Msgr. Joseph Prior explains Jesus parable of the mustard seed from this Sunday s Gospel reading to explain the Kingdom of God, or God s plan for life, and how he grows our faith slowly.
I, as most priests, have had the great privilege of witnessing numerous couples making their marriage vows. The normal course of preparation is that the couple help prepare the liturgy by praying over the various scriptural readings the Church provides as choices for the Mass.
Almost inevitably the second reading chosen is the one from First Corinthians which begins with the well-loved words of St. Paul: “If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
We were reminded last week in the passage from the First Letter of John that “God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”
The love that the Father has for us is made known in his Son, Jesus Christ. Receiving this love, we are invited and called to live in the life of love.
The reading continues today: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.” Jesus shows us this love in his words and actions. He is love. This love is poured into us through the sacraments. In baptism we are united with Christ and, as St. Paul reminds us, we have become adopted children of God. Through union with Christ we enter into the dynamic mystery of love.
Through baptism we join Christ in a union so deep and penetrating that it transforms us. We have entered into the very life of God, eternal life, comments Msgr. Joseph Prior on this Sunday’s readings for Mass.
“The Lord is Risen! Alleluia, Alleluia!” “He is risen indeed! Alleluia, Alleluia!”
The Gospel account for Sunday’s liturgy is from the Gospel according to Luke. The passage follows the encounter between Jesus and the two disciples who were traveling to Emmaus on that “third day.” At first, they do not recognize him as they journey along. When they reach the destination, Jesus sits with them at table, takes bread, says the blessing and breaks it. It is now, at this point, that their “eyes are opened” and they recognize him, whereupon he vanishes from their sight.
Those two disciples made their way back to Jerusalem where they find the Eleven. They announce that they have seen the risen Lord. The announcement is reciprocated as he has already appeared to Peter. Now the account continues in today’s reading. Jesus, once again, appears in the locked room. He offers them the greeting “Peace be with you.” Naturally they are “terrified.”