Category: Bible Reading & Meditation
“This word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram!’ ” –Genesis 15:1 Mass Readings: June 28 First: Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Resp: Psalm 105:1-4,6-9; Gospel: Matthew 7:15-20 Listen to the Mass Readings When the Lord promises something very great, He often announces His promise by commanding us not to fear (see Lk 1:13, 30; Mt 1:20). The implication is that when we give in to fear, we may sabotage God’s work in our lives. A covenant is one of the antidotes to fear, and it is also an assurance of the fulfillment of God’s promises. After God...
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“Enter through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it.” –Matthew 7:13 There are two gates in life: the narrow gate and the wide gate. Many choose to enter through the wide gate because it is easy to do so. You would think we would choose a gate based on what’s behind it rather than on how easy it is to get through it. For example, does a person go on a road just because the road is wide, or because it leads to his destination? If...
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“To your descendants I will give this land…Then Abram journeyed on.” –Genesis 12:7, 9 As Abram passed through the land of Canaan, God promised him that his descendants would inherit that land. However, the Canaanites were still living in the land at the time (Gn 12:6). Abram then continued his journey south many miles more to the desert of the Negeb. Abram got the promise but no land yet. Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land, but they didn’t possess it right away. God told them they wouldn’t occupy the land in one year; they were not numerous enough....
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“Do not fear.” –Matthew 10:28 Jesus gives us at least four commandments in today’s Gospel reading: “Do not let them intimidate you” (Mt 10:26). “Do not fear those who deprive the body of life but cannot destroy the soul” (Mt 10:28). “Do not be afraid of anything” (Mt 10:31). “Fear Him Who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna” (Mt 10:28). We are fearless of men because we have the fear of the Lord (Sir 34:14). The fear of the Lord is not only the beginning of wisdom (Ps 111:10) but also of faith, which leads to love. When...
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“Look for the One Who comes after me. I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals on His feet.” –Acts 13:25 We celebrate the birthday of St. John the Baptizer for the same reason we celebrate the birthday of Mary. The significance of John the Baptizer, Mary, and each of us is due to our relationship with Jesus. We celebrate John’s birthday because it is halfway to the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. We celebrate our birthdays because we have been given new birth in Jesus. We celebrate John because he was chosen to prepare the way for Jesus (see Acts...
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