Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Joseph, son of David, have no fear about taking Mary as your wife. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this Child. She is to have a Son and you are to name Him Jesus.” –Matthew 1:20-21 To prepare us for Christ’s Christmas coming, the Church introduced us yesterday to Judah (Gn 49:8). We have already been introduced to John the Baptizer, Elijah, Francis Xavier, Juan Diego, Lucy, John of the Cross, and other Advent saints. Of course, Mary, the immaculately conceived mother of God and our Lady of Guadalupe, is the major saint the Lord has...

“A family record of Jesus Christ…” –Matthew 1:1 Family was everything to the Jews. The bloodline was of extreme importance. Each family line carried significant meaning. The Jews committed their genealogies to memory and recited them to one another. This verbal transmission was the norm, as most people could not read. God didn’t simply come down to earth, rescue us impersonally, and then leave us. Jesus entered into family life and family lines, thereby showing God’s personal love. Jesus bore our burdens (Is 53:4; Mt 8:17), our human nature, and even our family line. So here we are, dwelling in...

“Sing joyfully.” –Zephaniah 3:14 The Lord, through St. Paul, commands and graces us to rejoice in Him always (Phil 4:4). No matter how many problems we have, no matter how bad we feel – the fact that we are “in the Lord” dwarfs everything else. How can we let a little cloud or two eclipse the Son? When we fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2), the Son of God (Mk 1:1), He will reveal to us our heavenly Father (Lk 10:22; Jn 14:6), Who is the Source of our joy. Jesus and the Holy Spirit will show us our...

“Why do the scribes claim that Elijah must come first?” –Matthew 17:10 Before the Messiah comes, Elijah must come and restore everything (Mt 17:11). Before Christ’s Christmas coming, people like Elijah and John the Baptizer must come into our lives. Before we will be ready for Christmas, we need to hear prophetic words which will lead us to repentance. We need to hear the two-edged sword of God’s Word so that it will penetrate our hearts and judge our thoughts and reflections (Heb 4:12). We must be immersed in the baptism of repentance (Lk 3:3) before becoming immersed in Christmas...

“He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season.” –Psalm 1:3 The Lord wants to teach us what is good for us. He desires to lead us on the way we should go this Christmas (Is 48:17). If we hearken to His commandments, this Christmas we will be “like a river,…the waves of the sea,” and the sand of the seashore (Is 48:18-19). We will be full of life and extremely fruitful. If we obey the Lord, this Christmas we will fulfill in an exceptional way the Lord’s first recorded words to the...