Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“On the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away, so she ran off to Simon Peter and the other disciple (the one Jesus loved) and told them…” –John 20:1-2 St. John has been traditionally identified with “the beloved disciple” (Jn 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7). However, the Church has also interpreted John 19:26 to mean that the beloved disciple may not be specifically named to show that he represents all of Jesus’ disciples for all times. All of Jesus’ disciples are beloved. All...

“You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to give witness before them.” –Matthew 10:18 Christmas is a special opportunity to witness for Jesus. Because St. Stephen was the first witness to give up His life for Jesus the faithful Witness (Rv 1:5), it is appropriate that he is the first of the Christmas saints. Witnessing is not just saying good things about Jesus. Witnessing is communicating a personal experience of Jesus. St. Stephen was a witness not just because he spoke about Jesus, but because he saw Jesus at the Father’s right hand and proclaimed this to...

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” –John 1:14 At Christmas, we do not celebrate primarily that God became a human being but that God, a human Being, was born. At His birth, Jesus moved from the womb of Mary to the outside world. This made it possible for people to relate to Him in a personal way. Jesus was then able to be held, kissed, touched, seen, and heard. He was also able to be hit, hurt, rejected, and crucified. The change from being in the womb to living in the outside world is dangerous. That’s...

“Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be…?’ ” –Luke 1:34 To have a true Christmas, to meet Christ at Mass in a new, glorious way during the Christmas season, we must have a “Mary” Christmas and love Jesus as Mary does. To have a “Mary” Christmas, we should: not fear (Lk 1:30), be filled with God’s grace (Lk 1:30), have “the Holy Spirit…come upon” us (Lk 1:35), believe that “nothing is impossible with God” (Lk 1:37), rejoice in being the Lord’s servants, that is, the slaves of the Lord (Lk 1:38), “let it be done” to us according...