Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Your faith and hope, then, are centered in God.” —1 Peter 1:21 The two disciples on the road to Emmaus said they “were hoping” that Jesus would redeem Israel (Lk 24:21). The two disciples lost hope when Jesus was crucified. Many likewise may be struggling to hold on to hope. We may feel that we have “toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent” our strength in our families, evangelization, work, or life in general (Is 49:4). We know that the Lord has promised that our “hope will not leave us disappointed,” but we feel disappointed anyway (see Rm 5:5)....

“Then He told them: ‘Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation.’ ” —Mark 16:15 Mark ends his Gospel with Jesus’ command to proclaim the Good News. He begins his Gospel proclaiming “Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk 1:1). He divides his Gospel into two parts. Each part culminates in proclaiming Jesus as Messiah (Mk 8:29) and the Son of God (Mk 15:39). Mark proclaims Jesus from the beginning to the end of his Gospel. He boasts of nothing but the Lord (2 Cor 10:17; 1 Cor 1:31). During this Easter season, are you...

“If their purpose or activity is human in its origins, it will destroy itself. If, on the other hand, it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them.” —Acts 5:38-39 The apostles had been arrested for teaching the people of Jerusalem about Jesus. They were brought to trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish “Supreme Court.” The apostles stood their ground and declared they would continue teaching about Jesus, and would obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). “When the Sanhedrin heard this, they were stung to fury and wanted to kill them. Then a member of the...

“Taste and see how good the Lord is.” —Psalm 34:9 At each Mass, Jesus offers us His Body and Blood in the Eucharistic feast. The Church, through the voice of the psalmist, invites us to taste and see how good the Eucharistic Lord is (Ps 34:9). At the first Eucharist, the Last Supper, Jesus told His apostles and each of us: “I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you” (Lk 22:15). The Mass is a marriage between heaven and earth, and the Eucharist is our wedding banquet (see Rv 19:7). We approach the altar of the Lord as...

“With power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” —Acts 4:33 The Holy Spirit has told the Church to make the Easter season extra special by celebrating some of God’s greatest works during Easter. For example, the first hours of Easter are glorified by the Baptisms, Confirmations, and First Communions of hundreds of thousands of catechumens throughout the world. We kick off the fifty-day Easter season with the Easter octave. We often have additional Confirmations and First Communions throughout Easter. We celebrate May as the month of Mary with rosaries and May crownings. We conclude the...