Category: Bible Study

BORN ENSLAVED, BORN AGAIN FREE

“No slave has a permanent place in the family, but the son has a place there forever.” –John 8:35 Mass Readings: April 5 First: Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10;Resp: Psalm 40:7-11;Second: Hebrews 10:4-10;Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 We are preparing for Easter, which arrives in eleven days. If the Son (Jesus) frees us, we are really free (Jn 8:36). John calls Jesus “the Son” when he proclaims that Jesus will free us. In Jesus’ time, most people were slaves not because they were sold into slavery but because they were born into it. Freedom and slavery depended upon whose son or daughter you were....

NEED A LIFT?

“When you lift up the Son of Man…” –John 8:28 Mass Readings: April 4 First: Acts 5:12-16;Resp: Psalm 118:2-4,13-15,22-24;Second: Revelation 1:9-13,17-19;Gospel: John 20:19-31 When the Son of Man is lifted up, Jesus will draw all people to Himself (Jn 12:32) so that they may realize that He is God (Jn 8:28), believe that He is Healer, and receive eternal life (Jn 3:14-15). Lifting up Jesus unleashes a life-changing, parish-changing, and world-changing sequence of events. Therefore, we must devote ourselves to ensuring that Jesus is constantly being lifted up. How is Jesus lifted up? He is lifted up: on His cross....

BATH AND BODY

“She decided to bathe.” —Daniel 13:15 Mass Readings: April 3 First: Acts 4:13-21; Resp: Psalm 118:1,14-21; Gospel: Mark 16:9-15 Today’s first reading is more than a story of good triumphing over evil. It’s an Old Testament preview of Baptism. When Susanna enters her bath (Dn 13:17-18), she is surrounded by the powers of evil, as represented by the two corrupt elders. Susanna is immersed in a dilemma of whether to save her life by yielding to evil or to cling to holiness and purity at the cost of her life (Dn 13:22). Susanna rises from her bath determined to trust...

THE ULTIMATE RESURRECTION

“If the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He Who raised Christ from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also, through His Spirit dwelling in you.” —Romans 8:11 Mass Readings: April 2 First: Acts 4:1-12; Resp: Psalm 118:1-2,4,22-27; Gospel: John 21:1-14 Ezekiel prophesied that God’s people would have a spiritual resurrection, that is, repentance and conversion (Ez 37:12ff). Jesus gave Lazarus a physical resurrection (Jn 11:44). The Father and the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead not only in spirit but also in body. Jesus’ Resurrection was not for...

CHRISTIANS HAVE MORE THAN NINE LIVES

“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor; let us cut him off from the land of the living.” —Jeremiah 11:19 Mass Readings: April 1 First: Acts 3:11-26;Resp: Psalm 8:2,5-9; Gospel: Luke 24:35-48 The Lord informed Jeremiah (Jer 11:18) “of the evil done by the house of Israel and by the house of Judah” (Jer 11:17). Yet Jeremiah did not realize “that they were hatching plots against” him (Jer 11:19). Like Jeremiah, we know we live in a culture of death. We know that sin is not only committed but glorified. We even know that we have enemies and persecutors....