Category: Prayers

” ‘I see how stiff-necked this people is,’ continued the Lord to Moses. ‘Let Me alone, then, that My wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.’ ” —Exodus 32:9-10 God offered Moses the chance to be free from the unfaithful people he led (Ex 32:9-10). These people, the Hebrew nation, continually provoked Moses, yet Moses loved them deeply. Moses spent forty years in the desert loving and leading his people, but they often rebelled and grumbled against him. However, instead of gaining freedom from this burdensome people when God...

“Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God.” —Isaiah 7:11 Throughout this Lenten season, the Lord promises abundant, resurrected, eternal life. Do we believe Him? Will we let the Holy Spirit of Easter and Pentecost come upon us? (Lk 1:35) Will we let the power of the Most High overshadow us? (Lk 1:35) Will we say with Mary, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say”? (Lk 1:38) We need a sign to strengthen our faith. Gabriel announced the sign to Mary that Elizabeth in her old age had conceived a...

“They shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.” —Ezekiel 47:12 The fruit trees growing along the river in Ezekiel’s vision represent us as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ and as sons and daughters of the Church. We are to be disciples who offer the food of the Word of God and the medicine of the healing of God to a hurting world, which desperately needs the Good News of salvation and liberation in Jesus Christ. The trees in Ezekiel’s vision are life-giving and healing because they are watered “by the flow from the sanctuary,” the Church (Ez...

“At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing.” —Psalm 30:6 Yesterday was Laetare Sunday, meaning Rejoice Sunday. We are rejoicing because we are getting close to Easter, the celebration of the risen Christ, and a deepening of our relationship with Him. Today, the Church calls us to hear: “There shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in My people” (Is 65:18-19). The Lord promises us that we will have everlasting joy, be a...

“Some of the Pharisees around Him picked this up, saying, ‘You are not calling us blind, are You?’ ” —John 9:40 Jesus told the Pharisees they were blind. He called them blind guides and blind fools (Mt 23:16, 17, 24, 26). He called the apostles blind when He exclaimed: “Are your minds completely blinded? Have you eyes but no sight?” (Mk 8:17-18) Jesus called the whole church of Laodicea blind (Rv 3:17). Jesus may be calling us spiritually blind right now. How will we take Jesus’ diagnosis of our condition? Will we become defensive, or will we thank Jesus for...