May 30, 2026
Saturday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 352
Reading 1
Beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand
by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.
Keep yourselves in the love of God
and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
that leads to eternal life.
On those who waver, have mercy;
save others by snatching them out of the fire;
on others have mercy with fear,
abhorring even the outer garment stained by the flesh.
To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling
and to present you unblemished and exultant,
in the presence of his glory,
to the only God, our savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord
be glory, majesty, power, and authority
from ages past, now, and for ages to come. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem.
As he was walking in the temple area,
the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders
approached him and said to him,
“By what authority are you doing these things?
Or who gave you this authority to do them?”
Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question.
Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”–
they feared the crowd,
for they all thought John really was a prophet.
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”
Then Jesus said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/053026.cfm
Commentary on Jude
17,20-25
As we come to the end of this week, we have a solitary
reading from the Letter of Jude. It is a very short letter, consisting of
just one chapter of 25 verses, and our reading comes from the latter part of
the letter. In general, the letter is a stern warning against false
teachers who are doing untold harm to the community.
The first piece of advice is to keep in mind the prophetic
teachings of the Apostles. The coming of godless heretics should not take
believers by surprise, for it had been predicted by the Apostles.
Addressing them as “beloved” (Greek, agapetoi),
in contrast to the ungodly false teachers about whom this letter speaks at
length, Jude gives them some exhortations on how to cope with these threats to
their faith. He urges them to pray under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Second, they are to remain persevering “in the love of
God”. God keeps believers in his love and enables them to keep themselves
in his love. As Paul had said so graphically:
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)
As long as they remain open to that love, the Christians can
be sure of being able to:
…look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that
leads to eternal life.
At the same time, some who are confused by the false
teachers need to have their thinking corrected, while others need to be
snatched from imminent destruction and loss:
And have mercy on some who are wavering; save others by
snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear,
hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.
But they are cautioned that in showing mercy and compassion
to those who stray, one may oneself be trapped by the allurement of their false
teaching. The wicked are pictured as so corrupt that even their garments are
polluted by their sinful nature.
The reading ends with a magnificent doxology, one of the
finest in the whole of the New Testament:
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to
make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to
the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty,
power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
After all the attention necessarily given in this letter to
the ungodly and their works of darkness, Jude concludes his letter by focusing
attention on God, who is fully able to protect those who put their trust in
him.
Every age in the Church, not least our own, has people going
around with all kinds of strange and new messages. And there are always
those who, in Paul’s words, have “ears tickled” for the latest novelty.
Some of these novelties can be highly destructive, as we have seen in the case
of some of the more outlandish sects where many people, including children,
unnecessarily lost their lives, or where there was indulgence in behaviour that
was either bizarre or humanly degrading and abusive.
The Christian churches, including the Catholic Church, have
their faults and need to continue to learn where the Truth is, but there is a
solid foundation in the Word of God that comes to us through Jesus Christ that
we abandon at our peril.
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Commentary on Mark
11:27-33
Jesus has now come to Jerusalem. It is the last phase
of his public life and hostility is building up against him. In today’s
reading, while walking in the Temple area, he is confronted by a group of
Jewish leaders, chief priests, scribes and elders. These are the people
who formed the supreme council which will later condemn him to death. They ask:
By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave
you this authority to do them?
The implication is that he is not doing it on their
authority, which they regard as supreme. In his usual manner, Jesus
counters with another question. He asks them if the work of John the
Baptist was of human or divine origin.
They immediately realise that answering Jesus’ question
raises a serious dilemma. If they were to say John’s baptism was from God, then
it could be asked why they did not take part in it (as large numbers of the
ordinary people did—and as Jesus himself did). The Gospel had described
the leaders as simply coming to observe John as outsiders and judges.
On the other hand, if they were to say they considered
John’s baptism as merely a human thing, then it would offend all those people
who had the highest respect for John and saw in him a prophet of God.
Weakly Jesus’ questioners reply: “We do not know.” A
strange and not very convincing reply from the spiritual leaders of the people!
Jesus then refuses to answer the question they asked him.
But Jesus’ case was similar to that of John. The
people, who had heard Jesus speak (“Never has anyone spoken like this!”) and
saw his cures (“God has visited his people”), had no doubts whatever about the
source of Jesus’ authority:
They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them
as one having authority and not as the scribes. (Mark 1:22)
The leaders’ own question was a clear indication of their
prejudice and wilful blindness in the face of overwhelming evidence.
We too, of course, can have a similar blindness. We
can refuse to see the presence and activity of God in situations where we do
not want to see it—or in people where we do not want to see it. But God
can use any person, any experience, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, to
communicate with us. We pray:
Help me, Lord, to seek and find and respond to you in
every experience of my life.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2087g/
Saturday, May 30, 2026
Prayer
Lord, Father of goodness
and mercy, You have sent Your Son Jesus from heaven to reveal to us the
authority and the sweetness of Your love. Send us Your Holy Spirit as He
descended upon Christ at the baptism in the Jordan River.
The heavens open with Your voice of salvation: "You are my Son, my
beloved." May our hearts not close,
but in full confidence, may we welcome Your light and the embrace of the
Father, now and forever. Amen.
