Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“If the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, …can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die.” —Ezekiel 18:24 The years 2002 and 2018 were notable for the uncovering of sexual abuse scandals involving certain Roman Catholic priests. Upon hearing the breaking stories, most people reacted like God did in the above passage. Any good deeds done by these priests were forgotten. They were generally condemned by the public because they had turned from virtue...

“Then she prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: ‘My Lord, our King, You alone are God. Help me, who am alone and have no help but You, for I am taking my life in my hand.’ ” —Esther C:14-15 The Lord commands us to pray always and not lose heart (Lk 18:1). He calls us not only to pray but to have a life of prayer now and forever. The Lord leads us to the life of praying always by giving us needs which can be met only by Him. As this becomes increasingly obvious, we ask,...

“When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, He repented of the evil that He had threatened to do to them; He did not carry it out.” —Jonah 3:10 The Lord promised us on the first day of Lent that “now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6:2) The Lord wants us to have the greatest expectations for Lent. He uses the joys and tragedies of life to sensitize us to His amazing plans for this Lent. He wants us to expect nothing less than the glories of Easter,...

“Subject us not to the trial.” —Matthew 6:13 The phrase in the Our Father that we commonly say, “Lead us not into temptation,” can also be translated in the Greek as “Do not subject us to the final test” (see Mt 6:13, RNAB). The final test is likely a definitive test of our faith. It may involve persecution, great pressure to deny Jesus and abandon our faith, or some distress or fear which tests our faith. Jesus said that even the chosen could not withstand the great time of trial if the Father hadn’t mercifully shortened the days (Mk 13:20;...

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, escorted by all the angels of heaven, He will sit upon His royal throne, and all the nations will be assembled before Him.” —Matthew 25:31-32 I have read and preached today’s Lenten readings for many years. Yet today, as I write, I hear them in a new way, for I have just been told by my surgeon that I have cancer. This may not be as bad as some people think it is. But it does make me think twice (or more) about life, death, holiness, and heaven. God reveals that...