Category: Prayers

“Jesus answered them, ‘I solemnly declare it, before Abraham came to be, I AM.’ At that they picked up rocks to throw at Jesus.” —John 8:58-59 On the first day of the Easter season, in every Catholic Mass in the world, we will be specifically asked: “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord?” In other words, we will be challenged to profess our faith that Jesus is God. This is considered blasphemous to over one billion Muslims or Jews. They believe that to accept Jesus as God is to deny that there is only one God....

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Who sent His angel to deliver the servants that trusted in Him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” —Daniel 3:95 Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we must be able to look death right in the face and say: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:55), for “death is swallowed up” (1 Cor 15:54) in the victory of Jesus, “the Resurrection and the Life” (Jn 11:25). The Holy Spirit can...

“Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered.” —Numbers 21:9 The Israelites had already been poisoned before being bitten by the saraph serpents. The poison of grumbling, rebellion, and discontent was flowing through their veins long before the poisonous venom of the serpent bites was introduced into their bloodstream. God’s merciful antidote to the poison of the serpent bites was to have Moses make a bronze serpent, mount it on a wooden pole, “and whenever anyone who had been...

“I wish to know Christ and the power flowing from His resurrection; likewise to know how to share in His sufferings by being formed into the pattern of His death. Thus do I hope that I may arrive at resurrection from the dead.” —Philippians 3:10-11 In two weeks, we will celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. To share in His Resurrection, we must “share in His sufferings by being formed into the pattern of His death” (Phil 3:10). “You can depend on this: If we have died with Him we shall also live with Him” (2 Tm 2:11). The cross...

“My God, in You I take refuge.” —Psalm 7:2 When Jeremiah realized people were plotting to kill him, he “prayed” to the Lord: “Let me witness the vengeance You take on them” (Jer 12:20). When Jesus was plotted against by His enemies and crucified, He also prayed while hanging on the cross: “Father forgive them; they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34). Unlike Jeremiah, Jesus did not seek His enemies’ death but their salvation. He loved His enemies so much that He offered Himself in sacrifice and gave them the opportunity for eternal life with Him. When...