It was my family’s first time to watch a Broadway musical in Manhattan, New York. We left early from the upstate but still missed the matinee. We waited for the gala. The show was heavenly. The play ended late in the night. The train ride back to our borrowed vacation house was on its last trip.

Too tired of the long walks and long waits, we all slumped on the train seats. My wife and kids immediately fell asleep. My eyelids automatically drooped. But my barely-awake brain reminded me, “If you sleep, you’ll miss your stop and your family will sleep on the benches of the station until the train resumes trips in the morning.” I’m no saint, but I’m a father. I won’t let this happen to the people I love most. Determined to stay awake, I stood up again on my tired legs while clutching the train pole. As my family slept peacefully, my smiling eyes kept watch. We got home safely and happily.

Friend, your Heavenly Father is always with you. He never sleeps. So, even if you fall asleep on the journey, He makes sure He leads you home—safely and happily. Jon Escoto (faithatworkjon@gmail.com)

reflect

You may feel God is absent and you’re going through it all alone, but know that He is always with you. He never sleeps.

Father, make me experience Your presence even if I fall asleep in this journey called life. Thank You for making sure that I arrive safely home.

St. Paschal Baylon, pray for us.

One of the challenges the faithful face is defending the faith in the midst of a secularized society. Let us learn the truths behind the Church’s teachings and defend them when they are attacked. Paul argues the case for Christianity for three months. Do we do the same?

¹ While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. ² He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ He said, “How were you baptized?” They replied, “With the baptism of John.” ⁴ Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷ Altogether there were about twelve men. 8 He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 68:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R: Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

² God arises; his enemies are scattered, and those who hate him flee before him. ³ As smoke is driven away, so are they driven; as wax melts before the fire. (R) ⁴ But the just rejoice and exult before God; they are glad and rejoice. ⁵ Sing to God, chant praise to his name, whose name is the Lord. (R) ⁶ The father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. ⁷ God gives a home to the forsaken; he leads forth prisoners to prosperity. (R)

Gospel | John 16:29-33

There will always be trouble and suffering in the world because of sin’s power over how people live. The fullness of God’s reign has yet to be established in the world. Our mission is to bring the world under the reign of Christ and make the Gospel rule our spiritual and physical lives.

Gospel Acclamation

If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

²⁹ The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. ³⁰ Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? ³² Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. ³³ I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read JOSHUA 21 - 24 today.

Jesus seems to know that His disciples will abandon Him at the time of His greatest need for support and encouragement. It must have been extremely difficult for Him to endure this. Yet Jesus also knows how necessary it is for Him to take the path laid out for Him for the sake of our salvation. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus expresses that His ministry and mission are hindered by the fact that He has a baptism with which He must be baptized (Luke 12:48-50). In other words, Jesus knows there is serious suffering ahead, but He wants to embrace it so the power of the Gospel of salvation can be fully unleashed. What we see and witness in the ministry of Jesus is merely a curtain-raiser to His passion and death, and the ministry of the Church that follows.

We are all members of that ministry, and if we take the meaning of Jesus’ own words from various parts of the Scriptures, then our ministry—the ministry of the Church—ought to be greater than what we see at the hands of Jesus. During His ministry, Jesus told His disciples that they would do greater things than He did. We should be ready to claim this promise and step out in faith to fulfill it.

The other thing we need to learn from today’s Gospel is no matter how strong we think our faith may be, no matter how well we think we are prepared for the next crisis of faith, we remain totally dependent on our faith that God will see us through. On our own, we do not have the strength to resist the devil, but surrendered to the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the grace to overcome anything that is thrown at us.

We need to find the right balance of confidence and surrender to God if we want our lives to be fruitful and consistent. Let us always be ready for new ways of ministry but know that they all depend on the Holy Spirit for their success. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

reflection questions

Do you tend to be overconfident in your capacity to manage the grace of God in your life, or do you err on the other side of failing to believe in His promises?

Jesus, help me to find the middle path of enough confidence in my own gifts and surrender to the power of Holy Spirit as I journey with You to the Father. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________