusalem. The disciple has to follow the
Master, even if it is a question of suffering with him. The disciples were terrified, and
those who were behind were afraid. They did not understand what was happening.
Suffering was not in agreement with the idea that they had of the Messiah.
• Mark 10: 35-37: The petition for the first place. The disciples not only do not
understand, but they continue with their own personal ambitions. James and John
ask for a place in the glory of the Kingdom, one at the right and the other on the left
of Jesus. They want to be evenbefore Peter! They do not understand the proposal of
Jesus. They are only concerned about their own personal interests. This shows clearly
the tensions and the little understanding existing in the communities, at the time of
Mark, and these exist even today in our communities. In the Gospel of Matthew, it is
the mother of James and John who addressed this request for her sons (Mt 20: 20).
Probably, before the difficult situation of poverty and growing lack of work at that
time, the mother intercedes for her sons and tries to guarantee anemployment for
them in the coming of the Kingdom of which Jesus spoke about so much.
• Mark 10: 38-40: The response of Jesus. Jesus reacts firmly: “You do not know what
you are asking!” And he asks if they are able to drink the cup that he, Jesus, will drink
and if they are ready to receive the baptism which he will receive. It is the cup of
suffering, the baptism of blood! Jesus wants to know if they, instead of a place of
honor, accept to give their life up tothe point of death. Both answer: “We can!” It
seems to be a spontaneous answer, not having thought about it, because a few
days later, they abandoned Jesus and left him alone at thehour of suffering (Mk
14: 50). They do not have a critical conscience; they do not perceive their personal
reality. As regards the place of honor in the Kingdom at the side of Jesus, this is
granted by the Father. What he, Jesus, can offer, is the chalice and the baptism,
suffering and the cross.

ocarm.org 72
• Mark 10: 41-44: “Among you this is not to happen”. At the end of his instruction about
the Cross, Jesus once again speaks about the exercise of power (Mk 9: 33-35). At that
time, thosewho held power in the Roman Empire did not bother about the people.
They acted only according to their own interests (Mk 6: 17-29). The Roman Empire
controlled the world and maintained it submitted by the force of arms and, thus,
through the tributes, the taxes, duties, succeeded in concentrating the wealth of the
people in the hands of a few in Rome. The society was characterized by the repressive
and abusive exercise of power. Jesus had another proposal. He said: “Among you this
is not to happen! With you it is not like that; but anyone who wants to become great
among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must
be slave to all”. He teaches against privileges and against rivalry. He overturns the
system and insists on service, as a remedy against personal ambition. The
community has to present an alternative for human living together.
• Mark 10: 45: The summary of the life of Jesus: Jesus defines his mission and his life:
“For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many.” Jesus is the Messiah Servant, announced by the Prophet
Isaiah (cfr. Is 42: 1-9; 49: 1- 6; 50: 4-9; 52: 13-53: 12). He learnt from his mother who said
to the Angel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord!” (Lk 1: 38). A totally new proposal for
the society of that time. In this phrase in which he defines his life, three more ancient
titles appear, used by the first Christians to express and to communicate to others
what the following meant for them: Sonof Man, Servant of Yahweh, He who redeems
the excluded (the one who liberates, who saves). To humanize life, to serve the
brothers and sisters, to welcome the excluded.

Personal Questions
• James and John ask for the first places in the Kingdom. Today, many persons pray to
ask for some money, promotion, healing, and success. What do I seek in my
relationship with God and what do I ask God for in my prayer?
• To humanize life, to serve the brothers and sisters. To welcome and accept the
excluded. This is the program of Jesus, it is our program. How do I put it into practice?

Concluding Prayer
Yahweh has made known his saving power, revealed his saving justice for the nations
to see,mindful of his faithful love
and his constancy to the House of Israel. (Ps 98: 2-3)

ocarm.org 73
Thursday, May 27, 2021
Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer
Lord,
guide the course of world events and give your Church the joy and peace
of serving you in freedom. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Mark 10, 46-52

As Jesus left Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus -- that is, the son
of Timaeus -- a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard that it
was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and cry out, 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on
me.' And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted
all the louder, 'Son of David, have pity on me.' Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him here.' So
they called the blind man over. 'Courage,' they said, 'get up; he is calling you.' So
throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus spoke, 'What do
you want me to do for you?' The blind man said to him, 'Rabbuni, let me see again.'
Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has saved you.' And at once his sight returned and he
followed him along the road.

