Category: Daily Prayer

SUING AND REAPING

“Why, the very fact that you have lawsuits against one another is disastrous for you.” –1 Corinthians 6:7 Mass Readings: September 6 First: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11; Resp: Psalm 149:1-6,9; Gospel: Luke 6:12-19 The Lord reveals in the Bible that it is disastrous for Christians to sue Christians. This results in injuring and cheating those who may have injured and cheated us (1 Cor 6:8). Suing other Christians can make us unholy and deprive us from inheriting God’s kingdom, even though we have been “washed, consecrated, justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our...

THE YEAST OF THE BRETHREN

“Do you not know that a little yeast has its effect all through the dough?” –1 Corinthians 5:6 Those who commit sin are like yeast which has its effect all through the Christian community. Therefore, we must: overcome temptations to sin so as not to hurt ourselves and others, repent and go to Confession as soon as possible if we have sinned, forgive those who are sinning and are thereby hurting themselves and our community, be ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18) by praying for those who have sinned (1 Jn 5:16), correcting them (Lk 17:3; Mt 18:15; Ez 3:18;...

SUPREME AND EXTREME LOVE

“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters, indeed his very self, he cannot be My disciple.” –Luke 14:26, our transl Mass Readings: September 4 First: Wisdom 9:13-18; Resp: Psalm 90:3-6,12-13,14-17; Second: Philemon 9-10,12-17; Gospel: Luke 14:25-33. A traditional hymn begins: “Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All, how can I love Thee as I ought?” We love Jesus as we ought by loving Him with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and all our strength (Lk 10:27). When we give our “all” to Jesus, our...

“A GREAT CONTEST OF SUFFERING” (Heb 10:32)

“God has put us apostles at the end of the line.” –1 Corinthians 4:9 Mass Readings: September 3 First: 1 Corinthians 4:6-15; Resp: Psalm 145:17-21;Gospel: Luke 6:1-5 Paul repeatedly published lists of the sufferings of Christians (see 2 Cor 6:4ff; 11:23ff). Paul described the apostles as “men doomed to die in the arena,” “a spectacle to the universe,” “fools on Christ’s account,” sneered at, “hungry and thirsty, poorly clad, roughly treated, wandering about homeless,” insulted, persecuted, and slandered (1 Cor 4:9-13). Paul stated that, in effect, Christians should expect to be treated as the world’s garbage; “that is the present...

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

“They will surely fast in those days.” –Luke 5:35 Mass Readings: September 2 First: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Resp: Psalm 37:3-6,27-28,39-40; Gospel: Luke 5:33-39 When we are baptized into the new life of Jesus and decide to live our Baptisms, “the old order has passed away; now all is new!” (2 Cor 5:17) Fasting, for example, becomes so new that the Lord uses our fasting to drive out the most entrenched demons (Mt 17:21, NAB), to initiate missionary outreaches (Acts 13:2-3), and to establish leaders for His Church (Acts 14:23). New Testament fasting is often frequent (see 2 Cor 11:27; 6:5)...