Reading 1 1 Cor 15:1-8
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers and sisters at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
Responsorial Psalm PS 19:2-3, 4-5
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day;
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Jn 14:6b, 9c
R. Alleluia, alleluia.I am the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord;
Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 14:6-14
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”
"I WISH TO KNOW CHRIST" (Phil 3:10)
" 'Philip,' Jesus replied, 'after I have been with you all this time, you still do not know Me?' " –John 14:9
The apostle Philip lived, ate, drank, slept, and traveled with Jesus. After three years, Jesus had to conclude that Philip still did not know Him (Jn 14:9).
After three similar years, the apostle Peter admitted this same fact. Peter looked at Jesus standing bound and accused from across the courtyard and said: "I do not even know the Man!" (Mt 26:74) While it is true that Peter spoke words of cowardice, it's also important to realize that Peter really didn't know Jesus. He knew Jesus as Teacher, Master, and Miracle-Worker, but Peter did not know Jesus, the Suffering-Servant.
If the apostles didn't know Him, then how can we know Him? "The way we can be sure of our knowledge of Him is to keep His commandments" (1 Jn 2:3). If we tell ourselves, " 'I have known Him,' without keeping His commandments," we are self-deceived (1 Jn 2:4).
We need to know His commandments in order to obey them. Consequently, we need to spend time reading His Word and making it our home (Jn 8:31). In the words of St. Jerome: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ" (Catechism, 133).
We will one day find ourselves telling Jesus all the ways in which we knew Him (Mt 7:22; Lk 13:26). Yet if we did not show that we have known Jesus by keeping His commandments, His assessment of us will be: "I never knew You" (Mt 7:23).
| PRAYER: | Jesus, I wish to know You, Your Word, the power flowing from Your Resurrection, and how to share in Your sufferings by being formed into the pattern of Your death (Phil 3:10). |
| PROMISE: | Jesus "rose on the third day...He was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve." –1 Cor 15:4-5 |
| PRAISE: | Because of his faithfulness, St. James was one of the first to encounter the risen Jesus. |
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