Reflection
The Gospel today describes the cure of the blind man Bartimaeus (Mk 10, 46-52) which
closes the long teaching of Jesus about the Cross. At the beginning of this teaching,
there was the cure of an anonymous blind man (Mk 8, 22-26). Both cures of blind
persons are the symbol of what happened between Jesus and the disciples.
• Mark 10, 46-47: The shouting of the blind man Bartimaeus. Finally, after travelling a
long distance, Jesus and the disciples reached Jericho, the last stop before going up
toward Jerusalem. Bartimaeus, the blind man was sitting at the side of the road. He
could not take part in the procession which accompanies Jesus. But he calls out,
asking for the help of Jesus: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” Throughout the
centuries, through the practice of the monks of the desert, this invocation of the poor
Bartimaeus became what is usually called: “The prayer of Jesus”. The monks
repeated it orally, all the time, and from the mouth it went to the heart. The person,
after a short time, no longer prays, in the sense that the person becomes prayer.
• Mark 10, 48-51: Jesus listens to the cry of the blind man. The cry of the poor man
bothers people. Those who are in the procession try to stop the poor man from
shouting, but “he shouted even louder!” And what does Jesus do? He listens to the
call of the poor man, he stops and said: Call him here! Those who wanted to keep

ocarm.org 74
 him from shouting, to stop the disturbing shout of the poor man, now, at the request
of Jesus, are obliged to bring the poor man to Jesus. “Courage, get up because Jesus
is calling you”. Bartimaeus leaves everything and directs himself to Jesus. He does
not have too much. Only a mantle; what he had to cover his body (cfr. Ex 22, 25-26).
This was his security, the only thing he possessed. Jesus asks: “What do you want me
to do for you?” It is not enough to shout. It is necessary to know why we shout!
“Rabbuni, My Lord, let me see again!” Bartimaeus had called Jesus not with thoughts
completely just, because the title “Son of David” was not particularly appropriate.
Jesus himself had criticized this (Mk 12, 35-37). But Bartimaeus had greater faith in
Jesus than what he could express with his ideas about Jesus. He does not express
any demands as Peter did. He knows how to give his life without imposing any
conditions, and the miracle takes place.
• Mark 10, 52: “Your faith has saved you”. Jesus tells him: “Go, your faith has saved you.”
In that same instant Bartimaeus began to see again and he followed Jesus along the
road. His cure is the result of his faith in Jesus. Once cured, he abandons everything,
follows Jesus along the road and goes up with him toward Calvary to Jerusalem.
Bartimaeus becomes a model disciple for all of us who want to “follow Jesus along
the road” in the direction of Jerusalem. In this decision of walking with Jesus is found
the source of courage and the seed of the victory on the Cross. Because the cross is
not fatal, nor an exigency from God. It is the consequence of the commitment
assumed with God, to serve the brothers and sisters and to reject privileges.
• Faith is a force which transforms persons. The cure of the blind man Bartimaeus
clarifies a very important aspect of how faith in Jesus should be. Peter had said to
Jesus: “You are the Christ!” (Mk 8, 29). His doctrine was right, exact, because Jesus is
the Christ, the Messiah. But when Jesus says that the Messiah has to suffer, Peter
reacts and does not accept. Peter had a right doctrine, but his faith in Jesus was not
so just. Bartimaeus, on the contrary, had called Jesus with the title of “Son of David!”
(Mk 10, 47. Jesus was not too pleased with this title (Mk 12, 35-37). And this is why,
even invoking Jesus with a doctrine which is not correct, Bartimaeus had faith and
was cured! It was different from that of Peter (Mk 8, 32-33), he believed more in Jesus
than in the ideas that he had of Jesus. He was converted and followed Jesus along
the road toward Calvary (Mk 10, 52). The total understanding of the following of Jesus
is not obtained through a theoretical teaching, but with practical commitment,
walking with him along the road of service and of gratuity, from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Anyone who insists in maintaining the idea of Peter, that is, a glorious Messiah
without the Cross, will understand nothing of Jesus and will never be able to attain
the attitude of a true disciple. Anyone who believes in Jesus and “gives” himself (Mk
8, 35), accepts “to be the last one” (Mk 9, 35), to “drink the cup and to carry the cross”
Mc 10, 38), this person, like Bartimaeus, even having a not too correct idea, will
succeed to perceive and “to follow Jesus along the road” (Mk 10, 52). In this certainty
of walking with Jesus is found the source of courage and the seed of the victory on
the cross.

