Category: Daily Reflections
“The reign of God can be likened to ten bridesmaids who took their torches and went out to welcome the groom.” —Matthew 25:1 The five foolish virgins may not have been any more foolish than most people. They had enough oil in their torches if the bridegroom came at the time expected. Even the wise virgins thought that if the groom came very late, the foolish virgins might have time to go and buy some more oil (Mt 25:9). Furthermore, the foolish virgins presumed the bridegroom would let them in late if they did not get back in time (Mt...
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“We shall continue to flourish only if you stand firm in the Lord!” —1 Thessalonians 3:8 Do you ever look at the massive culture of death and feel that your prayers don’t have much of an impact? Do you ever feel that your parish or diocese wouldn’t miss you if you weren’t there? St. Paul would argue that your faithfulness has a tremendous impact on the Church. He told the newly converted Thessalonian Christians that his missionary team could only keep flourishing if they stayed firm in the faith! (1 Thes 3:8) Elsewhere Paul said: “Who is weak that I...
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“You say, ‘Had we lived in our forefathers’ time we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ ” —Matthew 23:30 The “religious” people of Jesus’ time insisted that they would not have committed the sins of their ancestors. We likewise don’t believe we would ever again perpetrate the racism and slavery of our forefathers. We can’t imagine ourselves staffing concentration camps and bombing civilian populations. We think we would never treat women like animals. Jesus told the people of His time that they were in what psychologists call “denial.” Jesus says the same thing to us. We...
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“Fresh from the humiliation we had suffered at Philippi — about which you know — we drew courage from our God to preach His good tidings to you in the face of great opposition.” —1 Thessalonians 2:2 When we’ve just been humiliated, we tend to focus on ourselves, be unforgiving and resentful, lick our wounds, and/or have a pity party. However, such a time of humiliation can be just the right time to proclaim the Gospel. The humiliation we suffered may have been a defensive maneuver by the devil to try to stop us from receiving an exceptional outpouring of...
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“Someone asked Him, ‘Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?’ ” —Luke 13:23 To be saved, we must confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord (Rm 10:9). However, we human beings have trouble saying “Yes” when we mean “Yes” and “No” when we mean “No” (Mt 5:37). We have trouble telling the truth because we speak from our hearts’ abundance (Lk 6:45) and our hearts are twisted and deceitful (Jer 17:9). We must find a way to straighten out our twisted hearts so we can truly acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The Lord has given His...
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