Every Catholic Man - Sunday Gospel Bible Study
Learn more about how a man can grow in happiness at EveryCatholicMan.com, including daily Gospel devotions from the Mass for every day of the year. The EveryCatholicMan.com podcast can help a man draw closer to Jesus Christ, learn the Catholic faith and grow in happiness by becoming a better Catholic Son and Catholic Father. In every episode, a man can hear the Gospel reading from the Holy Catholic Mass, hear what Jesus is accomplishing, discover what can lead a man to be more awed by Jesus Christ, grow in happiness, learn from the Catechism, and take action to practice what Jesus and the Catholic Church is teaching in the Gospel. Matthew James Christoff is a Catholic convert and evangelist of Catholic men. Matthew's extensive work to help Catholic men draw closer to Jesus Christ and grow in happiness can be found at EveryCathoilcMan.com. At EveryCatholicMan.com can find daily Gospel devotions from the Mass for every day of the year and a comprehensive set of tools that can help a man grow in holiness and happiness. Matthew is a co-founder of the Catholic Men's Leadership Alliance and HeroicMen.com, the founder of the New Evangelization Project and CatholicManNight.com, and is featured in the Knights of Columbus Into the Breach Video Series. Matthew's professional career includes being a strategy consultant for Fortune 50 companies and a brand manager in a major consumer products company. Matthew has a Masters in Theology from the Augustine Institute, a Masters in Business and a Civil Engineering degree from Purdue University. Matthew is married to his childhood sweetheart, has four married adult children and grandchildren.
Every Catholic Man - Sunday Gospel Bible Study
Episode 256 - Jesus confirms His departure into glory and commands His disciples to love one another - Sunday May 18, 2025 - Jn 13:31-33a; 34-35
Jesus confirms His departure into glory and commands His disciples to love one another. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Religion so he can constantly give God glory and by seeking the Fruits of Love, Peace, Patience, Kindness and Gentleness from the Holy Spirit so he can more fully love all people.
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Jesus confirms His departure into glory and commands His disciples to love one another. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Religion so he can constantly give God glory and by seeking the Fruits of Love, Peace, Patience, Kindness and Gentleness from the Holy Spirit so he can more fully love all people.
Liturgy
5th Week of Easter – Sunday – Cycle C – Jn 13:31-33a; 34-35
Commentary
After demonstrating the commandment to serve others by humbly washing the Apostles’ feet, Jesus solemnly reveals that one of the Apostles will betray Him. After Satan enters into Judas and he departs, Jesus begins His Farewell Discourse (Jn 13:31-16:33) asserting His kingly prerogative to give commandments, His prophetic prerogative to reveal truths, and His priestly prerogative to offer prayers for His Holy Catholic Church.
Jesus begins by reconfirming that He is the Son of Man, the One who comes down from Heaven as the Messiah and will bring Salvation to men willing to receive Him. Jesus reveals the time has come for the world to be awed by His glory: “glory” is the awe-inspiring manifestation of divine presence to humans which God periodically demonstrates throughout Salvation History (the Burning Bush, the pillars of fire and clouds during the Exodus, the Transfiguration). Through His obedience in the Cross, Jesus will reveal the glory of God the Father. In the Resurrection, God the Father will glorify the Son as the Son is raised in His glorified humanity and is revealed as the Second Person of the Trinity. Omitted from today’s reading (v. 33b), Jesus reveals that He will be separated from the disciples for a time, but the Jews (and all men) who refuse Him will die in their sin and be separated from Jesus forever (Jn 8:21).
Because He will be absent, Jesus begins to give the disciples instructions as to what they are to do, issuing a new commandment as their King. Though the call to love neighbors is given in the Old Testament (Lev 19:18), Jesus confirms the commandment to “love one another” is “new”, for they are to love with a supernatural kind of love which is how Jesus has loved them; this kind of love is only possible with the outflowing of grace from Jesus’ saving Passion, which will be poured out in rich abundance through the Holy Spirit upon His disciples willing to accept the Spirit. The superior kind of love which Jesus is calling His disciples to will demonstrate to the world that men are followers of Jesus and will motivate other men to follow Him.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Marvel at how Jesus, the Son of Man who will shortly be glorified by God the Father, that despite the betrayal of Judas, Peter’s denial, and the horrific Passion, remains the perfection of Charity by remaining focused on helping the Apostles (and all men) receive Him and grow in love.
Give God glory in prayer, Adoration and the Mass
Realize: As Catholic men are called to imitate Jesus in all things, every Catholic man must continually seek to glorify God just as the Son glorified the Father.
Believe: Renew your commitment to Glorify God (CCC 294, 824, 1204, 2085, 2639).
Pray: Almighty Father, help me build the Virtue of Religion (a part of Justice) so I give You glory many times a day in prayer, and regularly give You glory at my parish during a Holy Hour of Adoration and in the Mass.
Receive the Fruits of the Spirit and love all people
Realize: Jesus’ commandment to, “love one another”, is the “fruit” of a Catholic man’s love of God: if a man truly loves God, he must be fruitful by loving every single soul, who God has created and loves.
Believe: Reflect upon the New Commandment to Love (CCC 782, 1823, 1970, 2822, 2842).
Pray: Holy Spirit, give me the Fruits of Love, Peace, Patience, Kindness,and Gentleness so I look past differences and fruitfully love every person.