Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Look! There is the Lamb of God!” –John 1:36 For generations we have fashioned a culture of death – step by step, war by war, abortion by abortion, injustice by injustice, sin by sin. Our seeds of unfaithfulness, lust, and greed have grown into a sickeningly rich harvest of injustice. Is there any hope? In Christ alone there is hope. He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). Jesus is “the Messiah! (This term means the Anointed)” (Jn 1:41) and “Rabbi (which means Teacher)” (Jn 1:38). He is “the Way, and the...

“As [Jesus] moved on He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus at his tax collector’s post, and said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Levi got up and became His follower.” –Mark 2:14 Who is the least likely person in the world to follow Jesus? Would it be your spouse, child, parent, boss, or enemy? Expect the conversion of those whom you consider least likely to love Jesus. When Levi, the scum of the earth, repented and followed Jesus, Jesus showed there is no one whom He cannot reach. Paul was “a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man filled with arrogance” (1 Tm...

“The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said, ‘Not so! There must be a king over us.’ ” –1 Samuel 8:19 Mass Readings: January 12 First: 1 Samuel 8:4-7,10-22; Resp: Psalm 89:16-19; Gospel: Mark 2:1-12 Listen to the Mass Readings Samuel had been a great leader of Israel; however, his sons did not follow his example (1 Sm 8:5). Therefore, they would not have been good leaders for Israel. Then who would lead Israel? The most direct answer to this problem would have been for Samuel’s sons to change their lives for the Lord. But the Israelites...

“The man went off and began to proclaim the whole matter freely, making the story public. As a result of this, it was no longer possible for Jesus to enter a town openly.” –Mark 1:45 Mass Readings: January 11 First: 1 Samuel 4:1-11; Resp: Psalm 44:10-11,14-15,24-25; Gospel: Mark 1:40-45 Listen to the Mass Readings The leper was an outcast because of his contagious disease. By the law of Moses, the leper was required to live outside the town, keep his distance from others, and cry out “Unclean, unclean” if anyone approached (Lv 13:45). It is likely that people of the...

“[Samuel] ran to Eli.” –1 Samuel 3:5 Mass Readings: January 10 First: 1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20; Resp: Psalm 40:2,5,7-10; Gospel: Mark 1:29-39 Listen to the Mass Readings Though Eli the priest left a lot to be desired, he still had some godly wisdom and did provide Samuel the right direction to discern for his life’s vocation as a prophet. Samuel ran to Eli (1 Sm 3:5) to seek God’s guidance and he was led safely to the Lord. Nowadays, when young people need guidance, a common response might be to talk to peers or use various forms of social media for...