Category: Prayers

“Blest is she who trusted.” –Luke 1:45 Once on this feast day, I taught a Bible Study for the clients at a pregnancy center in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Before a client can receive a distribution of material items from the center, he or she is required to attend a Bible Study, where the spiritual distribution of faith and encouragement occurs. We studied the differences between Mary’s reaction (Lk 1:34) to the annunciation of Jesus’ conception and birth as compared to Zechariah’s reaction (Lk 1:18) to the annunciation of St. John the Baptist’s conception and birth. Though...

“Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before?” –Deuteronomy 4:32 If we believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord, we will live eternally in heaven with the Trinity. A million years from now, when time is no more, we will be constantly exhilarated, enthralled, and overwhelmed by the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His love is everlasting. It is always new, fresh, surprising. We can begin this triune relationship now...

“He went over to see if He could find anything on it.” –Mark 11:13 Jesus “inspected everything” in the Temple precincts (Mk 11:11). He was inspecting the spiritual fruit of the Temple worship. We know this from the fact that between visits to the Temple, Jesus inspected a fig tree and cursed it for not bearing fruit (Mk 11:14). Because it is of extreme importance to bear fruit by leading people to Jesus and by receiving the fruit of holiness (see Gal 5:22-23), Jesus is a strict “Fruit Inspector.” Usually, we must bear fruit no matter what the season, or...