Category: Message of the Day
“Whoever does not believe God has made God a liar by refusing to believe in the testimony He has given on His own Son’s behalf.” –1 John 5:10 Two of the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity have given Their testimony about the third Person, Jesus. The Holy Spirit has testified to Jesus, that Jesus Christ came through water and blood, and not in water only (1 Jn 5:6). “It is the Spirit Who testifies to this, and the Spirit is Truth” (1 Jn 5:6). The Father has likewise testified to Jesus, “on His own Son’s behalf” (1 Jn 5:9)...
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“The commandment we have from Him is this: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” –1 John 4:21 Most people like to think of themselves as loving others. Yet are we truly loving or just deceiving ourselves? We are loving if: We are “beloved,” that is, we have first received God’s love (1 Jn 4:19). We love God with all our hearts (1 Jn 5:2; Mt 22:37). We obey God’s commandments (1 Jn 5:3). We love ourselves (Mt 22:39). We love the brothers and sisters we see in our everyday life (1 Jn 4:20). We love our enemies (Mt...
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“[Jesus] went off to the mountain to pray.” –Mark 6:46 In today’s Scripture readings, love is not contrasted to hate. Rather, love is contrasted with fear (1 Jn 4:18), and the antidote to fear is prayer. Thus, the Lord teaches us that love increases through a relationship with God. Prayer is a conversation with God, with us doing most of the listening and God doing most of the speaking. Consider a young man and woman in love. They contemplate marriage. Considerable risks and expenses are involved: one spouse might die prematurely, the expenses of bearing, raising, and educating children, risks...
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Jesus “broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to distribute. He divided the two fish among all of them and they ate until they had their fill.” –Mark 6:41-42 In the Christmas season, we celebrate the historical event that God became man and was born in Bethlehem. Christmas should not be about fictitious reindeer, snowmen, and other cartoon characters. Christmas is about the Word of God literally becoming flesh (Jn 1:14). Jesus’ birth in a stable at Bethlehem is not just a symbol but a fact. In today’s Gospel reading, we read about another fact: the multiplication of...
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“And this is how we know that He remains in us: from the Spirit that He gave us.” –1 John 3:24 At the Christmas season, we celebrate not only Immanuel, “God with us” but also God within us. “Those who keep His commandments remain in Him and He in them” (1 Jn 3:24; see also 1 Jn 4:16; 5:20; Jn 14:20; 6:56; 17:23). Christ in us is our “hope of glory” (Col 1:27). However, “perhaps you yourselves do not realize that Christ Jesus is in you” (2 Cor 13:5). “This is how we know that He remains in us: from...
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