Today’s gospel is a continuation of Jesus’ Priestly Prayer. We hear Jesus ask the Father to give his disciples–-the disciples gathered around him and his disciples of every era–– four things: unity, perseverance, joy, and holiness. Jesus prays, “Father, keep them in your name.” He is asking for the disciples’ perseverance both in the teaching […]

Since vineyards were a familiar sight in ancient Israel, it is not at all surprising that Jesus would employ the image of the vine and the branches to speak of the profound relationship between himself and his followers. In fact the metaphor of the vine and the branches in today’s gospel has its basis in […]

In today’s gospel reading we find two great lines of thought. When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” we immediately think of the Eucharist. But Jesus’ reference to himself as “the bread of life” has a broader sense than the Eucharist only. Bread is the classic symbol of food, something that sustains life. […]

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” Two of Jesus’ disciples, disheartened and disillusioned by the events of the previous days, were making their way down a road that was to return them to a place of familiarity and safety, a […]