Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” –Mark 8:15 Mass Readings: February 14 First: Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Resp: Psalm 91:1-2,10-15;Second: Romans 10:8-13;Gospel: Luke 4:1-13 I worked in a bakery long ago. The baker would break up a solid block of yeast into small crumbs. Next he painstakingly kneaded the crumbs of yeast all throughout the batch of dough. Then he set aside the dough on the baking table for a while “until the whole mass of dough began to rise” (Lk 13:21). It was amazing to watch such small crumbs of yeast cause...

TRUTH-SEEKERS

“With a sigh from the depths of His spirit He said…” –Mark 8:12 Mass Readings: February 13 First: Isaiah 58:9-14; Resp: Psalm 86:1-6; Gospel: Luke 5:27-32 After Jesus had twice multiplied loaves and fish, had healed countless people of many different ailments, and had delivered many from demons, the Pharisees wanted Jesus to give them a sign (Mk 8:11). The Pharisees were obviously not sincere. They were testing Jesus (Mk 8:11). Jesus refused to play their game. “He left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore” (Mk 8:13). “The chief priests and elders of...

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT OR DEATH IN THE WORLD

“Yet God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit. The Spirit scrutinizes all matters, even the deep things of God.” –1 Corinthians 2:10 There is a certain wisdom which is not of this age or of the rulers of this age who are headed for destruction (1 Cor 2:6). If we do not have this wisdom, we will be so ultimately foolish as to crucify the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8; Heb 6:6). The only way to receive this wisdom is through the Holy Spirit. The Lord requires us to have a holiness which surpasses that of...

DEMONIC DECEPTIONS

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made.” –Genesis 3:1 Mass Readings: February 10 First: Genesis 3:1-8; Resp: Psalm 32:1-2,5-7; Gospel: Mark 7:31-37 “The serpent asked the woman, ‘Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ ” (Gn 3:1) Our temptations often come in the form of questions. Also, the issue seems to shift from the sin committed to whether God ever really told us that a particular act was a sin. For example, those advocating the legitimacy of some homosexual acts try...

DEMONIC DECEPTIONS

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made.” –Genesis 3:1 Mass Readings: February 10 First: Genesis 3:1-8; Resp: Psalm 32:1-2,5-7; Gospel: Mark 7:31-37 “The serpent asked the woman, ‘Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ ” (Gn 3:1) Our temptations often come in the form of questions. Also, the issue seems to shift from the sin committed to whether God ever really told us that a particular act was a sin. For example, those advocating the legitimacy of some homosexual acts try...