GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 11:45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
“You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.”
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert,
to a town called Ephraim,
and there he remained with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area, “What do you think?
That he will not come to the feast?”

The word of the Lord

Danger: Influencers.

Power is one of the three lusts of the flesh. How destructive it can be, not only because of the manoeuvring ability it allows but also because of the influence over other people. We see how most Jews appreciate Jesus, but the Pharisees and chief priests turned them all against Him. May those of us who have influence over others, starting with our children, be very delicate in managing that influence to lead everyone to love Jesus more.

Applied to Married Life:

Sole: Do you realise the responsibility we have towards so many marriages? How are we going to evangelise if we don’t stay united?

Rodri: That’s precisely why we make our prayer a priority every day. And that’s also why we take care of our marriage, each and every day.

Sole: That’s true. Those are our two priorities. I believe if we keep them that way, we are doing well.

 

Mother,

how much our Lord suffered. We need to give back so much of what He has given us… Praised be He forever.