Personal questions

ocarm.org 75
• An indiscreet question: “In my way of living faith, am I like Peter or like Bartimaeus?
• Today, in the Church, is the majority of the people like Peter or like Bartimaeus?

Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is good,
his faithful love is everlasting, his constancy from age to age. (Ps 100, 5)

Friday, May 28, 2021

Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer
Lord, merciful Father, you chose each of your children, that they might become heralds
of your love in the world and bring the good fruit of your Presence to all peoples. May
our fruit remain, thanks to our communion with You and with your Son, Jesus; help us
to gather this fruit, which is our Friend and Teacher, who enters every day into the
holy temple of ourlives. May he renew his covenant with us daily, through faith and
prayer full of trusting abandon. Amen.

Gospel Reading – Mark 11: 11-25

11
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area. He looked around at
everything and,since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve. 12 The
next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig
tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he
found nothing but leaves; it was notthe time for figs. 14 And he said to it in reply, "May
no one ever eat of your fruit again!" And his disciples heard it. 15 They came to
Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and
buying there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those
who were selling doves. 16 He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the
temple area. 17 Then he taught them saying, "Is it not written: 'My house shall be called a
house of prayer for all peoples'? But you have made it a den of thieves." 18 The chief
priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death,
yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 When
evening came, they left the city. 20 Early in the morning, as they were walking along,
they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi,
look! The fig tree that youcursed has withered." 22 Jesus said to them in reply, "Have
faith in God. 23 Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and
thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will
happen, it shall be done for him. 24 Therefore Itell you, all that you ask for in prayer,
believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. 25 When you stand to pray, forgive
anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn

ocarm.org 76
forgive you your transgressions."

Meditation
• “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area”. One of the characteristics
of this passage is the continuous movement of Jesus, expressed in the repetition, in
the alternation, of the verbs “enter” and “leave” (vv. 11; 12; 15; 19). In fact, the Lord
continuously comes into our life, enters into our space, into our experience, passes,
walks among us and with us, but then he goes, he distances himself, he leaves us to
search and wait, and he returns again tobe found. He does not disdain to enter the
Holy City, into the temple, and thus it is within us,in our heart, offering us his visit of
salvation.
• “he was hungry”. The verb we find here, from Mark’s pen, is the same verb used also
in Matthew and in Luke in the story of the temptation in the desert (Mt 4: 2; Lk 4: 2)
and is used to fully express a condition of weakness, of fragility, of need, of tiredness.
Jesus searches for something more than a simple fruit to sate his hunger; he does
not ask something of a fig out of season, but asks of his people, asks of us, the good
food of love, that which comes prepared to the table of the covenant, from the “yes”
pronounced with trust and abandon.
• “Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf”. The figure of the fig tree, which occupies a
central place in this passage, is a very strong symbol of Israel, the chosen people; of
the temple and cult rendered to God in its entirety; and finally of ourselves, if we want
it, of the most profound truth of our heart.
The leaves of the fig refer with clarity to the experience of Adam in the Garden of
Eden, ofhis contact with sin, of his nudity and of his consequential shame. Jesus,
stopping before this fig during his journey toward Jerusalem and setting his eyes
on the leaves that hide the lack of fruit, in reality, tears the veil hiding our truth and
exposes our heart, not to condemn it, but to save it, to heal it. The fruit of the fig is
indeed sweet; the Lord searches for the sweetness of love to speak to our life. The
barren fig, empty of fruit and life, anticipates, therefore, the temple emptied of sense,
profaned and made useless from rapport with God, which is only flight, that is non-
encounter. Like Adam, so Israel, and perhaps thus also us.
• “those selling and buying there”. The scene of the purification of the temple (vv. 15-
17), which Mark inserts between the two moments of encounter already anticipated
of the curseof the fig tree without fruit, is very strong and animated. This time, we
are called to set our attention on the verbs and terms “drive out,” “overturned,” “did
not permit,” selling,” “buying,” “moneychangers,” “vendors,” “thieves,” “carry
anything.” Jesus inaugurates a new economy, in which “you were sold for nothing,
and without money you shall be redeemed” (Is 52: 3), “He shall…let my exiles go free
without price or ransom” (Is 45: 13) and“you were ransomed…not with perishable
things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless
unblemished lamb” (1 Pt 1: 18-19).

