Minute Meditations

“You know me, and you know where I am from” (John 7:28). Jesus is responding to some of the Jews saying that “When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” This becomes an issue again and again ...

“How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God?” (John 5:44). Francis was concerned with the impression that he made on those around ...

“My Father is still working, and I also am working” (John 5:170). Francis not only encouraged his brothers to work; he preferred that they be about manual labor—concrete, physical actions that could be clearly seen and rightly interpreted. His Rule ...

“I have no one to put me into the pool” (John 5:6). Today’s Gospel tells us that the man by the pool of Bethesda has been ill for thirty-eight years. He sounds a bit querulous as he lies there waiting ...

“Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe” (John 4:48). Francis strenuously denied the suggestions that he was a saint. He kept hidden the marks of the stigmata. He refused to let people attribute miracles to him. He ...

“Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him’” (John 9:3). Just as spiritual blindness can be far more devastating than the loss of physical sight, so ...