Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Jn 5:31-47
March 31, 2022 | Thursday

Today’s Gospel

If I bore witness to myself, my testimony would be worthless. But Another One is bearing witness to me, and I know that his testimony is true when he bears witness to me. John also bore witness to the truth when you sent messengers to him, but I do not seek such human testimony; I recall this for you, so that you may be saved (…).

You search in the Scriptures, thinking that in them you will find life; yet Scripture bears witness to me. But you refuse to come to me, that you may live. I am not seeking human praise; but I know that the love of God is not within you, for I have come in my Father’s name and you do not accept me. If another comes in his own name, you will accept him. As long as you seek praise from one another, instead of seeking the glory which comes from the only God, how can you believe? (…) If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?

Today’s Reflection:

There are people who separate themselves from the Catholic Church and join other Christian denominations because there are doctrinal instructions that they outrightly reject or don’t understand. But aside from doctrinal disputes, there are actually some separatists who (consciously or unconsciously) detach themselves from the Church because there are moral obligations and expected behaviors that they don’t want to observe. These dissenters usually justify their oppositions by taking up some Bible passages that are convenient for them, come up with interpretations that support their arguments, then reject those orthodox teachings that do not tolerate their whims. This selective and distorted practice of Christianity manifests an individual’s tendency to listen more to himself than to what Christ actually teaches. These are the similar kind of people that Jesus confronted in our Gospel today. Could you be one of these people? /Vulnerasti, 2022