Father Kubicki???s Prayer Reflection

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the death of St. Gianna Beretta Molla who died in 1962 from an infection after refusing to abort her child. Father shares some very touching letters she wrote before her marriage, which reflect the true joy and holiness of the sacrament of marriage.

Father shares with us some insights from Pope Francis regarding a passage in the bible about Jesus, Nicodemus and Baptism and life in the spirit. Father encourages us to have a gentle spirit like the early Christians and refrain from such things as Gossip.

On the feast of Saint Mark, the evangelist Father talks about how Mark traveled with Paul in the New Testament. Even though Paul and Mark had a falling out, they were able to reconcile in the end. We should take heart from this story and try our best to pray and work with people even when we may not get along with them.

Father talks about Divine Mercy Sunday and how Jesus appeared to Saint Faustina, asking told her to spread the message of Divine Mercy. In the diaries of Saint Faustina, Jesus tells her "...tell aching humanity to snuggle close to my merciful heart."

Father talks about Jesus' Great Commission where He tells his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Can we really proclaim it to every creature? Paul gives us an answer, in his letter to the Romans.

Father talks about the two "RRs" that are found in Peter and John while fishing. John "Recognizes" that Jesus helped them catch the fish and Peter "Responds" by jumping into the water and swimming to Jesus.

As we continue to celebrate Easter, Father talks about the Christian belief of the resurrection from the dead and how our human bodies can be transformed into the glorified bodies like Jesus' when he was raised from the dead.

In today’s gospel, we have the story from chapter 24 of the gospel of St. Luke, of how Jesus met two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. At first, as they walked and talked along the way, the disciples did not recognize Jesus.

During the week after Easter, the gospels at Mass contain the stories of Jesus’ various appearances after he rose from the dead. In today’s gospel, we have the touching story of how Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene.

Father Kubicki discusses the importance of Christians to celebrate the Octave of Easter which is an eight-day celebration where each day is treated like a “mini Easter”. Even the Saints’ feast days take a back seat to us celebrating these holy days.

Father Kubicki shares some excerpts from St. John Chrysostom, inviting us to celebrate the riches of God through our risen Lord “…Oh death where is your sting? Oh, Hades where is your Victory? Christ is risen and you are abolished…”

Father Kubicki talks about the reading in the Divine Office for Holy Saturday titled “An Ancient Homily on Holy Saturday”. "…The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in Heaven…"

Today, people from around the world will pause from their usual activities to remember the action that definitively showed us the love of God. It was revealed on a cross, and we remember the day on which Jesus died on that cross.

It’s Holy Thursday, and this evening in churches around the world, we will reenact the scene of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. Several years ago, Pope Francis shocked the world by going to a prison and washing the feet of young prisoners, some of them who were not Christian.

Today, the Wednesday of Holy Week, is known in many places as Spy Wednesday. It was given that name because tradition has it that Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, conspired on this day with the authorities who gave him 30 pieces of silver to hand Jesus over to them.

In today’s gospel, we have a scene from the Last Supper according to the gospel of St. John. It is a brief passage in which Jesus has just predicted that he would be betrayed by one of the twelve. Peter motions to John who is right next to Jesus. He wants John to find out who the betrayer will be.

What do you think of when you hear the word extravagant? According to one dictionary, extravagant means overly lavish in expenditure; wasteful or exceeding reasonable limits. The word extravagant is sometimes used in relation to what Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus did in today’s gospel.

We have a choice, and there are two ways to choose from; the way of the world, and the way of Jesus, which isn’t easy. Pope Francis said that “the world proposes the way of vanity, pride and success. The evil one proposed this way to Jesus too during his 40 days in the desert, but Jesus immediately rejected it.”

In this Prayer Reflection, Fr. James Kubicki talks about his love for the Morning Offering. It’s a good way to begin every day, accepting the minutes and hours ahead of us and offering them to God for His honor and glory, and it’s a way to imitate Jesus who came to give glory to the Father in all things.

Our readings today present two people who are very alike whose names both started with the letter J. They were both prophets who suffered terrible injustices and who in the end had very different reactions to the way they were treated. The two people are Jeremiah, and Jesus.