Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the Lord.” —Psalm 31:25 As Jesus agonized over His decision to lay down His life for us, He was so severely tempted to give in to fear that His sweat became as drops of blood (Lk 22:44). Nonetheless, Jesus refused to be intimidated by Satan. He stood up to a cohort of soldiers and several police officers (Jn 18:3). “They retreated slightly and fell to the ground” (Jn 18:6) in the face of Jesus’ love and courage. Then Jesus fearlessly died on the cross for us. However, except for the...

“The Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread, and after He had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ ” —1 Corinthians 11:23-24 I wrote this during a curfew. Because of racial violence, my city was under a curfew. Our Mass of the Last Supper had to be finished in 30-40 minutes so that parishioners could be home by the 8:00 PM curfew. Only a handful of people came to the Mass because most people were afraid to come. (The parish and...

Judas “kept looking for an opportunity to hand [Jesus] over.” —Matthew 26:16 Judas was disappointed in Jesus. Like many Jews of his time, Judas likely expected the Messiah to be a nationalistic hero, one who would cast out the occupying Roman armies and liberate Jerusalem. In spending three years with Jesus, Judas gradually came to realize that Jesus was not interested in being the kind of Messiah Jews expected. Jesus made it clear to the apostles that He was interested in freeing people from sin (see e.g. Jn 8:34-36). He also made it clear that He accepted people from all...

“Mary brought a pound of costly perfume made from genuine aromatic nard, with which she anointed Jesus’ feet. Then she dried His feet with her hair.” —John 12:3 The Lord gives us the command and the privilege to love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength (Lk 10:27). David prayed: “For You my flesh pines and my soul thirsts,” and “My soul clings fast to You,” and “Your kindness is a greater good than life” (Ps 63:2, 9, 4). Another psalmist prayed to the Lord: “When I am with You, the earth delights me not” (Ps 73:25). Pope...