Looking Ahead: May 12-16, 2025

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead. We continue to see the wonderful new life in the early Church. The Holy Spirit is active and alive, raising up preachers to share the friendship with Jesus. Jesus himself shares with us what it means for him to be our good shepherd.

Monday, May 12, 2025

We do not really have a sense of it today, but the question of what to do with Gentile converts to Christianity was a big conflict. For some of the Jews, not circumcising the Gentiles seem to disregard the message of God in the Old Testament and an was an important sign of their faith.

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

What was hard to ignore in the controversy about the Gentiles becoming Christians was the powerful action of the Holy Spirit. As Barnabas and Paul share the great things that are happen, the early Church finds its identity: they are Christians.

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

This past week was powerful with the election of the new Pope Leo. The first reading on this Feast of the Apostle Mathias demonstrates that having men succeed the apostles dates back to the early Church.

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Philip continues preaching the word. He is sent to an Ethiopian who learns through the words of Philip the meaning of what he is reading in the prophet Isaiah. In the gospel an important point is emphasized by Jesus. It is God who always takes the initiative. God must draw us, and we can only respond because of God’s grace.

Friday, May 16, 2025

Right after hearing from Jesus not to let their hearts be troubled, Thomas is still troubled. How can we know the way? How often it is that we can hear the words of Jesus and still not see Jesus himself as God, and as the way to eternal life.

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Today it is Philip who seeks reassurance from Jesus. If Thomas yesterday did not seem to see Jesus as the way, today it is Philip who does not see Jesus as God. Show us the Father. To be fair to Philip, it took the Church a few centuries to articulate exactly what they believed about Jesus.

On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the readings of the day) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update. You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

About Author