John 5: 31-47
“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true.You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.
And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent. “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 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.
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? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved-translations
Deeper Faith and Love
In this Gospel Jesus is calling us both to find truth and to have faith in Christ. We all have the inherent desire to seek out truth. Christians are blest to have found the answer to that famous question posed by Pilate to Christ, “Quid est veritas,” “what is truth?” Jesus has given us the gift though of coming to us and telling us that he is truth. In this search for truth we must also strive to deepen our faith. We are challenged to believe and break free from the ties of doubt.
When we seek Christ with all our heart and are open to his love, we will surely come to believe fully in him. We must always persevere in our journey to faith. Begin today to deepen your faith by asking Christ–the way, truth, and life–to instill in you the gift of an ardent faith and love for him and his Sacred Heart.
—Jack Lupica, a senior at Saint Ignatius High School, Cleveland, OH.
Prayer
Soul of Christ, make me holy. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, drench me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me. In your wounds, hide me. Let me never be separated from you. At the hour of my death call me to your side. Amen.
—Traditional prayer