Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
And he has made the world firm, not to be moved. Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, o Lord.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed: holiness befits your house, o Lord, for length of days.
“You must be born from above”
Fr. Xavier SOBREVÍA i Vidal (Sant Just Desvern, Barcelona, Spain)Today, Jesus explains to us the difficulty of foreseeing and understanding the action of the Holy Spirit: indeed, "it blows where it wishes" (Jn 3:8). He relates this to the testimony He Himself is giving and to the need to be born from above. The Lord says clearly: "You must be born from above" (Jn 3:7); a new life is necessary to enter into eternal life. It's not enough to just get by to reach the Kingdom of Heaven; a new life regenerated by the action of God’s Spirit is required. Our professional, family, sports, cultural, recreational, and above all, pious life must be transformed by the Christian sense and by God's action. Everything must be transversely permeated by His Spirit. Nothing, absolutely nothing, should be left out of the renewal God accomplishes in us with His Spirit.
A transformation that has Jesus Christ as its catalyst. He, who was to be lifted up on the Cross and who was also to be resurrected, is the one who can cause the Spirit of God to be sent to us. He who has come from above. He who has shown through many miracles His power and His goodness. He who in everything does the will of the Father. He who suffered until shedding the last drop of blood for us. Thanks to the Spirit He will send us, "we are restored to paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God "Father" and to share in Christ's grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory" (Saint Basil the Great).
Let us allow the action of the Spirit to be welcomed within us, let us listen to Him, and apply His inspirations so that each of us may be —in our usual place— a good example lifted up that radiates the light of Christ.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“By his coming, Christ brought with him all newness.” (Saint Irenaeus)
“With his newness, he is always able to renew our lives and our communities, and even if the Christian message has known periods of darkness and ecclesial weakness, it will never grow old.” (Francis)
“The baptismal water is consecrated by a prayer of epiclesis (either at this moment or at the Easter Vigil). The Church asks God that through his Son the power of the Holy Spirit may be sent upon the water, so that those who will be baptized in it may be ‘born of water and the Spirit’ (Jn 3:5).” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nº 1238)
November 3rd
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Gospel and commentary video
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November 2nd
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
Gospel and commentary video
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November 1st
Solemnity of All Saints
Gospel and commentary video
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The calendar of Saints and Solemnities for November
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