ocarm.org 77
• “house of prayer”. From the holy temple we are led into the house, the Dwelling of
God, where the true sacrifice is prayer, that is, the face-to-face encounter with Him,
as children with our Father. Here nothing is bought, there is no money, but only the
gift of the heart that opens itself with full trust to prayer and faith.
• “the fig tree withered to its roots”. In fact, it is these themes that the word of Mark
wishesto offer for our meditation, continuing the reading of the passage. We must
leave the temple to enter into the house, we must leave the sale to enter into the gift
and trust: the tree without fruit is withered and seems to be in the middle of the
road, indicating the new way to go, withthe rising of a new morning (v. 20), a way
toward God and towards our brothers and sisters.
• “have faith with no doubt”. With this most beautiful expression, Jesus helps us to
enter into the depths of ourselves and to make contact with our heart, in truth. The
Greek text has a stupendous verb, translated here as “doubt” and which wishes to
really express an interior split, a division, a battle between two factions. Jesus thus
invites us to place absolute trust in Him and in the Father, in order not to become
shattered within. In a full and complete way we can come near to God, we can be
in relationship with Him, without the need of leaves to mask ourselves, without
beginning to count our change and calculate the price to pay, without making
separations within ourselves, but offering ourselves completely to Him, as we are,
that which we are, bringing with us the good and sweet fruit of love.
• “When you stand to pray, forgive”. And it cannot be any other way than this: the
end andthe new beginning of the way of faith and prayer, in the life of the Christian,
is found in relationship with brothers and sisters, in the encounter with them, in the
exchange, in the reciprocal giving. There is no prayer, cult of God, holy temple,
sacrifice pleasing to God, there is no fruit or sweetness without love for our brother
or sister. Mark calls it forgiveness, Jesus calls it love, the only fruit capable of satisfying
our hunger, of relieving our weariness.

Questions for Reflection

• Meditating on this passage I encountered two strong figures: the fig tree and the
temple, both without fruit, without life and love. I saw Jesus, who with his coming
and his strong andsure work, changed this situation, offering a new aspect to life.
Am I able to recognize my need to let myself be reached out to by the Lord, to let
myself be touched by Him? Do I see myself, in certain aspects of myself, of my
life, as a barren fig, without fruit or like thetemple, a cold place of commerce and
calculation? Do I feel within myself the desire to be able to also give the sweet fruit
of love, of friendship, of sharing? Do I hunger for prayer, for a true relationship with
the Father?
• Following Jesus along the way, can I also enter into the new morning of his Law, of
his teaching? Am I able to recognize the cracks that I carry in my heart? Where do I
feel most divided, most insecure, most confused? Why can I not completely entrust
myself to my Father? Why do I still hobble on two feet, as the prophet Elijah says (cf.

ocarm.org 78
 I Kings 18: 21). I know that the Lord is God and I now I want to follow Him! Not alone,
but opening my heart to many brothers and sisters, making myself friend and
companion on the journey, to share in the joy and in the struggle, the fear and the
enthusiasm of the way; I know with certainty that following the Lord I will be happy.
Amen.

Final Prayer
Lord, I want to sing a new song!

Sing to the LORD a new song,

a hymn in the assembly of the faithful.Let Israel be glad in their maker,
the people of Zion rejoice in their king. Let them praise his name in festive dance,make
music with tambourine and lyre.
For the LORD takes delight in his people, honors the poor with victory.
Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,cry out for joy at their banquet,
With the praise of God in their mouths,and a two-edged sword in their hands (Psalm
149)

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer
Lord, Father of goodness and mercy, You have sent your Son Jesus from heaven to
reveal tous the authority and the sweetness of your love. Send us your Holy Spirit as
He descended
upon Christ on the baptism in the Jordan River, and the heavens open with your voice
of salvation: "You are my Son, my beloved," may our hearts not discuss, nor close, but in
full confidence that they can welcome your light and embracement of the Father, now
andforever. Amen.

