Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“After the earthquake there was fire – but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.” –1 Kings 19:12-13 Possibly the greatest thing Elijah ever did was to hear God whisper. God whispered for Elijah to anoint Elisha. This led to two other anointings through which the perverted and oppressive kingdom of Ahab and Jezebel was destroyed (see 1 Kgs 19:15-17). Because hearing God’s whisper is so important, Satan tried to...

“Why could we not expel it?” –Matthew 17:19 Jesus makes us the amazing promise: “I assure you, if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would be able to say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you” (Mt 17:20). We can do the impossible through faith (Mt 17:20). We can express our faith in many ways, but the way on which Jesus focuses is prayer and fasting (Mt 17:21). Pope St. John Paul II prophesied that this way of expressing our faith is of special significance...

“Jesus then said to His disciples, ‘If a man wishes to come after Me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and begin to follow in My footsteps.’ ” –Matthew 16:24 Mass Readings: August 11 First: Hosea 2:16,17,21-22; Resp: Psalm 45:11-12,14-16; Gospel: John 15:4-10 Listen to the Mass Readings When I was a boy, my friends and I often played a winter game in the snow. The leader would walk across a snowy field. The rest of us had to place our feet exactly into the leader’s footprints without disturbing any of the surrounding snow. The one...

“Let me say this much: He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Everyone must give according to what he has inwardly decided.” –2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Mass Readings: August 10 First: 2 Corinthians 9:6-10; Resp: Psalm 112:1-2,5-9; Gospel: John 12:24-26 Listen to the Mass Readings Giving sets the tone for living. If we give bountifully of our possessions, time, and energy (2 Cor 9:6), we will live an abundant life (Jn 10:10). If, however, we give sparingly (2 Cor 9:6), do the minimum, and not go beyond the letter of the law (2...

“I will do to you just what I have heard you say.” –Numbers 14:28 Mass Readings: August 9 First: Numbers 13:1-2,25–14:1,26-29,34-35; Resp: Psalm 106:6-7,13-14,21-23; Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28 Listen to the Mass Readings Twelve Israelite scouts walked around in the promised land. Ten saw disaster and sowed “discouraging reports among the Israelites” (Nm 13:32); two saw God’s hand poised to bless His people with swift entrance into the promised land, and these two scouts sowed faith and confidence (Nm 14:6ff). The people listened to the majority and died outside of the promised land. Pope St. John Paul II has prophesied that...