Scripture Reflections for the Seventh Sunday of Easter

“martyrs are people who love life and who have a proper sense of its value as a gift from God. And they know that doing something which brings risk to that life needs to be weighed and measured carefully”

“I wonder at times if, if we baptized have any real appreciation of the privilege we have in being members of the church”

“In a word, he's the beginning and the end of the great story...all things came to be through him...If you want to know what it's all about, look to Jesus.”

“when Jesus prays that we may be one as he and the Father are one, this means that we may come to share in the rich unity-in-diversity that is manifest in the Trinity”

“As the rest of this wonderful prayer reveals, what he was basically praying for was really nothing less than the mending of creation, in other words the restoring of creation to its original relationship with God”

“Jesus prays for the unity of the Church, that the world may believe. This shows us the connection between unity and mission, ecumenism and evangelization.”

“That division is painful in itself but what we have tended to ignore is the damage that this has caused in our ability both to witness together to abiding Christian values and to act together for the good of the world community as a whole”

“When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He connected the human race...His ascension opened up a door to Heaven for all of us, a door that remains open today. He wants us to follow Him.”

“Maybe the first step is to admit we are thirsty. We are all hurting and in need of healing...Acknowledging the truth of our brokenness, and accepting God’s healing love can set us free”

“This can be for all of us a time of genuine renewal in our following of the Lord Jesus, a time of reaching out once again to our fellow Christians after the manner of Christ’s prayer to the Father for unity”

“No matter how much we deny it, we care because to us these words are sweet, they open new possibilities from within. We care because the Master has told us simply this: ‘YOU ARE LOVED.’”