Gospel Reading: Mark 11: 27-33

Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the
temple area,
the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him,
“By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do
them?” Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question.
Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.Was John’s baptism
of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”They discussed this among themselves

ocarm.org 79
and said,
“If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”–they feared the crowd,
for they all thought John really was a prophet.
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”Then Jesus said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Meditation
• "By what authority?". The word "authority" is central to this short passage and
contains the secret of the faith journey and spiritual growth that we can fulfill, if
we let ourselves be guided by the Word, in meditation of this Gospel. The
provocative question addressed to Jesus by the scribes and chief priests makes us
understand that how distance there is between him and them and that is why there
can be no answer. For the priests and scribes "Authority" is "power," "strength",
"dominion", "capable of enforcing laws and judge." But Jesus 'authority' is another
thing; in Hebrew this word authority is from a root of the word that also means
"similar to." In fact, Jesus makes it clear in the place that he was walking (v. 27) and
that would lead us to understand that “authority” is similarity with the Father, the
relationshipof love with him, as between Father and son. It is no coincidence that he
immediately appoints the baptism of John.
• "The baptism of John " Jesus leads us now clearly at the starting point, the source,
where we really find ourselves in the encounter with God in the banks of the River
Jordan, where hewas baptized, is also prepared our place, because, like him, go down
into the water, the fire oflove and allow ourselves to mark with the seal of the Holy
Spirit, let us reach out, gather and visit with these words: "You are my Son, the
beloved" (Mk 11). Jesus tells us that there is no other authority, or other greatness or
riches than this.
• "From heaven or from human origin?". We want to be with God or with men, or we
want follow God or men, or we want to enter into the light of the Open Skies (Mark
1: 10) or remain in the darkness of our loneliness?
• "Answer me." It's beautiful word of Jesus, repeated forcefully twice (vv. 29 and 30). He
calls for a clear choice, a clear decision, sincere, authentic and profound. The verb
"answer", in Greek means to express the attitude, the ability to distinguish, to
separate things well. The Lord wants to invite us to enter into the deepest part of
ourselves to let go through his words and so, in this strong relationship with Him,
learning more and more to pull ourselves out of important decisions of our lives or
even in our days.
• But there is something more to this word so simple and so beautiful. The Hebrew
root expresses at the same time, the response, but also the misery, poverty, grief,
humility. That is,there can be no real answer, if not humility, if not listening. Jesus is

ocarm.org 80
 asking the priests and scribes, but to us, to enter into this dimension of life, this
attitude of the soul: to humblebefore Him, recognizing our poverty, our need for
him, because only this may be the real answer to his questions.
• They argued among themselves. "Another important verb that helps us to
understand a little bit more about our inner world. This discussion is in fact a "talk
through" as we sense from a literal translation of the Greek word used by Mark. These
people in this passage are broken inside, are crossed by an injury, are not all in one
piece in front of Jesus talking to each other, bringing together a number of reasons
and considerations, instead of entering into that relationship and in that dialogue
with the Father which was inaugurated with the baptism of Jesus, they remain
outside, at a distance, as the son of the parable, who refuses to join in the feast of
love (cf. Lk 15: 28). They also do not believe in the Word of God, once again repeated:
"You are my Son, my beloved, in you I am well pleased" (Mk 1: 11) and continue to seek
and desire the virtue of ' authority and power rather than the weakness of love.

Questions for Reflection

• The Lord teaches me his authority, even in my life, not domination, oppression or
force but is love, and the ability to be alike, to be near. I would like to accept this
authority of Jesus in my life, I would truly enter into this relationship of resemblance
with him, am I ready to take the steps of this choice? Am I determined to follow this
through?
• Maybe, approaching this Gospel, I did not expect to come back to the episode of
Baptism and the experience so fundamental and source of the relationship with God
the Father. Instead, once again, the Lord wanted to reveal his love so immense, that
does not shrink in any effort, any obstacles just to reach me. Is my heart, right now,
before him? Can I hear the voice of the Father speaks to me and calls me "son",
saying my name? Can I accept this statement of love? Do I trust him, believe him,
and I give myself to Him? Do I choose heaven or still the earth?
• I cannot think out of this meditation without having given my answer. Jesus asks me
specifically, that "Answer me" is also addressed to me today. I learned that there can
be no one to answer without a real hearing and listening that can only come from
true humility. Do I want to take these steps? Or just want to continue to respond
with my own convictions, my old ways of thinking and feeling, from my conceit and
self-sufficiency?
• One last thing. Looking inside of my heart, do I feel being 'too divided, as enemies of
Jesus? Is there any wound in me that not allow me to be whole Christian, or a friend
of Christ, or his disciple? What's in my life that I am broken, which separates me from
him?

