May 12, 2014
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
A reading from the Gospel of Saint Matthew 21, 23 – 27:
When Jesus had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
On Tuesday evening, May 13th, we will have the burial of My Aunt, Josephine, and my brother-in-law Leo Bernard at the cemetery of the Immaculate Conception Church, Palmer Road. They died during the winter and there are no burials during that season. The bodies were kept in a special building near the cemetery. Now that the snow is gone and the ground is no longer frozen, the burials can take place.
Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Savior given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words,
“I know that you My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters who believe in Me that I taught and did miracles by the power of God. I am the Son of God and I have all power to do all I wish to do. However, the Jewish chief priests and the elders questioned Me by asking by what authority I did the things I did. They also wanted to know the name of the one who gave Me this authority. I knew that they would not believe Me and to show you how doubtful they were, I asked them this question, ‘Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?’ The Jewish leaders refused to answer this question because they did not believe in John the Baptist but if they said of human origin, the people could turn against them because they truly believed in John the Baptist. Because they refused to answer My question, I refused to tell them where My authority came from.
You know, My friends, that I was sent to earth by My Heavenly Father and I had My divine power to do all I wanted to do. Look at what happened at My birth in Bethlehem: a huge star came just above the place I was born and the angels came and sang for Me. At My baptism My Heavenly Father spoke and the Holy Spirit came upon Me with great power to lead Me into the desert. At My transfiguration on the mountain, My divinity was shown to the three Apostles who were on the mountain with Me. Abraham and Elijah appeared together with Me in the air and My Heavenly Father spoke of Me. The greatest act I performed for your benefit was My Resurrection from the dead after I had died on the cross and was buried for three days. My Resurrection is the culmination point for you to show that I am the Son of God and the Savior of all of you. I appeared to the Apostles after My Resurrection for forty days in order to strengthen their faith and to be prepared to receive the Holy Spirit and to begin My Church. I also brought about many miracles when I was on earth and these came about through My divine power. Come My brothers and sisters and believe that I am truly the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Be with Me every day while you are on earth, and I will help you to achieve your heavenly destiny with Me. I bless you and I love you.”
Father Melvin
P.S. May the Lord bless you all and may He give you all the graces you need every day. May He fill you with His love, peace and joy.