Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 10, 31-42
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.
He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him.
The Father is in me
1. To Stone. When you work to do good, of course there will be people who’ll seek to stone you. Of course not literally, but with hurtful comments. Because when you do good or do things well, there are people who resent it and even feel singled out. But don’t stop, go on. That happens to all of us, even me; there are comments from brothers of my own clergy that hurt me, but I always remember that those who do good will always be criticized, while those who don’t do anything will be the ones who criticize.
2. Child of God. As a child of God, never give up doing good. And don’t let the wickedness of the people around you paralyze you. You can give more, but of course you’ll always annoy someone when you do good, so keep on doing good and even if those who see you continue to be disturbed or upset. Remember that your contribution to society is unique, and life is too short to be sitting still for fear of what people will say.
3. Believed in him. Actions speak louder than words. Actions define a person and not intentions or the words they say. The best definition you can give of a person is time, because time shows you who is who. And the best resume is not what is written, but what is said about you and what you’ve done for others. I can assure you that at the end of your life you’ll realize how you’ve lived when you become aware of how you’ve changed the lives of so many people.
Today let’s entrust our lives to Mary, since in many places the memorial of Mary at the Cross is celebrated because next Friday is Good Friday and there is no Mass. Let’s remember that when everything seems dead and fallen, she is there. Both the devotion of Mary witnessing Jesus’s death and the gift of Mary as mother to us are truths we cannot live without.
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
