Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 5, 17-30
Jesus answered the Jews:
“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation.
“I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.”
Always work
1.Work. It’s what gives us dignity and guidance and strengthens us in life. It’s what enriches our life. Work is to strengthen people’s lives, to give them dignity. Sanctity is present in our daily work; work is the axis of holiness. Because sanctity, holiness, implies ‘producing’ and in life producing means doing things for others. But in this, beware of extremes. On the one hand, the extreme of constantly working while neglecting family and personal life. And the other extreme is to waste time, not to work at all, or to do it without any effort at all. “Tell me how you work, and I’ll tell you who you are”.
2.To be amazed. Jesus reminds you that you should never lose the capacity to be amazed. That attitude by which you can look at life and marvel at something every day. For example, how wonderful it is to see the stars and feel how small you are compared with this wonderful world!
3.Have life. Don’t die before your time and don’t be a pensioner of life, who sees life passing by and does nothing. You have to remember that you have been given life, and life in abundance. Your heart beats and is constantly pumping blood to carry oxygen through your veins to all your body, to give you life, so you can do your best in life. Just as your heart is continually beating, so must you work for society. Strive so that we Catholics can receive oxygen, a breath of fresh air. Try your best so that we may remember to love life and not wander around aimlessly like we’re not alive, consumed by our past or afraid of our future. Beat like your heart, be strong, cheer up, give life to others!
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you and guard you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
