Gospel Reflection – Friday, May 16, 2025

mayo 16, 2025

Dear friends,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” begins today’s Gospel. And it continues: “Believe in God; believe also in me” […] “because I am going to prepare a place for you.” This reading is often used at funerals when we say goodbye to a loved one, since Jesus assures us of the continuation of life after death—seen as a passage, a doorway to the next life.

However, today let’s reflect on this passage as a message from Jesus for our here and now, because so often, the ups and downs of life steal our inner peace and make us doubt the very values we hold dear through our faith.

When we lose that peace within, we begin to experience life in a restless, even chaotic way. It becomes obvious when we’ve fallen into this “pagan spiral,” because we start living as if we had no faith. But as Christians, we are called to face conflict differently:

  • The struggles in our families, when relationships with a spouse, children, parents, or siblings overwhelm us.
  • The tensions at work—with bosses, coworkers, or people we supervise.
  • The toxic situations that sometimes creep into our friendships.
  • The despair we feel when we see injustice, war, or social corruption.

Problems aren’t lacking in our lives—and that’s why Jesus tells us today: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

Today, I invite you to bring to prayer the people and situations that are troubling you right now—those things that steal your peace. Pray with them and for them. Ask the Risen Jesus to give you His peace, so you can face them differently—with patience, with a calm and clearer perspective, with enough distance to stop them from causing harm inside you.

And remember: He is our Way, our Truth, and our Life.

Your brother in faith,

Juan Lozano, CMF