Christ Jesus bestowed upon the Apostle Simon Peter a particular ministry, that he and all those who would succeed him as the Vicar of Christ on Earth would carry out. This reflection concerns the Second Confession of Saint Peter. Attached to that confession is the duty for Simon Peter and his successors in the Peterine Ministry to be the servant, slave, and friend of all creatures of God.

In totality, these Gospel accounts tell us two things, which people often take out of context. The first is that the Lukan version of our Lord’s prophecy held up. The second is that Peter is not the pusillanimous, scared, and bumbling idiot that I grow so weary of hearing so many Christians portray him to be.

There many other things that can be said about Divine consolations, especially about the reasons why God decides to give them to us in the first place, but I believe that the most essential treatment that needs to be made here concerns how we ought to respond to them. I say that because Divine consolations will come to many us for whatever reason God deigns, but it is how we respond to them is what is most crucial to know.

There comes a point in time during our Life with the Cross when God somehow lets us know how He would like us to use our gifts for His glory. This sign of perfect grace and consolation is usually followed by or proceeds in conjunction with an event, which will forever be imprinted on our heart and in our memory.

Today’s Gospel Reading at the Sunday Mass comes from Mark 1:14-20: After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” As [...]

Christ Jesus bestowed upon the Apostle Simon Peter a particular ministry, that he and all those who would succeed him as the Vicar of Christ on Earth would carry out. This reflection concerns the Second Confession of Saint Peter. Attached to that confession is the duty for Simon Peter and his successors in the Peterine Ministry to be guided by the truth of God the Father, to obey the commands of God the Son, and to listen for and to act upon the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

- – – An excerpt from Chapter Sixteen (‘The Fourteeth Didactic Mystery’) of my book Cooperating with God: Life with the Cross – Matthew 27:62- 28:15 The next day, the one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate [...]

The fact is that we do have a responsibility to act on the word of way, truth, and life that we receive, but we have an even greater responsibility to pass on that same word given to us to others, so that they might hear it and be propelled into action. For this reason Jesus sent out His Church to the whole world to baptize, teach, ministry, and heal.

Today’s Gospel Reading at Mass comes from Luke 18:1-8: Jesus told his disciples a parableabout the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.He said, “There was a judge in a certain townwho neither feared God nor respected any human being.And a widow in [...]

There is a very interesting pattern that emerges from sacred Scripture where it concerns the call of the first disciples and their decision to follow Jesus. The Gospel of John narrates it the best of all the Gospel accounts. According to The Gospel of John, [...]