Final Prayer
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.

ocarm.org 81
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.The precepts of
the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The statutes of the LORD are true, all of them just; More desirable than gold, than a
hoard of purest gold,
Sweeter also than honey or drippings from the comb.

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Holy Trinity Sunday

Resurrection and mission

"I am with you always"

Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that
you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written
in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events
of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope
became for them thesource of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the
Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word
guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force
of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of
fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us
the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.

Gospel Reading – Matthew 28:16-20

• A Key to the Reading:
The liturgy of Trinity Sunday uses the closing verses of Matthew's Gospel (Mt 28; 16-
20). In the beginning of the Gospel, Matthew introduced Jesus as Immanuel, God
with us (Mt 1: 23). Here, in the last verse of his Gospel, Jesus communicates the same
truth: "I am with you always" (Mt 28: 20). This was the central point of the faith of the
communities in the eighties (AD), and continues to be the central point of our faith.
Jesus is the Immanuel, God with us. This is also the perspective for our adoration of
the Most Blessed Trinity.
• The Text:
16
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had
directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted.
18
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been

ocarm.org 82
 given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of
the age."

A Moment of Prayerful Silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

Some Questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
• What drew your attention most in this text? Why?
• What kind of image of Jesus does this text convey to us?
• How is the mystery of the Trinity presented in this text?
• In Acts 1: 5, Jesus proclaims a baptism in the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2: 38, Peter
speaks of a baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. Here the text speaks of a
baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
What is the difference among these three affirmations, or are they speaking
of the same baptism?
• What, exactly, is the mission that Jesus gives the Eleven? What is the mission
of our communities today as disciples of Jesus? According to the text, where
do we find strength and courage to fulfil our mission?

A Key to the Reading

to enter deeper into the theme.
The Context:

Matthew writes for the Judeo-Christian communities of Syria and Palestine. They were
criticized by the Jewish brethren who said that Jesus could not be the promised
Messiah and, therefore, their manner of living was wrong. Matthew tries to uphold their
faith and helps them understand that Jesus is indeed the Messiah who came to fulfil
the promises God made in the past through the prophets. A summary of Matthew's
message to the communities is found in Jesus' final promise to the disciples, the
subject of our meditation on this Trinity Sunday.

ocarm.org 83
Commentary on the text:

• Matthew 28: 16: the first and last appearances of the risen Jesus to the Eleven
disciples.
First, Jesus appears to the women (Mt 28: 9) and, through the women, tells the men
that they had to go to Galilee to see him once more. It was in Galilee that they
received their first call (Mt 4: 12, 18) and their first official mission (Mt 10: 1-16). And it
is there, in Galilee, that everything will begin again: a new call and a new mission! As
in the Old Testament, important events always take place on the mountain, the
Mountain of God.
• Matthew 28: 17: Some doubted.
When the disciples see Jesus, they prostrate themselves before him, the attitude of
those who believe and welcome God's presence, even though it might surprise and
be beyond the human ability to comprehend. So, some doubt. The four Gospels
emphasize the doubt and incredulity of the disciples when confronted with the
resurrection of Jesus (Mt 28: 17; Mk 16: 11-13, 14; Lk 24: 11, 24:37-38; Jn 20: 25). This serves
to show that the apostles were not naïve and to encourage the communities of the
eighties (AD) that still had doubts.
• Matthew 28: 18: Jesus' authority. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given
to me". This is a solemn declaration very much like the other affirmation: "Everything
has been entrusted to me by my Father" (Mt 11: 27). There are other similar
affirmations by Jesus in John's Gospel: "Jesus knew that the Father had put
everything into his hands" (Jn 13: 3) and "All I have is yours, and all you have is mine"
(Jn 17: 10). This same conviction of faith in Jesus appears in the canticles preserved in
Paul's letters (Eph 1: 3-14; Phil 2: 6-11; Col 1: 15-20). The fullness of the divinity is
manifested in Jesus (Col 1: 19). This authority of Jesus, born of his oneness with the
Father,is the basis of the mission that the disciples are about to receive and also of
our faith in the Most Blessed Trinity.
• Matthew 28: 19-20ª: The triple mission.
Jesus conveys a triple mission: (1) to make disciples of all nations, (2) to baptize in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and (3) to teach them to
observe all the commands he gave them.
• To become a disciple: The disciple lives with the master and thus learns from
this daily living together. The disciple forms community with the master and
follows him, seeking to imitate his way of living and of living together. The
disciple is someone who does not place absolute value on his/her manner
of thinking, but is always open to learning. Like the"servant of Yahweh",
the disciple strains his/her ear to listen to what God has to say (Is 50: 4).
• To baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
The Good News of God that Jesus brought us is the revelation that God is
Father and that thus we are allbrothers and sisters. Jesus lived and obtained
this new experience of God for us through his death and resurrection. This is
the new Spirit that he spread over his followers on the day of Pentecost. In

