Category: Prayers

“Listen to Him.” –Mark 9:7 After Pentecost until the end of the Church year, we begin six months of intensive work in evangelizing the world and building God’s kingdom. As we enter the third month of working, we may be bogged down. We can blame it on the “summertime blues” or the heat of the day. We often blame other people for our problems; especially we like to blame the Church. Maybe, however, “the trouble is in our set,” that is, on our end, and has nothing to do with the temperature or the season of the year. Maybe we’re...

“He gave them bread from the heavens to eat.” –John 6:31 Today’s Gospel reading from the sixth chapter of John begins Jesus’ famous Bread of Life discourse, which we read for four consecutive Sundays. There is a distinct, intentional progression in the words of Jesus regarding our response to this heavenly bread. During the first part of the discourse, Jesus emphasizes that we must believe He is the Bread of Life. The word believe is used four times from verses 29 through 47. Jesus teaches that we must believe in Him, and accordingly, believe the truths He is revealing. “I...

“Recall that Herod had had John arrested, put in chains, and imprisoned on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. That was because John had told him, ‘It is not right for you to live with her.’ ” –Matthew 14:3-4 Jesus no longer walks the face of the earth. Now we have the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, sent by God the Father and the Son (Jn 16:7). The Spirit proves us wrong about sin (Jn 16:8). For example, the Spirit worked through John the Baptist to convict Herod and Herodias of their sin of adultery. Sadly, they did...

“…My servants the prophets, whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them…” –Jeremiah 26:5 The Lord commands us to set our hearts on the spiritual gift of prophecy “above all” (1 Cor 14:1). Here are some scriptural observations upon which to meditate as we seek prophecy: “Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants, the prophets” (Am 3:7). God relentlessly sends His prophets to warn His people, just in case they might repent (Jer 26:5; Jon 4:11). Prophecy without love gains nothing (1 Cor 13:2). “No prophet is without honor except in...

“Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand.” –Jeremiah 18:6 God the Father is the Potter and we are the clay. Many people consider this a beautiful, even consoling, image. This may be true, but this perception may indicate an incomplete understanding of this Biblical image. When Isaiah brings up the image of God the Potter, he adds: “Be not so very angry, Lord, keep not our guilt forever in mind” (see Is 64:8). When Jeremiah uses the same image, he adds the following words of God: “Sometimes I threaten to uproot and...