Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” –John 1:14 On this great celebration of Christmas, we recall Jesus being constricted for love of us: Jesus, Son of God and Eternal Word of God, Whom the universe cannot contain (2 Chr 6:18), is constricted in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus, through Whom all things came into being (Jn 1:3), accepts the constraints and limitations of a human body. After birth, Jesus was “wrapped in swaddling clothes” (Lk 2:12). These clothes encircled His body, constricting Him. The Baby Jesus was hunted down by the government. His...

“You shall go before the Lord to prepare straight paths for Him, giving His people a knowledge of salvation in freedom from their sins.” –Luke 1:76-77 On this Christmas Eve day and last day of Advent, we sing, for the last time until next Advent, “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.” We are mourning in lonely exile. We cry out and sing out for God to visit and ransom His people this Christmas season (Lk 1:68). We must be “rid of fear and delivered from the enemy” (Lk 1:74). We need Emmanuel, the Messiah, Jesus. Only Jesus,...

“Who can stand when He appears?” –Malachi 3:2 Mass Readings: December 23 First: Malachi 3:1-4,23-24; Resp: Psalm 25:4-5,8-10,14; Gospel: Luke 1:57-66 Jesus is coming! He is coming in a new way into our lives and our world this Christmas. “Yes, He is coming” (Mal 3:1). His first coming was humble and generally unrecognized by most of the world. The secular culture is working hard to ensure that Jesus’ coming this Christmas will also be unrecognized. The culture has replaced Jesus’ Christmas coming with the “holiday” coming of Santa Claus. This Christmas, will you be among the humble shepherds who recognized...

“Let Me see you.” –Song of Songs 2:14 Mass Readings: December 21 First: Song of Solomon 2:8-14; Resp: Psalm 33:2-3,11-12,20-21; Gospel: Luke 1:39-45 We’re hiding from Jesus. He’s trying to look at us, but we’re hiding from Him – whether it’s behind a boulder (Sg 2:14), a sinful, worldly lifestyle, or a veil of fear. It’s estimated that almost half of registered Catholics hide from Jesus simply by not showing up at Mass on Sunday. We may be hiding from Jesus, but that doesn’t stop Him from looking for us (Lk 19:10). He loves us so much that He came...