ocarm.org 84
 those days, to be baptized in someone's name meant to assume publicly the
commitment to observe the proclaimed message. Thus, to be baptized in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit meant the same
as being baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 2: 38) and the same as being
baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1: 5). It meant and still means assuming
publicly the commitment to live the Good News that Jesus brought: to
reveal through prophetic brotherhood that God is Father and struggle to
overcome divisions and separations among people, and to affirm that all are
children of God
• To teach to observe all the commandments that Jesus gave us: We do not
teach new doctrines nor do we teach our own doctrines, but we reveal the
face of the God whom Jesus revealed to us. It is from this revelation that
comes all the doctrine passed on to us by the apostles.
• Matthew 28: 20b: God is with us always.
This is the great promise, the synthesis of all that was revealed from the beginning.
It is the summary of the name of God, the summary of the whole of the Old
Testament, of all the promises, of all the desires of the human heart. It is the final
summary of the Good News of God passed on to us in Matthew's Gospel.
• The history of the revelation of the Name of God, One and Three:
When one hears a name for the first time, it is just a name. The more we live with
the person the more the name becomes a synthesis of that person.

Psalm 145 (144)

Jesus establishes the Kingdom

I will extol thee, my God and King, and bless thy name for ever and ever.Every day I will
bless thee,
and praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,and
his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of thy majesty, and on thy wondrous works, I will meditate.
Men shall proclaim the might of thy terrible acts,and I will declare thy greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of thy abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of thy
righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.All thy works shall give thanks to thee,
O Lord, and all thy saints shall bless thee! They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom,
and tell of thy power,
to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds,and the glorious splendour of thy

ocarm.org 85
kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and thy dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.The Lord upholds all
who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.The eyes of all look to thee,
and thou givest them their food in due season.Thou openest thy hand,
thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing.The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call upon him,to all who call upon
him in truth.
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him,he also hears their cry, and saves them. The Lord
preserves all who love him; but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of
the Father. May your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice
that which your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, your mother, not only
listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity
of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Monday, May 31, 2021

Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, loving Father,
Mary went with haste to visit
her cousin Elizabeth in her hour of need.
May we too rejoice in the Lord
when we can hurry to see people
to bring them the Lord
as we to share in their needs and their joys.
With Mary, may we become
a blessing to them.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 1: 39-56

ocarm.org 86
Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a
town in Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.
Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her
womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all
women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I
be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting
reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed
that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.'
And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, from now onwards all
generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his faithful love
-according to the promise he made to our ancestors -- of his mercy to Abraham and to
his descendants forever.
Mary stayed with her some three months and then went home.