Gospel Reading – Mk 11: 27-33
Jesus and his disciples
returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple area, the
chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him,
"By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this
authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I shall ask you one
question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was
John's baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me." They discussed
this among themselves and said, "If we say, 'Of heavenly origin,' he will
say, 'Then why did you not believe him?' But shall we say, 'Of human
origin'?"– they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a
prophet. So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know." Then Jesus
said to them, "Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these
things."
Meditation
•
"By what authority?" The word
"authority" is central to this short passage and contains the secret
of the faith journey and spiritual growth that we can attain if we let
ourselves be guided by the Word, in meditation on this Gospel. The provocative
question addressed to Jesus by the scribes and chief priests makes us
understand how much distance there is between Him and them and why there can be
no answer. For the priests and scribes "authority" is
"power," "strength,” "dominion,” "capable of enforcing
laws and judging." But for Jesus, “authority” is another thing. In Hebrew,
this word “authority” is from a root of the word that also means "similar
to." In fact, Jesus makes it clear in the place where He was walking (v.
27), and that would lead us to understand that “authority” is similarity with
the Father, the relationship of love with Him,
as between Father and Son. It is no
coincidence that He immediately points to the baptism of John.
•
"The baptism of John ...." Jesus leads
us now clearly to the starting point, the source, where we really find
ourselves in the encounter with God on the banks of the River Jordan where He
was baptized. He also prepared our
place, because like Him, we go down into the water and allow ourselves to be
marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. Let us reach out, gather, and visit with
these words: "You are my Son, the beloved" (Mk 11). Jesus tells us
that there is no other authority, or other greatness or riches than this.
•
"From heaven or from human origin?" Do
we want to be with God or with men, to follow God or men, or do we want to
enter into the light of the opened heavens (Mark 1:10) or remain in the
darkness of our loneliness?
•
Answer me." It's a beautiful phrase from
Jesus, repeated forcefully twice (vv. 29 and 30). He calls for a clear choice,
a clear decision, sincere, authentic, and profound. The verb "answer"
in Greek means to express the attitude of an ability to distinguish and to
separate things well. The Lord wants to invite us to enter into the deepest
part of ourselves, to let His words enter and so, in this strong relationship
with Him, learn more and more to make the important decisions of our lives and
throughout our days.
•
But there is something more to this word, so
simple and so beautiful. The Hebrew root expresses at the same time response as
well as misery, poverty, grief, humility. That is, there can be no real answer,
without humility, without listening. Jesus is asking the priests and scribes,
and us, to enter into this dimension of life, this attitude of the soul: to be
humble before Him and others, recognizing our poverty, our need for Him,
because only this may be the real answer to His questions.
•
They argued among themselves.” Another important
verb that helps us to understand a little more about our inner world. This
discussion is in fact a "talk through" as we sense from a literal
translation of the Greek word used by Mark. These people in this passage are
broken inside, are scarred by an injury, are not all in one piece in front of
Jesus while talking to each other, bringing together a number of reasons and
considerations instead of entering into a relationship and a dialogue with the
Father which was inaugurated with the baptism of Jesus. They remain outside and at a distance, as the
son of the parable who refuses to join in the feast of love (cf. Lk 15:28).
They also do not believe in the Word of God, once again repeated: "You are
my Son, my beloved, in You I am well pleased" (Mk 1: 11) and continue to
seek and desire the strength of “authority” and power rather than the weakness
of love.
Questions for Reflection
•
The Lord teaches me His authority, even in my
life, not domination, oppression or force, but love, and the ability to be
alike, to be near. I would like to accept this authority of Jesus in my
life. I would truly enter into this
relationship of resemblance with Him. Am I ready to engage in this choice? Am I
determined to follow this through? Can I do this in all aspects of my life?
What is my next step to get there?
•
Maybe, approaching this Gospel, I did not expect
to come back to the episode of Baptism and the experience so fundamental and
the source of the relationship with God the Father. Instead, once again, the
Lord wanted to reveal His love so immense, that He does not shirk any effort,
any obstacles just to reach me. Is my heart, right now, before Him? Can I hear
the voice of the Father speak to me and call me "son,” saying my name? Can
I accept this statement of love? Do I trust Him, believe Him, and give myself
to Him? Do I understand that this involves change and action from me, and does
not stop with words and feelings?
•
I cannot reflect on this meditation without
giving my answer. Jesus asks me specifically, that "answer me" is
also addressed to me today. I learned that there can be no answer without a
real hearing and listening that can only come from true humility. Do I want to
take these steps or just want to continue to respond with my own convictions,
my old ways of thinking and feeling, from my conceit and self-sufficiency? What
exactly do I need to change within me and around me to answer the way I am
invited to?
• One last thing. Looking inside my heart, do I feel divided, as an enemy of Jesus? Is there any wound in me that will not allow me to be a whole Christian, or a friend of Christ, or His disciple? What is there in my life that is broken, that separates me from Him?
Final
Prayer
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the
simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The statutes of the
LORD are true, all of them just; More desirable than gold, than a hoard of
purest gold, Sweeter also than honey or drippings from the comb.
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