Reflection
• Today is the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin, and the Gospel narrates the visit of
Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. When Luke speaks of Mary, he thinks of the
communities of his time which lived dispersed in the cities of the Roman Empire and
offers to them, Mary as a model of how they should relate to the Word of God. Once,
hearing Jesus speak about God, a woman in the crowd exclaimed: “Blessed the
womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you”, praising the mother of Jesus.
Immediately Jesus answered: “More blessed still are those who hear the word of God
and keep it!” (Lk 11: 27-28). Mary is the model of the faithful community which knows
how to live and practice the Word of God. In describing the visit of Mary to Elizabeth,
he teaches how the communities should act in order to transform the visit of God
into service of the brother and sisters.
• The episode of the visit of Mary to Elizabeth also shows another typical aspect of
Luke. All the words and the attitudes, especially the Canticle of Mary, form a great
celebration of praise. It seems to be a description of a solemn Liturgy. Thus, Luke
evokes the liturgical and celebrative environment, in which Jesus was formed and in
which the communities should live their own faith.
• Luke 1: 39-40: Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Luke stresses the haste with
which Mary responds to the demands of the Word of God. The Angel spoke to her
about the pregnancy of Elizabeth and Mary, immediately, rises in order to verify what
the Angel had announced, she goes out of the house to help a person in need. From

ocarm.org 87
 Nazareth to the mountain of Judah there are about 100 kilometres! There were no
buses or trains!
• Luke 1: 41-44: The greeting of Elizabeth. Elizabeth represents the Old Testament
which ends. Mary, the New One which is beginning. The Old Testament welcomes,
accepts the New One with gratitude and trust, recognizing in it the gratuitous gift
of God which comes to realize and to complete whatever expectation people had. In
the encounter of the two women, is manifested the gift of the Spirit which makes
the child jump with joy in Elizabeth’s womb. The Good News of God reveals his
presence in one of the most common things of human life: two housewives who
exchange the visit to help one another. A visit, joy, pregnancy, children, reciprocal
help, house, family: Luke wants to make the communities (and all of us) understand
and discover the presence of the Kingdom. The words of Elizabeth, up until now,
form part of the best known and most recited Psalm in the world, which is the Hail
Mary.
• Luke 1: 45: The praise which Elizabeth makes of Mary. “Blessed is she who
believed that the promise made by the Lord would be fulfilled”. This is Luke’s
advice to the communities: to believe in the Word of God, because it has the force to
realize what it says. It is a creative Word. It generates a new life in the womb of a
virgin, in the womb of the poor and abandoned people who accept it with faith.
• Luke 1: 46-56: The canticle of Mary. Most probably, this canticle was already known
and sung in the Communities. It teaches how it should be prayed and sung. Luke 1:
46-56: Mary begins proclaiming the change which has come about in her life under
the loving look of God, full of mercy. This is why she sings joyfully: “My spirit rejoices
in God, my Savior”. Luke 1: 51-53: she sings the fidelity of God toward his people and
proclaims the change which the arm of Yahweh is bringing about on behalf of the
poor and the hungry. The expression “arm of God” recalls the liberation of the
Exodus. It is this saving force of God which gives life to the change: he has routed the
arrogant of heart (1: 51), he has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised
high the lowly (1: 52), he has sent the rich away empty, and has filled the starving with
good things (1: 53). Luke 1: 54-55: at the end, she recalls that all that is the expression
of God’s mercy toward his people and an expression of his fidelity to the promises
made to Abraham. The Good News is not a response to the observance of the Law,
but the expression of the goodness and the fidelity of God to the promises made.
That is what Paul taught in the letters to the Galatians and to the Romans.
The second Book of Samuel tells the story of the Ark of the Covenant. David wants
to put in his own house, but he is frightened and says: “How can the Ark of Yahweh
come to be with me?” (2 Sam 6: 9). Then David ordered that the Ark be placed in the
house of Obed-Edom. And the Ark of Yahweh remained three months in the house
of Obed-Edom, and the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and his whole family” (2 Sam 6: 11).
Mary, waiting for Jesus, is like the Ark of the Covenant which, in the Old Testament,
visited the houses of the persons granting benefits. She goes to Elizabeth’s house
and remained there three months. And while she is in Elizabeth’s house, the whole
family is blessed by God. The community should be like the New Ark of the Covenant.

ocarm.org 88
 Visiting the house of the persons, it should take benefits and the grace of God to the
people.

Personal Questions
• What prevents us from discovering and living the joy of God’s presence in our
life?
• Where and how does the joy of the presence of God take place today in my life
and in that of the community?

Concluding Prayer
Bless Yahweh, my soul, from the depths of my being,
his holy name;
bless Yahweh, my soul,
never forget all his acts of kindness. (Ps 103: 1-2)

ocarm.org 89